LASER PULSE EAST AFRICA WATER SECURITY PROJECT
Project Title: Data-Driven Decision Support for Improved Water Security in East Africa
Lead Institution: Purdue University, USA
Translation Partner for Kenya: Resource Plan Ltd
Preamble
Surface and ground water availability in East Africa varies substantially with time and across subregions.
Changes in climate, land use/cover and management are key factors impacting on the integrity of water
resources. Yet water-related data are generally insufficient, unavailable, or inaccessible for planning,
effective decision-making and management of the resource. This project thus seeks water information
which is processed using hydrological models, then packaged and deployed making it Findable,
Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) in accordance with open data FAIR Guiding Principles.
About the project
This is a two-year research and translation project which commenced in October 2020. The project
addresses water security as a priority and use of data in decision support systems. It is focused on three
sub-watersheds in East Africa, namely; Sasumua river watershed in Kenya, Simiyu river watershed in
Tanzania; and Murchison Bay watershed in Uganda. The overall goal of the project is to provide water
information, data access and decision support to improve water resources (quantity, quality)
management and, ultimately, water security in the study areas in East Africa. It seeks to determine the
current and potential future states of water resources in the region with regard to water budgets,
quality, quantity and impacts of climate change shocks on water availability and use. The main
Objectives include:
1) Develop a broad dataset describing trends and current and future states of water
resources (quantity and quality) in the study region;
2) Provide results, data, and base model parameters in such a way that these are easily
discoverable, accessible, ready to use, and free; and
3) Provide training to water managers, policy-makers and other water resources personnel on the
use and interpretation of the results, data, and other materials developed through this project.
The project uses a combination of existing climate data, rainfall data and modeling approaches using
the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to conduct analysis. All partners were involved from the
onset including research planning and the design, development, and packaging of project products.
The translation partners actively engage in the project including contributing ideas, seeking data and
engaging stakeholder meetings, field visits and webinars. The project is lead and implemented by highly
qualified experts, who include the following:
Project Implementers/ Research Leads
Prof. Margaret W. Gitau – Purdue University, USA
Daniel N. Moriasi – USDA-ARS Grazinglands Research Laboratory, USA
Dr. Nicholas Kiggundu – Makerere University, Uganda
Dr. Subira Eva Munishi – University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Research Translation Partners
Prof. Bancy M. Mati, Resource Plan (Kenya)
Dr. Victor Kongo – Global Water Partnership Tanzania (GWP-TZ), Tanzania
Dr. James Kisseka – Stichting Aidenvironment (RAIN, Uganda), Uganda
For more about this project, see other presentations and documents in this portal.
