Vol. 9(12), pp.

270-276, December 2017

DOI: 10.5897/IJWREE2017.0748
Article Number: 0A6E3E266728
ISSN 2141-6613
International Journal of Water Resources and
Copyright © 2017 Environmental Engineering
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
http://www.academicjournals.org/IJWREE

Full Length Research Paper

Water supply and demand scenario of Dilla Town,

Southern Ethiopia
Mandefro Chala Debela* and Habtamu Kassa Muhye
Department of Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering, Dilla University, Ethiopia.
Received 24 August, 2017; Accepted 27 September, 2017

Access to and use of safe drinking water can contribute enormously to health, productivity and social
development. This study was conducted to assess the existing water supply and demand scenario of
Dilla Town, Southern Ethiopia. To achieve the objective of the study, a total of 187 households were
randomly selected and interviewed by using semi structured questionnaire. To collect the required
data, interview schedule, observation, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were
used. In addition, different documents were reviewed. The collected data were analyzed using
descriptive statistics. The survey result revealed that the town water supply cannot fulfill consumer
demand for water. Obsolete supply system, electric power supply problem, lack of institutional capacity
and budget shortage are the basic factors for this imbalance. According to the survey results, the
average per capita consumption was found to be less than the recommended standard, which is
approximately at least 20 L of water per person per day. In line with this, the most frequent complaints
by water customers were regular interruption of water supply and unfair water distribution. The
collected data also showed that there is prolonged water shortage in the town. Consequently, in order
to narrow the supply and demand gap, expansion of water supply services that match with the town
development must be carried out, the town water supply service enterprise should devise a mechanism
so as to assure the equitable distribution of water among the residents and the concerned stakeholders
should discharge their respective responsibilities properly.

Key words: Dilla town, water distribution, drinking water, supply and demand gap.

INTRODUCTION

Many countries in both the developed and developing water, with limited cost-effective water supply
world face significant problems in maintaining reliable augmentation options (Dharmaratna and Harris, 2010).
water supplies and this is expected to continue in future No other single intervention is more likely to have a
years due in part to the impacts of global climate change. significant impact on global poverty than the provision of
Growing populations will further increase the demand for safe water. Water is a central theme which can be used

*Corresponding author. E-mail: mande2000@gmail.com.

Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License 4.0 International License
 Debela and Muhye 271

