A BIG PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD RELIES ON GROUNDWATER AS A MAJOR SOURCE OF FRESH WATER. THE DEPENDENCY ON THIS RESOURCE WILL EVEN BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED IN THE FACE OF POPULATION GROWTH CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE URGE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH. GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER ARE INTER-LINKED AND ANY CHANGE IN ONE IS LIKELY TO IMPACT THE OTHER. IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND FUTURE FRESHWATER AVAILABILITY AND TO AID SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTSOF INCREASED GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWALS ON WATER FLOWS AND SURFACE WATER STORAGE. THE GOAL OF THE STUDY THEREFORE IS TO DERIVE CASUALEFFECT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER STORAGE VARIATIONS OVER EAST AFRICA. PAST TRENDS IN SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER STORAGE WILL BE DETERMINED USING REMOTE SENSING ALTIMETRY DATA AND GRACE. HUMAN GROUNDWATER ABSTRACTION FOR THE LAST DECADE WILL BE ESTIMATED FROM GRACE AND LAND SURFACE MODEL SIMULATIONS. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CAUSAL LINKAGE BETWEEN SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER STORAGE A HIGH RESOLUTION LAND SURFACE MODEL WILL BE USED TO SIMULATE PAST STORAGE VARIATIONS OVER EAST AFRICA. THE MODEL WILL ALSO BE USED TO SIMULATE FUTURE WATER RESOURCES OUTLOOK BASED ON FUTURE CLIMATE PREDICTIONS AND POPULATION GROWTHS. THE STUDY WILL PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN GUIDING FUTURE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE EAST AFRICAN REGION.