Simulation of the Hydrodynamic Functioning of the Cavally River Using a Coupled 1D-2D Model in the Ity Area (Zouan-Hounien in Côte d’Ivoire)

In recent years, the Cavally River has been subject to multiple activities, including the construction of diversion channels and a bridge that makes it vulnerable to flooding. In order to assess the impact of these hydraulic structures on the river hydrodynamic functioning, a 1D-2D model was realized. The implementation of the 1D-2D model consisted of first running the 1D model, then the 2D model, and finally in coupling them. The 1D-2D model was designed with the 1988 flood hydrograph, a Manning’s coefficient of 0.052 m1/3/s for the minor bed and 0.06 m1/3/s for the major bed. The results of the hydraulic model show that the velocities are almost identical to those of the Cavally in natural operation. The values of the velocities are included between 0.4 m/s and 1.3 m/s at the level of the minor bed of the river and between 0.06 m/s and 0.71 m/s at the level of the floodplains. The average water level for flood propagation is 262.37 ± 0.44 m before construction of the structures and 262.23 ± 0.85 m after construction of the structures. The 0.41 m reduction in water level due to the diversion canal and bridge is negligible compared to the total fluctuations of the Cavally River, which vary from 6 to 7 m over the year.

Modeling of Quaternary Groundwater Pollution Risk by GIS and Multicriteria Analysis in the Southern Part of Abidjan District(Cote d’Ivoire)

The pollution generated by human activities in the area “Vridi canal-Grand Bassam” puts more at risk the quaternary groundwater that supplies water to a large part of the population of the southern part of Abidjan city. This paper deals with the combined approach of geographic information systems and multicriteria analysis to delineate areas at risk of pollution of groundwater in the study area. The multicriteria analysis also incorporated the statistical and geostatistical techniques for defining the factor ratings and weightings of all the parameters under a GIS environment. The criterion for these factor ratings and weightings was the correlation coefficient of each parameter with the nitrates concentration in groundwater. Two indicators were combined for creating situations of pollution risks according to their importance: the intrinsic vulnerability indicators which combined the depth to groundwater, the net recharge, the slope, the soil media, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and extrinsic vulnerability characterized by the land use. The results showed that all to the site presents nitrate pollution risks with 50.7% of moderate risk, and 49.3% of high and very high risks. The areas which present the highest risks of pollution are the densely urbanized communes of Treichville, Marcory, Koumasi, Port-Bouet and Grand-Bassam. The sensitivity analysis indicates that parameters causing high sensitivity on the nitrate pollution risks map are the depth to groundwater and the recharge. The errors committed on the maps establishment are ±0.15%, ±0.40% and ±6% respectively for IV map, EV map and pollution risk map.

Prospects for Minimizing the Potential Environmental Impacts of the Hydro-Agricultural Dam of M’Bahiakro(Cote d’Ivoire)

This study aims at characterizing the physical environment and suggesting solutions for a better management of the hydro-agricultural dam of M’Bahiakro which is being constructed over the N’Zi River and is the first inflatable dam in Cote d’Ivoire. In this survey, data related to hydrology, characteristics of the dam and the irrigated rice production area were obtained with the Water Resources Agency and the National Office of Rice Development of Cote d’Ivoire. Physicochemical parameters of the N’Zi River were collected seasonally at three monitoring stations. Results showed that the N’Zi River is characterized by a high water level period from April to November and a low water level period from November to April. The gap between the low flows and the high flows is important (about 206 m3/s on average). The annual average flow is 40 m3/s with a standard deviation of 32.52 m3/s and a variation coefficient of 0.88. The SAR average value (1.63) and the average conductivity (78.44 μS/cm) showed that waters of the N’Zi River are of high quality to be used for irrigation. Suspended sediment concentrations do not present significant difference along the river. But the seasonal variations are important;they are higher during the rainy seasons (45.8 mg/L on average) than in the dry seasons (17.7 mg/L on average). The annual solid flux of the N’Zi River is 41897 tons, i.e. 15810 m3 of sediments. The annual sediment flux is important and can lead to high depositions in the line-shaped reservoir of the dam and that calls for attention to control the silting up of the reservoir. Great efforts concerning interdisciplinary approaches, as well as extensive and intensive field work are needed in order to better manage the hydro-agricultural dam of M’Bahiakro.