to achieve millennium development goals (MDGs) METHODS

(Schuster-Wallace et al., 2008). As reported by Helena
Study site description
(2010), the current challenges facing the water supply
sector includes keeping pace with net population growth, Dilla town is located in Southern Ethiopia at a distance of 359 km
closing the coverage and service gap and ensuring from the capital city, Addis Ababa, on the way from Addis Ababa to
sustainability of existing and new services with improved Moyale. It is located at 6° 22´ to 6° 42´ N and 38° 21´ to 38° 41´ E
quality of services. longitude with an altitude of about 1476 m.a.s.l (Figure 1). The
mean annual daily maximum and minimum air temperature is 28.4
A good water supply system should fulfill two primary and 12.8°C, respectively (Demelash, 2010). According to the
requirements, viz; adequacy and reliability. Budget Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency, the town has a total population
constraints, low revenues and shortfalls in operation and of 86,069 out of which 45,207 are males and 40,862 are females.
maintenance have resulted in insufficient expansion of However, Dilla Town Administration Population Affairs,
the system and gradual degradation of the service; at the Coordination and Implementation Core Work Process (DTAPA)
same time the water demands increased and scarcity reported that the projected population of the town is estimated to be
above one hundred thousand (Dilla Town Administration Population
worsened (Hickey, 2008). According to World Health Affairs - DTAPA, 2016).
Organization, 75 L of drinking water per day is necessary The town is bounded by Legedara, Walame and Chichu Rivers.
to be able to prevent household disease and also 50 L a Presently, the town is supplied with water by two different water
day for basic parent’s sanitation (Abaje et al., 2009). sources. The first one is Legedara River and the other one is
Currently, majority of the existing Ethiopian urban water ground water from which six boreholes are developed. The data
obtained from Dilla Town Water Supply Service Enterprise
supply and sanitation system designs are obsolete but
(DTWSSE) showed that the production capacities of the boreholes
the rate of rehabilitation and expansion has been lagging are 13.5 l/s (Millennium), 5 l/s (Chichu number 1), 6 l/s (Chichu
behind. Most urban water utilities do not fulfill the number 2) with the three new ones producing 8 l/s each. In
principle of cost recovery and self-reliance, which has addition, there are 36 public stand pipes in the different parts of the
undermined the interests of the external borrowers. On town that supply water for those households that do not have
the other hand, contrary to its huge investment access to piped connections (DTWSSE, 2016).
requirement of urban water supply, the flow of funds has
remained very low (Ministry of Finance and Economic Data source and method of data collection
Development - MoFED, 2007). Estimate reveals that
about 52% of the population in Ethiopia traveled half an The survey utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods to
hour or more to collect water every day (Central explain concepts and measures to demonstrate implications of the
issue under question. Primary data was collected from respondents
Statistical Agency - CSA, 2006). This long travel distance using questionnaires and personal field observation was employed
to the nearest water source directly affects women and to supplement respondents’ response. Secondary data was
children who are mainly responsible for fetching water. collected from related literatures. Structured and semi structured
Most girls and children find it too difficult to attend and questionnaire were prepared for the survey. The questionnaire
succeed in school because a considerable amount of included an introductory part, questions on the characteristics of the
respondents, water sources and accessibility, potable water
their time is used for domestic chores including fetching
coverage and water supply satisfaction. Data collection was
water. This has an implication on the productivity of undertaken by both the researcher and enumerators.
women.
According to the report of Ministry of Health and Water
and Energy, access to safe drinking water increased from Sample size and sampling method
23.1% in 1998 to 68.5% in 2012. However, millions of In order to determine the sample size that represents the
people in urban and rural areas have not been getting population, a mathematical formula suggested by Fink and
safe drinking water from an improved water source. In the Kosecoff (1995) was employed as presented:
case of Southern Nation, Nationalities and Peoples’
Regional State (SNNPRS), clean water supply access in (1)
terms of coverage has reached 53.9% (BoWRD, 2008).
According to Edward (2010), major problems of water Where N = Sample size;
Z = 95% confidence level corresponds to the value 1.96;
supply in urban centers of Ethiopia include low production
p = 0.61 (the 2015 water supply coverage of the town);
levels, inadequate distribution systems and leakages in q = 1-p;
many areas. d = proportion of sampling error tolerated at 0.07.
The administrative center of Gedeo zone, Dilla town, is
growing rapidly in recent years as a result of increased Therefore, 187 households were taken as sample respondents.
Since the town is classified into three sub cities, sample households
trade and being a major transit center, main passage of were randomly selected from the three sub-cites purposively based
goods from Kenya. On the other hand, the provision of on their population number.
urban water is clearly observed as a critical challenge in
the town. Therefore, these conditions necessitated a
Data analysis and presentation
research work in order to assess the existing water
supply and demand status of the town. Qualitative data was analyzed and presented through description,
272 Int. J. Water Res. Environ. Eng.

Figure 1. Location of the study area.

narration and interpretation of the situations contextually. Whereas Table 1. Sample households’ characteristics.
quantitative data were analyzed and presented using tables,
frequency and percentages were used to give clear understanding Item category Variables Frequency Percent
of the issue quantitatively. The computer software applications
SPSS (Statistical Program for Social Science) and Micro soft Excel Female 112 60
Sex
were used to analyze the data. Male 75 40

20-30 33 18
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Age 31-40 58 31
>41 96 51
Characteristics of survey respondents
Married 128 68
As depicted in Table 1, out of 187 interviewed sample
Marital status Divorced 4 2
households, 60% were female and the rest are male. The
Unmarried 55 29
age range distribution of the respondents showed that
18% of them were in 20 to 30 age groups, 31% were in
31 to 40 age groups and the remaining were above 41. Literate/formal 142 76
With regards to marital status, 68% were married, 2% Educational level Illiterate 3 2
were divorced and the rest were unmarried. Concerning Informal 42 22
the educational level of the respondents, 2% were Source: Sample survey (2015).
illiterate, 76% had formal education and 22% had
informal education.

much a birthright as clean air) (Rao, 2002), while access

Status of drinking water supply to clean water can be considered one of the basic needs
and rights of a human being. The two main water sources
Water sources and accessibility of Dilla town are river and ground water. Legedara River
is diverted to a treatment plant and distributed to urban
Safe drinking water is the birthright of all humankind (as residents through a piped system. The non-piped system
 Debela and Muhye 273

Table 2. Water supply connection (Sample survey, 2015).

