Multi-purpose reservoir operation oncomitant with estimating hydropower potential using multifarious hydrological models.

The research aims at determining the optimal release rule to increase the capacity of Rib reservoir. The reservoir inflow using HBV-light hydrological model embracing optimal reservoir operation through HEC-ResSim model were used to prepare an optimum operational plan. The potential of the river for hydropower generation prioritise the demand at a specified level regarding storage capacity (m3), level of reservoir (m), and the relation between inflow and outflow of the reservoir. From the model performance features, the coefficient of correlation (R2) and Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) were determined to be, respectively, 0.77 and 0.73 for calibration and 0.72 and 0.70 for validation. The Sobol approach was used for detailed sensitivity analysis of DROP model parameters based on the performance of C2M on outflows and volumes. The results suggest that the threshold coefficient characterizing the demand-controlled release level is the most significant parameter. According to the simulation's findings, the reservoir's average regulated release is calculated to be 22.86 m3/s, and its average monthly hydropower output is 6.73 MW. Average annual hydropower energy was estimated as 58.955 GW h/year and mean annual inflow of reservoir volume of water to be 223.54 Mm3. This volume of water is adequate to accommodate total annual irrigation demand, environmental obligation, and other respective requirements in the downstream. The demand for hydropower and irrigation and supply from reservoir capacity can be counterbalanced from the simulated result without any hindrance.

LULC change detection using support vector machines and cellular automata-based ANN models in Guna Tana watershed of Abay basin, Ethiopia.

Recurrent changes recorded in LULC in Guna Tana watershed are a long-standing problem due to the increase in urbanization and agricultural lands. This research aims at identifying and predicting frequent changes observed using support vector machines (SVM) for supervised classification and cellular automata-based artificial neural network (CA-ANN) models for prediction in the quantum geographic information systems (QGIS) plugin MOLUSCE. Multi-temporal spatial Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imageries, Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus 7 (ETM+), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images were used to find the acute problem the watershed is facing. Accuracy was assessed using the confusion matrix in ArcGIS 10.4 produced from ground truth data and Google Earth Pro. The results acquired from kappa statistics for 1991, 2007, and 2021 were 0.78, 0.83, and 0.88 respectively. The change detection trend indicates that urban land cover has an increasing trend throughout the entire period. In the future trend, agriculture land may shoot up to 86.79% and 86.78% of land use class in 2035 and 2049. Grassland may attenuate by 0.03% but the forest land will substantially diminish by 0.01% from 2035 to 2049. The increase of land specifically was observed in agriculture from 3128.4 to 3130 km2. Judicious planning and proper execution may resolve the water management issues incurred in the basin to secure the watershed.

Flood hazards and risk mapping using geospatial technologies in Jimma City, southwestern Ethiopia.

Cities in Ethiopia are suffering from unprecedented floods due to climate change and other anthropogenic activities. Failure to include land use planning and poorly designed urban drainage system aggravates the problem of urban flood. The integration of geographic information system, and multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) technique were used for flood hazards and risk mapping. Five factors namely slope, elevation, drainage density, land use land cover, and soil data were used for flood hazards and risk mapping. Agrowing urban population increases the risk of flood victims during the rainy season. Results revealed that about 25.16 and 24.38% of the study area is categorized under very high and high flood hazards, respectively. The topographic nature of the study area increases flood risk and hazards. The increaseing number of people living in the city has led to the conversion of previously occupied green lands into residential areas aggravates flood hazards and risk. Flood mitigation measures such as better land use planning, public awareness creation on flood hazards and risks, delineation of flood risk areas during the rainy seasons, increasing greenery, strengthening river side development, and watershed management in the catchment are urgently required. The findings of this study can provide a theoretical background for flood hazards risk mitigation and prevention.

Effect of USAID-funded obstetric ultrasound service interventions on maternal and perinatal health outcomes at primary healthcare facilities in Ethiopia: a propensity score matching analysis.

OBJECTIVE: A dimensional shift in the health service delivery in the primary healthcare setting is required to raise maternal and child well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of US Agency for International Development-funded obstetric ultrasound service on maternal and perinatal health outcomes at Ethiopia's primary healthcare facilities. DESIGN: We employed a quasi-experimental study design. SETTING: The study was conducted in primary health centres located in four regions of Ethiopia. PARTICIPANTS: We used 2 years' data of 1568 mothers from 13 intervention and 13 control primary health centres. Data were obtained from Vscan, antenatal care (ANC), delivery and postnatal care registers. INTERVENTION: Use of portable obstetric ultrasound service during pregnancy. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome variables include complete four ANC visits, referral during ANC, delivery in a health facility and having postnatal care and continuum of care. The secondary outcome variable was perinatal death. RESULTS: With the kernel matching approach, we have found that having four or more ANC visits was decreased after the intervention (average treatment effect (ATE): -0.20; 95% CI: -0.23 to -0.09), and the rest of the indicators, including referral during ANC (ATE: 0.01; 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.34), institutional delivery (ATE: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.34) and postnatal care (ATE: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.37), were significantly raised because of the intervention. Similarly, we have found that perinatal death dropped considerably due to the intervention. CONCLUSION: The findings show a consistent increase in maternal health service use because of the introduction of obstetric ultrasound services at the primary health centre level. Furthermore, early detection of complications and following referral for specialty care were found to be high. The consistent rise in maternal health service use indicators calls for additional trial to test the effect of obstetric ultrasound service in other locations of the country. Furthermore, evaluating the predictive values, sensitivity and specificity of the obstetric ultrasound service is important.