Assessment of Water Supply and Sanitation Facility in Addis Ababa. The case of Gulele Sub-City.

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Date

2020-07

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

Access to safe water and sanitation facility has lately become a luxury in the capital city Addis Ababa, specifically in the slum areas. Drinking water should be available in sufficient quantities at all times, it is unlikely that in the short term all countries can attain that level of service. Where services are unreliable or intermittent, households typically store water to ensure that it is available when needed. They may also restrict their consumption when water sources are far away, available only for a few hours a day or at certain times of the year, or out of service. The objective of this study was to assess the water supply and sanitation facility of Gulele Sub-city selected woredas and come up with the possible recommendations that will improve and ensure the sustainability of the water and sanitation facilities of the area. Accordingly, the study area was selected based on the vulnerability of the area for WASH facilities and the researcher's prior exposure. To make this particular research more practical and tangible, the methodology had focused on the conceptual framework formulated based on Water Availability, Water Accessibility, Quality of Water Supplied, and Sanitation Facility. To achieve the objectives and explain the research scenario, a descriptive survey research method was adopted. Besides, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted. The 120 households survey results living in Gulele sub-city slum areas indicated that 69% of the households have a piped water connection and 17% of main water sources are public taps, and the remaining 14% get water from other water sources. The households receive highly interrupted and the availability of water was on average 1 day per week with an average duration of less than 6 hours per day. Regarding its quality, 65% said the water is viii unacceptable and has a color. Concerning sanitation, the majority, 92% have a dry pit latrine and they don’t have a fixed handwashing facility. In these toilets, on average one latrine serves 12 people. On top of that, the septic tank is discharged to an open drain and it has a leakage most of the time, which can eventually affect the health of the community. The study indicated that the dwellers are highly dissatisfied with the current water and sanitation service delivery characterized by long time persistent problems. The concerned government bodies are expected to take immediate action to solve these problems, otherwise, the current situation which is affecting the health and economic status of the community will intensify. In this study, it was identified that the major causes of the lack of adequate water supply in the area were the shortage of supply, the connectivity problem, population growth, topography, and enhanced economic activity. In this research, short-term and long-term recommendations were forwarded, which includes the development of policies on targeting the slum areas. Besides, uninterruptable distribution of water, efficient management of public taps, and toilets on the existing infrastructure as well as its rigorous maintenance should be addressed in the short term.

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Keywords

Water Availability, Accessibility, Quality, Sanitation, Slum Areas

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