Description Variable Frequency Percent

Pipeline connection 92 49
Primary water source for the household Public tap 73 39
Water vendors 22 12

Up to 10 7 4
10-50 13 7
Distance from the water source to residence (m) 50-100 26 14
100-200 43 23
>200 97 52

<5 24 13
Average time spent to collect water (min) 5-30 73 39
>3 90 48

<20 125 67
How much water do you use on average per person per day in liter 20-30 56 30
30-50 6 3

includes rivers and hand dug wells. With regard to water plan. On the other hand, as per WHO (2008), the basic
accessibility, distance and time traveled to fetch water access of water is 20 L per capita per day within 100 m to
are considered. To most communities of Africa, long 1 km and the average time spent to collect water is 5 to
distance travel to fetch water is common. According to 30 min. More than 1 km of traveling distant in search of
World Health Organization (WHO, 2006), only 16% of water is said to be no access. Thus, majority of
people in sub Saharan Africa had access to drinking households did not have basic access of water for their
water through a household connection (an indoor tap or a domestic needs. It implies that water accessibility
tap in the yard). standards are not well exercised in the town.
Out of the total interviewed sample households, 49% Bartram and Howard (2003) underlined that adequate
obtained water from private tap connection regardless of and reliable water supply is critical for coping with every
its frequency, 39% used water from public tap and the day urban life. Poor access to potable water has negative
remaining got water from water venders. The survey impact on development. Challa (2011) also indicated that,
result revealed that majority of the respondents (52%) poor access to water supply and sanitation limits
travelled more than 200 m to collect water from public opportunities to escape poverty and exacerbates the
tap. Some of them (4%) reported distances up to 10 m, problems of vulnerable and marginalized groups. As
7% from 10 to 50 m, and 14% from 50 to 100 m while the depicted in Figure 2, the towns’ residences use donkey
remaining (23%) reported distances from 100 to 200 m carts and yellow plastic jars ‘Jerikans’ to fetch water from
from their residence. Similarly, majority of the long distances and some organizations and hotels also
respondents (48%) spent more than 30 min to collect use lorries to meet their water demand from public taps.
drinking water, 13% of them < 5 min, the rest 39% spent
from 5 to 30 min (Table 2). An estimate reveals that
about 52% of Ethiopian population traveled half an hour Potable water coverage
or more to collect water every day (CSA, 2006).
Regarding the per capita water requirement, majority The WHO/UNICEF JMP report of 2015 indicated that the
(67%) of the respondents reported that they use less than improved water coverage in Ethiopia was found to be 93
20 L of water per capita per day which is less than the and 49% in urban and rural areas, respectively. The
recommended standard. African Water Development country coverage of improved water source usage
Report (2006) estimated that to ensure the basic water reached 57%. On the other hand, 30% of the total
needs of humans, 20 to 50 L of water free from harmful Ethiopian citizens rely on unimproved drinking water
contaminants are needed every day. According to sources. In 2015, the potable water coverage of Dilla
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE) (2011), Town was reported to be 61% (DTWSSE, 2016). Water
basic access of water for urban dweller is 20 L per capita supply systems in urban areas are often unable to meet
per day within 0.5 km service radius in universal access existing demands and are not available to everyone,
274 Int. J. Water Res. Environ. Eng.

