Photograph by Robert E. Broshears, U.S. Geological Survey (retired) 

Villagers lining up for water at a community well near Kabul, Afghanistan.

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Fact Sheet 2014–3068; USGS Afghanistan Project Product No. 265 

August 2014

Water Resources Activities of the 

U.S. Geological Survey in Afghanistan 

From 2004 Through 2014 

Safe and reliable supply of water, 

for irrigation and domestic consumption, 

is one of Afghanistan’s critical needs 

for the country’s growing population. 

Water is also needed for mining and 

mineral processing and the associated 

business and community development, 

all of which contribute to the country’s 

economic growth and stability. 

Beginning in 2004, U.S. Geological 

Survey scientists have aided efforts to 

rebuild Afghanistan’s capacity to monitor 

water resources, working largely with 

scientists in the Afghanistan Geological 

Survey of the Ministry of Mines and 

Petroleum as well as with scientists 

in the Afghanistan Ministry of Energy 

and Water, the Afghanistan Ministry of 

Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, 

and nongovernmental organizations 

in Afghanistan. Considerable efforts 

were undertaken by the U.S. Geological 

Survey to compile or recover hydrologic 

data on Afghanistan’s water resources. 

These collaborative efforts have 

assisted Afghan scientists in developing 

the data collection networks necessary 

for improved understanding, managing 

these resources, and monitoring critical 

changes that may affect future water 

supplies and conditions. The U.S. 

Geological Survey, together with Afghan 

scientists, developed a regional groundwater flow model to assist with water 

resource planning in the Kabul Basin. 

Afghan scientists are now independently 

developing the datasets and conducting 

studies needed to assess water 

resources in other population centers 

of Afghanistan. 

AFGHANISTAN

Printed on recycled paper 
Background 

Most hydrologic and climatic data collection activities 

ceased in about 1980 as a consequence of civil strife. Consequently, much of the institutional knowledge, scientific instrumentation, and skills of Afghan scientists had stagnated or were 

lost, making the task of meeting the need for supplies of water 

in Afghanistan challenging. 

Reconstruction efforts were beginning in war-torn 

Afghanistan in 2002, at a time when much of the country was 

in disarray and lacked most technical capacity, infrastructure, 

and modern equipment necessary for effective hydrogeologic 

investigations. In 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

and the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) initiated plans to 

rebuild Afghanistan’s capacity in geologic sciences. From 2004 

through 2007, USGS and AGS activities were conducted under 

the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development 

(USAID), and since 2009, activities have been conducted under 

the auspices of the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for 

Business and Stability Operations. The efforts of the USGS in 

Afghanistan have focused on building the capacity of Afghan 

scientists to monitor and assess the country’s water resources. 

This rebuilding was accomplished by providing training in and 

application of modern techniques, including global positioning 

systems, field hydrology, and water-quality sampling, and by 

developing water-resource databases. To date [2014], more than 

40 reports and maps on groundwater, water quality, and surface 

water have been produced as a result of USGS and AGS 

collaboration, including 24 geohydrologic 

assessments (fig. 1) at areas of int

for various minerals (Peters and 

others, 2011). 

erest 

Photograph by Verne R. Schneider, U.S. Geological Survey 

Aerial view of the Kajaki Dam and reservoir on the Helmand River in 

the Kajaki District, Afghanistan. 

Uzbekistan Tajikistan China

Turkmenistan

Sar-e Pol	 Kabul

Basin Kabul Afghanistan

Pakistan Kabul Iran

Herat 34°N 

Kandahar 

EXPLANATION 

Area of interest for minerals 

30°N 

Streams 

Country boundary 

Base from U.S. Geological Survey Natural-Color Landsat 

Image Mosaic of Afghanistan Map Series, 2006,14.25-meter 

Cultural data from Afghanistan Information Management System 

(http://www.aims.org/) 

0 

0 

180 

100 

360 KILOMETERS 

200 MILES 

72°E 

38°N

68°E

Mazar-e

64°E Sheberghan Sharif

Figure 1. Major hydrologic features, areas of interest for minerals, and U.S. Geological Survey and Afghanistan Geological Survey 

water projects in Afghanistan. 
Groundwater Resources 

The first cooperative efforts of the USGS in rebuilding 

Afghanistan’s water resources capacity were with AGS engineers in compiling an inventory of water resources in the Kabul 

Basin. By the end of 2004, the AGS inventoried about 150 wells 

in the Kabul Basin. A subset of the wells inventoried between 

2004 and 2012 is shown in figure 2; the inventoried wells 

indicate decreasing groundwater levels in the city of Kabul. 

