Town Water Research Articles

Users’ Satisfaction with Domestic Water Supply in Nepal – A Study in Lekhnath Small Town Water Supply and Sanitation Project

Water Supply and Sanitation has been a priority of Government of Nepal. Various types of urban and rural water supply and sanitation projects are now being implemented within the Government, private and NGO sectors. The normal practice of measurement of satisfaction by service providers is to measure consumers’ satisfaction on past performance. The survey design could vary from survey questions to unstructured interviews and everything in between using comparative and non-comparative scales. In comparative scaling, the respondents are asked to compare one product against the other while non-comparative scaling is used to evaluate a single product. In this study, Likert Scales is used in this study for measurement of customer satisfaction on water supply. The higher level of satisfaction with water supply is expected to be positively related to several factors such as satisfaction with water quality, and other parameters such as hours and timings of water supply, tap pressure, quantity of water supplied, responsiveness and communication of management and water tariff. The respondents’ level of satisfaction indicates that about 41 percent of respondents were neutral, they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with water services, while about 36 percent of respondents were satisfied with water services. The satisfaction scale of overall satisfaction with water services was 3.29 while 1.0 indicates strongly not satisfied while 5.0 indicate strongly satisfied. The various aspects that influence satisfaction among users which include hours and timings of water supply, tap pressure, quantity of water supplied, responsiveness and communication of management and water tariff as well as redresses of customer complaints have been examined. This study focused on the users’ satisfaction of Lekhnath small town water supply and sanitation project and the study was undertaken to analyze the current users’ satisfaction of the Lekhnath small town water supply and sanitation project. The result showed that the satisfaction level of users’ is above neutral but these were not in satisfying level. The characteristics/aspects of the service that contributed to users’ satisfaction including hours and timing, pressure, quantity and quality of water while there was slightly less satisfaction with regard to complaints about water supply.

Framing the End: Analyzing Media and Meaning Making During Cape Town's Day Zero

In this paper, we analyze public discourses in 2018 about water-scarce Cape Town, SA. We investigated the discursive implications of apocalyptic rhetoric such as “Day Zero” by analyzing local and international news media talk (n = 111 newspaper articles) surrounding the Cape Town water crisis during pre-, height of, and post-crisis moments, complemented by 12 narrative problem-centered interviews in the height of the water crisis. The analysis led to a focus on the relationship between environmental and communicative developments with a high local impact, and mainly on examples of local engagement, social movements, or resistance as response to changing environmental scenarios and the evaluation of the role of (news) media in raising community concern and commitment. The findings show that the communication around the (twice-postponed) “Day Zero” in Cape Town is a very fruitful example of the digital disrupted, post-truth communication that happens with environmental issues today.

Point prevalence mapping reveals hotspot for onchocerciasis transmission in the Ndikinimeki Health District, Centre Region, Cameroon

BackgroundIvermectin-based preventive chemotherapy (PC) is distributed annually to all at-risk populations eligible for ivermectin treatment to control and/or eliminate onchocerciasis. Information on the impact of mass ivermectin administration on onchocerciasis transmission is scanty, and it is tricky to appreciate the progress towards elimination and engage corrective measures. To fill that gap in the Centre Region in Cameroon, the current onchocerciasis endemicity level in the Ndikinimeki Health District after about two decades of mass treatments was assessed.MethodsA cluster-based cross-sectional survey was carried out in the Ndikinimeki Health District and all volunteers aged ≥ 5 years were (i) interviewed on their compliance to ivermectin over the past five years and (ii) underwent clinical (nodule palpation and visual search for onchocercal lesions) and parasitological examinations (skin snip) for onchocerciasis.ResultsThe overall Onchocerca volvulus prevalence was 7.0% (95% CI: 5.2–9.3%). The prevalence of the disease was significantly higher in the communities Kiboum 1 and Kiboum 2 compared to the other communities (highest prevalence in Makénéné Town Water: 8.5%; 95% CI: 2.3–20.4%) (χ2 = 51.314, df = 11, P = 0.0001). The proportion of systematic non-compliers to ivermectin was 23.3% (95% CI: 19.9–27.1%) among individuals interviewed. In the sentinel sites (Kiboum communities), onchocerciasis prevalence decreased from 95.2% (95% CI: 88.3–98.1%) to 23.7% (95% CI: 14.7–36.0%).ConclusionsThis study has revealed that the Ndikinimeki Health District is hypo-endemic for onchocerciasis after about two decades of preventive chemotherapy. However, transmission is ongoing, with potential hotspots in the Kiboum 1 and Kiboum 2 communities, which are known as first-line communities (closest to the breeding sites of the vector). Alternative or complementary strategies to annual ivermectin appear compulsory to accelerate the momentum towards onchocerciasis elimination.

