About
Establishment of Regional Nile Hydrological Monitoring System
The Nile Basin riparian countries recognized the need for improved hydro-meteorological and water quality monitoring system for sustainable water resources planning and management in the basin. Therefore, Nile Basin Member States developed the Nile River Basin Monitoring Strategy in 2010. The strategy aimed to guide basin activities for enhanced monitoring system that provides accurate and reliable basin data and information to facilitate the implementation of various projects and programs while enhance regional and trans-boundary cooperation through information sharing and joint studies and management of the shared Nile water resources for the shared benefit of the Member States. In the operationalization of the strategy, the NBI designed and reviewed a basin-wide regional hydro-meteorological monitoring system covering all the 10 Member States (2015). Through the financial support from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and European Union (EU), the NBI collaborated with the Member States to establish a comprehensive suite of regional hydrological monitoring system that collects, transmit and manage real-time river flow and lake level and quality information to the national and regional data centres via dual transmission with GSM module and satellite technologies.
The first phase of the project focused on the establishment of 60 regional hydrological monitoring station network and data management system as per the approved design and implementation plan by the Nile Council of Ministers (Nile-COM) in its 23rd meeting on 4th June 2015, in Dodoma-Tanzania. This involved; (i) Updating the system design specifications and implementation plan, (ii) Civil works constructions undertaken by national/local contractors, (iii) Procurement of monitoring equipment, (iv) Bench testing and installation, (v) Upgrading National and Regional Data Centers, (vi) Capacity building for national expert to support the installation, operations, and maintenance, and (vii) Information products leveraging the data from the regional monitoring system.
The envisioned 60 Regional Hydrological Stations complete with the Data Management System (DMS) upgraded in nine countries national data centres and two regional data centres within the basin. However, a total of 43 stations have been rehabilitated to regional standard in 7 countries complete with upgraded national data management centres in 9 countries and 2 regional centres: Burundi 2/2), Kenya (6/6), Rwanda (6/6), South Sudan (5/7), Sudan (2/13), Tanzania (8/8), and Uganda (14/15). Security and other challenges in eastern DR Congo (1/1), Sudan (11) and Ethiopia (2/2) haltered the progress of the implementations. However, the national data centers have been upgraded in nine countries and two regional data centres.
The DMS is configured with data collection and transmission deployed using dual telemetry systems involving both GSM module and satellite telemetry that leverage on EUMETSAT communications services providing robust telemetry using low profile, low power antennas and transmitters for the collected to the national and regional data centres. Data storage and archiving is achieved through DataSight with each country provided with unique credentials to access and manage their own data and reports.
After completion of the NBI handed over of the rehabilitated stations and upgraded data management system to the Member States to be part of the day-to-day operations together with other national stations. The handover has been completed in Rwanda (16th November 2023), Burundi (17th February 2024), South Sudan (14th March 2024), Uganda (19th March 2024) and Kenya (16th August 2024).
Sustainability of Regional Nile Hydrological Monitoring System
Given that system is fully operational, sustainability becomes a critical component. Capacity building and training of the national experts on the system installation, operations and maintenance including troubleshooting and data quality control has been conducted. NBI continues to provide the necessary technical support to Member States during the transition through the Help Desk established at the NBI Secretariat to support countries with operations and maintenance of the system and development of information products which demonstrates value for the investment in the system.
NBI has collaborated with Member States and established the Regional Expert Group (REWG). The main aim of the group is to coordinate the activities regarding the operations and maintenance of the system to optimize on the shared benefits and demonstrable applications for transboundary cooperation within the basin. The group also aims to demonstrate the value of the investment through utilization of information from the upgraded system for data driven water resources management decisions in the Member States and basin at large.
Regional Information Products
Since the establishments and upgrade of the regional monitoring system, it has supported the development and generation of a number information products that demonstrating the value of the investment in the monitoring. These include;
1. Nile River Basin Seasonal Hydrological Outlook - This is a regular product that leverages on the river flow and lake water level data and information from the monitoring system to provide seasonal forecast information to support the Member States in the planning and preparation for hydrologicsl extremes to enhance disaster risk reduction and community resilience in the basin.
2. Enhance regional cooperation through sharing of data and information products between upstream and downstream Member States. Notable example Uganda and South Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania, South Sudan and Sudan.
3. Provide timely and accurate data and information support Nile Basin Strategic Water Resources Assessment (SWRA) which estimates water availability and demand for basin investment, planning and management in the basin.
4. Optimal Operations of Hydropower generation such as storage and releases as well forecasting of hydropwer output and revenue generation.
5. Support of navigation in South Sudan and Sudan
6. Nile Basin Quarterly Drought Bulletin
7. Flood Early Warning Information and disaster preparedness in Nzoia River,and Nyando River in Kenya, Mara River in Tanzania