Presenter
Dr. Nasser Tuqan, Newcastle University
Co-author(s)
Dr. Alemseged Haile, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Prof. Tom Curtis, Newcastle University
Mr. Henok Manaye, Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority (AAWSA)
Mr. Getahun Kebede, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Sub-theme
2. Promoting Water Efficiency, Productivity and Services
Topic
2-7. Water services and water service providers
Body
Only 13% of the entire population of Ethiopia, the second-most populous country in Africa, uses a safely managed drinking water service. Addis Ababa is the capital, the largest city, the country’s commercial and cultural hub and Africa’s diplomatic centre. However, only 53% of Addis Ababa’s current 1.1 million m3 daily water demand is being met. Moreover, in suffering a 41% leakage rate, the city’s aged Water Distribution Network (WDN) is considered inefficient, unsustainable and inadequate to meet future demand for a booming population. Large-scale rehabilitation and expansion of Addis Ababa’s existing WDN is a critical necessity. Planning and designing such engineering interventions requires a significance number of large datasets, advanced modelling techniques, and a vast range of resources (time, people and money). As a result of these factors, planning water interventions in the global south costs ten times more than the global north. This research aims to tackle this challenge through constructing a methodological framework to produce an all-encompassing georeferenced database for WDN modelling and design. Using a case study in Mekanissa Branch, our study demonstrates how such database will enable water engineers and city planners, especially in the global south, to simulate, validate, design and rapidly estimate the cost of WDNs. The methodological framework consists of four consecutive stages. In the first stage, the existing various datasets of the area under consideration needs to be identified, refined and, if needed, modified. In the second stage, we need to validate these datasets, especially the network’s main elements, through geographical methods such as ground-truthing. Thirdly, we move on to hydraulically analyse the existing WDN using an integrated GIS-based tool. In the fourth and final stage, the augmented datasets and hydraulically validated WDN model can be used and tested for suggested rehabilitation plans, extension designs and future (what-if) scenarios analysis. The resulted WDN's georeferenced dataset (all in one place) for Mekanissa branch, the hydraulic model, and the comprehensive comparative analysis of the rehabilitation/expansion alternatives are all significantly beneficial for many stakeholders. The list of beneficiaries include the city planners, civil engineers, water sector strategists, and all potential doners and investors. Those outcomes enable the creation of a credible basis for sustained and system-wide investments in Addis Ababa’s WDN. Furthermore, the success in Addis Ababa will set the scene for replicating the experience in additional cities and regions.