[Addis Ababa, Aug. 2nd, 2025] – The BRIGHT Project conducted Induction Workshop to the National Taskforce to Strengthen Groundwater Data Management. The workshop was conducted on Aug. 2nd, 2025, at Yod Abyssinia Hotel, to validate and standardize the nation’s groundwater data for integration into national water management platforms, a crucial step in modernizing Ethiopia’s groundwater data systems. The workshop commenced with opening remarks by Dr. Tena Alamirew, Deputy Director of the Water and Land Resources Centre (WLRC), who emphasized the critical importance of reliable water data for national development. Ato Habtemariam Tilahun, Hydrology and Basin Information Lead Executive Officer (MoWE), officially opened the workshop with a compelling address.
“For too long, Ethiopia has lacked not only organized groundwater data but also a comprehensive national surface water dataset,” Ato Habtemariam stated. “This BRIGHT initiative by WLRC &MoWE creates the platform we urgently need. As experts in this room, the responsibility now rests with all of us to see this crucial work through to completion.”
The technical workshop brings together the concerned ground water experts in Ethiopia’s water sector, including Ato Muhammedsalih Boru, Head of Groundwater Resources Exploration and Modelling Desk, and Ms. Tsehay Amare, Head of Groundwater Study and Design Desk (MoWE), alongside experts from regional water bureaus and basins across the nation.
The workshop aimed to fill the critical gaps in Ethiopia’s water data infrastructure by systematically reviewing groundwater data and information collected for a decade from the Ministry of Water and Energy and regional bureaus. It was emphasised that technical teams would conduct rigorous quality assurance checks, identify inconsistencies, and implement standardization protocols to ensure the data meets international standards for reliability and accessibility.
The taskforce consisted of 22 groundwater professionals, including GW thematic leads from WLRC, senior hydrologists from MoWE, and regional experts representing Ethiopia’s regional states and city administrations of ……. Notably, the water-rich regions of Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray have additional representation to account for their complex hydrological systems.
The organiser Dr. Behailu Berhanu indicated that the workshop outcomes will directly support Ethiopia’s water security planning through three key deliverables: a comprehensive inception report outlining the validation methodology, a fully standardized national groundwater dataset, and a detailed validation report identifying remaining data gaps and recommending future improvements. These outputs will feed into the Basin Information Systems (BIS) and National Basin Information System (NBIS), which will provide policymakers and actors with reliable, up-to-date data to be used as a base for sustainable water resource management.
The BRIGHT Project continues to support Ethiopia’s water sector development through such technical capacity-building initiatives. For regular updates on this and other water resource management programs, stakeholders are encouraged to visit the project’s Website: https://wlrc-eth.org/; https://wlrc-eth.org/projects/bright/