Anthropogenic Drying of Lakes in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Meseret Dawit^1-3*

¹Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Water Resources Section, Delft University of Technology, PO Box 5048, Delft 2600 GA, the Netherlands

²IHE- Delft Institute for Water Education, PO Box 3015, Delft 2601 DA, the Netherlands

³Institute of Technology, School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Haramaya University, P. O. Box 138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

*Corresponding Author : Meseret Dawit
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Water Resources Section, Delft University of Technology, PO Box 5048, Delft 2600 GA, the Netherlands
Tel: +31-068-7142-205
E-mail: mesedawit@gmail.com

Received: September 01, 2017 Accepted: October 07, 2017 Published: October 14, 2017

Citation: Dawit M (2017) Anthropogenic Drying of Lakes in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions. J Hydrogeol Hydrol Eng 6:4. doi: 10.4172/2325-9647.1000158

Soils and forests are deteriorating; grazing lands are degraded; water points, sources, and lakes are drying, and underground water levels diminished. This could largely be attributed to traditional inappropriate resource management methods; severe soil erosion and degradations reducing infiltration and resulting in sedimentation of water sources and lake basins. Bad cultivation practices, burning and cutting of perennial vegetation, overgrazing and grass fires increase runoff. This causes soil erosion and consequently sediment transport to the lake, which results in the decrease of its storage capacity and quality of stored water. Shallow and groundwater dependent Lakes has experiencing shrinkage and some of them are vanished due to different reasons, such as human activities, climate change and related which can contribute to the declining of Lake Ecosystem.