Water samples collected and analyzed for physical, chemical, 

and microbiological properties formed the basis of the first 

USGS and AGS collaborative hydrologic investigation of the 

Kabul Basin (Broshears and others, 2005; Akbari and others, 

2007). Further collaborative investigations with the AGS and 

the Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) led to a 

detailed understanding of water availability and sustainability in 

the Kabul Basin (Mack and others, 2010). 

The groundwater-level monitoring well network of the 

AGS in the Kabul Basin has been in operation for more than 

10 years (Taher and others, 2014). Recent analysis of these data 

provides an improved understanding of the sustainability of 

groundwater resources in the basin (Mack and others, 2013). 

AGS engineers have established similar groundwater 

monitoring networks and produced assessments of water 

resources in the cities of Mazar-e Sharif, Sheberghan, and 

Sar-e Pol (fig. 1). These networks and the related hydrologic 

assessments are critical for understanding current conditions 

and availability of water resources in some of the major population centers of Afghanistan. 

In the mid-2000s, the USGS assisted the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR), a Danish nongovernmental organization (NGO) staffed by Afghan scientists, in 

developing a national groundwater monitoring well network and 

database. This network now contains more than 150 water-level 

monitoring wells across Afghanistan and forms the infrastructure for a national database (Danish Committee for Aid to 

Afghan Refugees, 2011). 

Kabul 

Base from U.S. Geological Survey shuttle radar topography mission data, 

85-meter resolution, 2000 

0 10 20 KILOMETERS

0 5 10 MILES 

69°E 69°30'E

35°N 

34°30'N 

EXPLANATION 

Increasing water levels 

Decreasing water levels 

Kabul Basin 

Streams 

No statistical change 

Figure 2. Groundwater level monitoring network wells in the Kabul 

Basin, Afghanistan. Location of map shown in figure 1. 

Sheep grazing near Kabul, Afghanistan. 

Photograph by Douglas G. Emerson, U.S. Geological Survey (retired)
70°E 

65°E 

35°N 

 Kajaki Reservoir 

0 100 200 KILOMETERS 

0 50 100 MILES 

30°N

EXPLANATION 

River basins 

Amu Darya 

Harirod-Murghab 

Helmand 

Kabul 

Northern 

Nondrainage area 

Streams 

River basin 

boundary 

Country 

boundary 

Streamgage 

Figure 3. Major drainage basins, reinstalled streamgages (118), and the Kajaki Reservoir, Afghanistan. 

Surface Water Resources 

In the early 1950s, the USGS working in cooperation with 

a predecessor organization to USAID established a streamgaging program in the Helmand River Basin (Taylor, 1976, 

p. 62–65). By the late 1970s, Afghanistan had a functioning 

streamgaging and reservoir water-level gaging network that 

consisted of 169 streamgages distributed across the country 

(Favre and Kamal, 2004). This network operated until 1980 

when most streamgages were destroyed or fell into disrepair 

and the original streamflow records and the database were lost. 

From 2006 to 2010, in cooperation with the MEW, the USGS 

recovered daily streamflow data from historical documents, 

converted those data into digital form, and loaded the data into 

the USGS National Water Information System for Afghanistan. 

Historical streamflow characteristics, including monthly and 

annual discharge, monthly and annual flow durations, annual 

peak discharges, and monthly and annual mean discharges, 

were published in Williams-Sether (2008), Olson and WilliamsSether (2010), and Vining (2010). 

USGS scientists assessed surface-water resources of the 

Aynak area of investigation for minerals, near the city of Kabul, 

and at the Kajaki Reservoir in Helmand River Basin (fig. 3). 

The Kajaki Reservoir is a major source for hydropower and 

irrigation in the Helmand River Basin; the storage capacity at 

the reservoir has been reduced because of sedimentation and 

likely will be further reduced in the future because of continued 

problems with sedimentation (Vining and Vecchia, 2007). 