Financial Impact Assessment of Time Overrun: A Case of Second Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project, Nepal

Government of Nepal is implementing many water-supply projects through its regular and through many projects. Small Town water Supply Project is one of the major projects in water supply implemented by GoN in support of ADB. Second Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project (STWSSSP) project is based on cost recovery principle. The study is focused to find out factors, magnitude, cost and the way time and cost overrun decreasing the profitabilityfinancially. All 21 sub projects are selected for study. The secondary data especially the requests by the Contractors, recommendations by Consultants and grants by Clients are used for the analysis of time and cost overrun. The financial evaluation of two projects is conducted after time and cost overrun to show the impacts of time and cost overrun in the profitability of the projects. The average time overrun of the overall projects are found 15.83 months with average time overrun of 11.58 months in Terai (plain land) located projects and 20.94 months in Hilly located projects. The sector project is found 10.68% increment in cost after variation with 9.33% in Terai located projects and 12.48% in Hill located projects. Financial profitability of the projects was found decreased due to time and cost overrun. The research concludes that project like SSTWSSSP which are based on the principle of cost recovery has significant impacts due to time and cost overrun. Because loan payment becomes delayed as tariff is only collected after completion of the project. It is therefore an equal role of Client, Consultants, Contractors and important stakeholders to foresee the probable factors of time and cost overrun and focus to reduce them

Groundwater Management under Indian Legal Framework

Groundwater resources has now attained the status of being an important element of maintaining a standard livelihood for the citizens of a Nation. In India, there has been found significant decrease in the existing amount of groundwater available and it is expected that in the near future many major cities of the country will get wiped out from having groundwater accessibility. But whatever has been lost can be revived if systematically utilized the existing groundwater resources in a planned manner which we can learn from the aftermath of Cape town water crisis. However, for achieving such systematic management of groundwater resources on the principle of sustainable utilization, laws have a major role to play. This makes studying the legal framework governing such management utmost important. This paper therefore analyses the Indian legal framework whereby several issues were highlighted along with the need for nationalizing ownership over groundwater resources.

Challenges of Groundwater Development for Towns and Big Cities Water Supply in Rift Valley Areas

The experiences of the last 30 years developed an understanding in the Addis Ababa Water Utility that groundwater sources are not fully dependable for such a big city. Notwithstanding this, additional wells and well-fields are being developed especially in the last 10 years to meet the ever increasing demand. The Akaki well-field was initially designed for an abstraction rate of up to 35,000 m3/day for 20 years until 2020 though the current abstraction rate is nearly ten-fold. The current developments are only demand driven irrespective of safe and sustainable utilization. What is making things worse is the rise of other water competing demands for irrigation projects in adjacent well-fields. The present water supply coverage of the Addis Ababa city is not more than 50%. The situation in other urban centers in the Upper Awash basin is not different. Conceptual modelling, time series well water level measurements and operational assessments showed that the aquifer systems are not uniform and dotted with many volcanic flow barriers; there is sharp decline of water table (up to 70 meters since 2000) in some well-fields and the decline is propagating upstream of the Akaki well-field. Moreover, the excessive and uncontrolled pumping is impacting regional groundwater table. Topographic and technical issues are hampering upstream water distribution, and the once exemplary hundreds of wells are now abandoned. The frequent tapping of thermal and high fluoride water is another complication. Unless proper intervention is devised, grave environmental problems are likely to come in the near future.

Cultural Values, Deep Mining Operations and the Use of Surplus Groundwater for Towns, Landscapes and Jobs

Trade-offs involving land use change, cultural values, water resources and jobs are critically important to understand the opportunity cost of resource extraction. Stated preference techniques can be particularly useful in eliciting the non-market values expressed as trade-offs. This study assesses preferences over the management of groundwater released from deep mining operations in Western Australia. A discrete choice experiment is used to investigate the trade-offs Australians are prepared to make for remote economic, ecological and cultural goods against costs. The results suggest that there is heterogeneity of preferences as indicated by a three-class structure of a latent class model. One class supports the use of released groundwater across a range of economic, ecological and cultural uses modelled: extending town water supply, restoring rangeland habitat, creating jobs for Aboriginal Australians and preserving cultural waterholes. The smallest class supports all these uses except job creation and the final class only supports preserving cultural waterholes. These results illustrate public attitudes towards cultural values as well as wider environmental policy tensions between instrumental and intrinsic values.