Figure 2. Fetching water from public taps (2015).

rather some consumers take disproportionate amounts of Some of the respondents also reported that due to
water and the poor is the first victim of the problem water shortage they incur additional costs and face health
(Bereket, 2006). problems like diarrhea as they are forced to use
The total numbers of potable water customers of Dilla alternative sources of water of poor quality. Hunter et al.
town are 7001 out of which 6596 are private customers (2010) reported that a poor water supply impacts human
and 19 and 194 are commercial and government health by causing diarrhea and non-diarrheal disease,
customers, respectively. There are two jails in the town. limiting productivity and the maintenance of personal
As reported by the key informant, there is chronic water hygiene.
shortage in the jail and as a result they complement their According to WHO and UNICEF (2013), there is a
water need from ground and river water. As depicted in considerable funding gap to achieve full coverage; hence,
Table 3, the piped water coverage increment is very more has to be invested in developing sector capacity
small as compared to the population growth. As reported through strengthening institutional structures especially at
by DTWSSE, financial constraint and poor management regional, district and community levels. Based on
of the existing water supply are the main challenges for Schuster-Wallace et al. (2008), water has suffered from
the low coverage of the water supply. severe under financing. This result from inadequate
 Debela and Muhye 275

Table 3. Dilla town 5 years water coverage.

Description 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Total population 73,361 78,360 82,127 86,071 91,029
Population served with potable water 22,505 25,005 27,505 30,505 32,505
Potable water coverage (%) 30.7 31.9 33.5 35.44 35.7
Source: DTAPA and DTWSSE (2016).

Table 4. Drinking water supply service situation.

Items Variables Frequency Percent

Yes 7 4
Are you satisfied in the current water supply of the town?
No 180 96

Once in 1-2 days 6 3

Once in 3-4 days 22 12
How often do you get water for your consumption? Once in 4-5 days 26 14
Once in a week 60 32
More than 1 week 73 39

Yes 13 7
Is there fair water distribution.
No 174 93
Source: Field Survey (2015).

internal financial capacity in the poor countries to achieve developing countries. This survey result showed that
water goals, poor political decisions for allocation of out of the total respondents, about 96% are dissatisfied
development aid, an overall reduction over time in with the current service due to frequent interruption and
development aid, and the limited cost recovery potential unfair distribution of water whereas the rest reported that
in poverty stricken regions. they are satisfied with the services. Of the total
Evidence from empirical research (Vasquez et al., interviewed respondents, 39% obtained tap water once a
2009) indicates that improved water supply schemes in week. In some cases, the water may not be available for
many developing countries are not functioning properly. two weeks and even more (Table 4). The interruption is
There have been similar studies carried out in some of attributed to malfunction of submersible pumps and
Ethiopian towns. Generally, the studies revealed that the power supply interruption. While expanding improved
water demand is more than the supply. For instance, water source schemes is generally essential, it is equally
Tizazu (2012) at Yirgalem town showed that, water important to ensure that the schemes have increased
supply service could not meet water demands of the town users’ satisfaction with water quality and availability for
with existing capacity. Challa (2011) and Reda (2012) everyday use (UNICEF, 2010). The majority of the
reported that there is low water coverage and frequent sample households replied that the water distribution is
interruption. To expand water supply to urban areas, unfair and variable. As reported by respondents, some
implementing proper demand management strategies is area may be served water frequently while other areas
required. Pertinent information on the residential water stay without water service at all. Consequently, the town
demand of households is necessary to properly assess water supply service enterprise should devise a
the factors that affect residential water demand (Arbués mechanism so as to minimize the inequitable distribution
et al., 2003). of water among the residents of the town.

Water supply satisfaction Conclusions

Most countries give first priority to satisfaction of basic This study has attempted to examine the water supply
human needs for water. The service deficiencies primarily and demand scenario of Dilla Town. The water demand
affect the poorest segments of the population in of the town is increasing due to urbanization and
276 Int. J. Water Res. Environ. Eng.

population growth. The survey revealed that the town Demelash W (2010). Characterization and Classification of the Soils of
Upper Sala Watershed in Dilla Zuria District of Gedeo Zone,
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Southern Ethiopia. MSc Thesis, Haramaya University, Haramaya,
Long age of the system, electric power supply problem, Ethiopia.
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malfunction of submersible pumps are the basic Using the Stone-Geary Functional Form: The case of Sri Lanka.
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