From 2008 through 2011, approximately 127 historical streamgages were reestablished (fig. 3) and supplied with 

modern equipment as part of a program by the USGS and the 

World Bank. The USGS continues to assist the MEW with the 

hydrologic network of Afghanistan, and programs are being 

developed to enhance capacity in surface-water monitoring and 

analysis techniques. 

View of the Balkhab River looking upstream at Sar-e Pol, Afghanistan. 

Photograph by Thomas J. Mack, U.S. Geological Survey 
Climate 

The Afghanistan Agrometeorology Program (Agromet) 

was established on January 1, 2004, to provide meteorological and crop data for internal food security assessments. USGS 

scientists assisted the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, 

Irrigation, and Livestock with analyzing and reporting agricultural and meteorological data that provide valuable information 

on climate and food security for governmental and NGO aid 

decision makers. 

By 2014, the Agromet Program had installed and was 

operating 102 stations to record precipitation amounts, snow 

cover, and other meteorological parameters. These parameters 

are crucial to the calibration and validation of remotely sensed 

models of Afghanistan, such as the snow cover extent shown in 

figure 4. Currently [2014], the Agromet Program has produced 

more than 150 monthly bulletins and seasonal reports in Dari 

and English (http://afghanistan.cr.usgs.gov/agrometeorologypublications-maps) and has trained more than 260 observers 

from government agencies and NGOs. 

Summary 

By the early 2000s, Afghanistan’s hydrologic expertise was 

severely limited. The country’s scientists had been isolated from 

the international scientific community and many of the technological advancements that had occurred in the field of water 

resources and climatology in the decades after 1980. Since 

2004, the knowledge and understanding of Afghanistan’s water 

resources has improved considerably as a result of capacity 

developments at various Afghan ministries and nongovernmental organizations. Particular improvements have been made 

at the Afghanistan Geological Survey with technical support 

from the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. 

Agency of International Development and the U.S. Department 

of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations. 

Although the skills and experience developed are in the early 

stages, recent improvements in capacity have led directly to 

creation of local and national groundwater monitoring networks 

and a national climate monitoring network. The advances made 

aided Afghanistan’s planners and managers in assessing current water resources and in monitoring changes that may affect 

future availability of water for drinking water supply, irrigation, 

and industrial uses. 

Acknowledgements 

The efforts of many individuals have contributed to the 

successful collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) and the Government of Afghanistan (GOA), particularly the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) and the 

Ministry of Energy and Water. Integral members of the USGS 

hydrology team included Robert Broshears, John Earle, Douglas 

Emerson, David Litke, David Mueller, Verne Schneider, and 

Ingrid Verstraeten. Special recognition goes to Said Mirzad, a 

former Director at the AGS, who was the USGS senior natural 

resources advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 

2002 until 2006 and was instrumental to the USGS program 

in Afghanistan. 

62° E 64° E 66° E 

January 09–January 16, 2014 Uzbekistan 

38° N 

Turkmenistan 

36° N 

34° N 

32° N 

Iran 

30° N 

68° E 70° E 72° E 74° E 

Tajikistan China 

EXPLANATION 

Snow 

Irrigated area 

Clouds obscured 

Nonsnow 

Province boundary 

International boundary 

Water bodies 

River 

Pakistan 

Figure 4. Snow cover extent in Afghanistan in December 2013; modified from U.S. Geological Survey [undated]. 
Selected References 

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2007, Ground-water levels in the Kabul basin, Afghanistan, 

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45 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1294/. 

Broshears, R.E., Akbari, M.A., Chornack, M.P., Mueller, D.K., and 

Ruddy, B.C., 2005, Inventory of ground-water resources in the 

Kabul basin, Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Report 2005–5090, 34 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/ 

sir/2005/5090/. 

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fews/sca/afghanistan/web/modsnwavg.php. 

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runoff and reservoir storage for the upper Helmand watershed and 

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View of the Balkhab River looking upstream at Sar-e Pol, Afghanistan. 

Photograph by Thomas J. Mack, U.S. Geological Survey 

For Additional Information, Contact: 

International Program 

U.S. Geological Survey 

420 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 

Reston, VA 20192 

http://international.usgs.gov/ 

By Thomas J. Mack,1 Michael P. Chornack,1 

Kevin C. Vining,1 Saud A. Amer,1 

M. Fahim Zaheer,2 and Jack H. Medlin1 

1

U.S. Geological Survey
 2

Afghanistan Geological Survey