The main sources of water pollution in the upper Awash River basin come from industrial and urban wastes, agricultural runoff (pesticides, fertilizers), and sewage discharge.

[7] For its palaeontological and anthropological importance, the lower valley of the Awash was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980.

[7] The Awash River basin, spanning 23 administrative zones, covers 10% of Ethiopia's area and hosts about 17% of its population.

[1] It starts in Ethiopia’s central highlands at an elevation of 3000 m and passes through a number of locations before joining Lake Abbe at a height of 250 m.[8] The Awash River basin is divided into three sections: upper, middle, and lower.

[citation needed] Other tributaries of the Awash include (in order upstream): the Logiya, Mille, Borkana, Ataye, Hawadi, Kabenna and Dukem Rivers.

[citation needed] There are tributary rivers, lakes, hot springs, and swamps in the Middle Awash Basin.

The future water availability was estimated as the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration projections using the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP8.5) emission scenarios.

[14] Recharge from river channel losses and via infiltration from lakes plays a role in the Main Ethiopian Rift and in southern Afar.

[13] The Awash Basin is a densely populated and industrialized area where numerous enterprises rely on groundwater for their operation.

[8] Groundwater management requires proactive measures due to the global challenges posed by rapid population growth, urbanization, climate change, and various human activities.

The mammal is now extinct in Yangudi Rassa National Park, but still found in the adjacent Mille-Serdo Wildlife Reserve.

[18] The Awash basin's economy is dominated by the agricultural and service sectors, with the latter prevailing in the large urban center of Addis Ababa.

[16] Thereby the scattered tree cover remained similar to the primary state of the savannas, while the grass layer has been replaced by crops.

The large portion of rural poor engaged in rainfed agriculture in the drought-prone marginal lands located in the middle and lower reaches of the basin suffer greatly from recurring drought.

Severe droughts in the basin have led to a significant depression of crop yields and death of livestock, resulting in increases in food insecurity.

[18] Growing industrialization and urbanization in the Awash River basin has severely damaged the ecosystem due to the toxins discharged into water bodies.

The main sources of water pollution in the upper Awash River basin come from industrial and urban wastes, agricultural runoff (pesticides, fertilizers), and sewage discharge.

[6] The term geogenic refers to naturally occurring contamination through tectonic, clay, volcanic ash, and sand weathering phenomena.

[citation needed] Heavy metal pollution in the surface water has become a growing concern for the environment and people’s health.

Wastewater enters the river from cities such as Addis Abeba, Awash 7 Kilo, Ambo, Sebeta, Bishoftu, Gelan, Adama, Modjo.

Agricultural runoff may be a cause of heavy metal pollution (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, U, and Zn) in aquatic bodies, and industrial disposal could also lead to high heavy metals concentrations such as As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Zn, and Pb concentrations.

[6] A study of river water quality in 2023 showed that high levels of heavy metals, such as Al, Mn, Mo, As, V, Fe, and Ba were exhibited with values of 1257 μg/L, 626.8 μg/L, 116.7 μg/L, 61.2 μg/L, 100.5 μg/L, 1082.7 μg/L, and 211.7 μg/L, respectively.

Among 20 heavy metals analyzed, 20% of the parameters within the study area were above the WHO limit for drinking water; Al (157 μg/L), V (100.5 μg/L), Fe (1082.7 μg/L), Mn (626.8 μg/L), and Mo (103.8 μg/L) were exhibited at sites along the river system.

[8] In the Middle Awash Basin and the country at large, the water quality of most groundwater sources is inadequately monitored and insufficiently regulated.

Consequently, areas within the upstream Awash Basin, particularly around Modjo, Bishoftu, Gelan, and Addis Ababa, are highly susceptible to unregulated abstraction and pollution of groundwater.

(Although the explorer L. M. Nesbitt had followed parts of the course of the Awash in 1928, he turned away from the river at Asaita and proceeded north through the Afar Depression to the Red Sea.