The Liberian Hydrological Service (LHS) is a Liberian public institution established by Executive Law in 1972. It was mandated to assess, evaluate, monitor and protect the Nation’s water resources. It is a functional bureau under the Department of Mineral Exploration and Environmental Research (DMER) of Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy. LHS supports the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector in Liberia to ensure the monitoring of the quality.
The bureau serves as the national consulting agency on groundwater for potable water supply to the populace. The conduct of hydrogeological investigations, river flow measurements, water resources quality monitoring and hydro meteorological (rainfall) recording are the cardinal functions of LHS.
In 1990, the hydro meteorological network in Liberia completely broke down. Since 2010, with support from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), there are seven Liberians LHS staff under intensive hydro-meteorological training, and they are operating the hydro-meteorological network in Liberia since 2012. During these years, 16 manual hydrological metering stations, 14 manual rainfall stations have been established and one automatic station as well. This has led to measuring series for several years and amounts to valuable information for effective use of the water resources in Liberia.
There are five operational sections in the Bureau: Surface Water, Groundwater, Water Quality, Hydrometeorology and Maintenance. There are 27 employees in LHS although a more limited number of people are working directly with hydrological tasks and activities.