Impacts of Exclusion From Municipal Water Service on Water Availability: A Case Study.

Bordering the wealthy town of Apex, North Carolina, is a majority African-American neighborhood, Irongate Drive, without town water service, relying on private wells. Residents have long sought access to town water as their wells are running dry, but problems have not been systematically documented. Using a comprehensive survey and qualitative interviews, this study assesses the frequency of water shortages, uncovers the effects on daily lives, and reports on water source preferences. Surveys showed 80 percent of households experience water scarcity. Respondents reported not having enough water to flush toilets, shower, wash hands, or do laundry. Annual well maintenance costs averaged $1405; additional costs included dealing with water shortage and buying additional items to cope. More than 75 percent actively seek municipal water, and none oppose it. These results could inform assessments of impacts of water access disparities in similar peri-urban minority communities nationwide that remain excluded from nearby municipal services.

Does community-wide water chlorination reduce hepatitis E virus infections during an outbreak? A geospatial analysis of data from an outbreak in Am Timan, Chad (2016-2017).

Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) genotype 1 and 2 infect an estimated 20 million people each year, via the faecal-oral transmission route. An urban outbreak of HEV occurred in Am Timan, Chad, between September 2016 and April 2017. As part of the outbreak response, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Ministry of Health implemented water and hygiene interventions, including the chlorination of town water sources. We aimed to understand whether these water treatment activities had any impact on the number of HEV infections, using geospatial analysis of epidemiological and water treatment monitoring data. By conducting cluster analysis we investigated whether there were areas of particularly high and low infection risk during the outbreak and explored the reasons for this. We observed two high-risk spatial clusters of suspected cases and one high-risk cluster of confirmed cases. Our main finding was that confirmed HEV cases had a higher median number of days of exposure to unsafe water compared to suspected and non-confirmed cases (Kruskal-Wallis Chi Square: 15.5; p < 0.001). Our study confirms the mixed, but shifting, transmission routes during this outbreak. It also highlights the spatial and temporal analytical methods, which can be employed in future outbreaks to improve understanding of HEV transmission.

Scenarios analysis using water-sensitive urban design principles: a case study of the Cape Flats Aquifer in South Africa

A feasibility assessment was undertaken on the application of water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) for the Cape Flats Aquifer in Cape Town, South Africa, at the local scale. The study contributes towards the planning of water-sensitive cities in the future. A three-dimensional steady-state groundwater flow model was applied to the Cape Flats Aquifer to predict WSUD scenarios by incorporating managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Analysis of the scenarios of varying recharge estimates and groundwater abstraction rates, predicted using the model, indicated that the water-table distribution and outflows from identified groundwater balance components show direct proportionality to the varying recharge scenarios. A notable increase in these outflows was observed when the recharge rate was increased by 50%. Varying groundwater abstraction scenarios indicated that with increasing abstraction rates, water levels and outflows from groundwater balance components also decreased accordingly. A notable decline in water levels and outflows was established at an abstraction rate of 2.5 and 5 L/s, respectively. Similar to the previous regional studies in the area, the results from the predicted scenarios show that there is a potential for applying WSUD, particularly MAR, at site-specific scale within the Cape Flats Aquifer. However, shallow groundwater levels during wet seasons limit the opportunities for application of WSUD in the area. This finding would provide an important reference to the ongoing debate on the Cape Town water crisis and similar environmental conditions where WSUD is considered.

Landfill Waste Fire Effects Over Town Areas Under Rainwaters

Identifying a dark brown color of the rainwater deposited on the streets after a landfill waste fire, the color persisting few months after the fire, an analysis of water samples collected from the streets after rainfall reveled characteristic compounds as for those resulted from urban waste combustion. A simulation of burning waste materials specific to be thrown on the landfill was conducted in the laboratory and the resulting ashes have been analyzed and compared with the dry material obtained from the rain waters collected. FTIR spectra of the two samples proved noticeable similarity among them, evidencing very toxic components, both organic and inorganic, among which dioxins and furans, sulfonic compounds, imines, imides, aromatic and aliphatic nitro and nitroso compounds, HCN and HNO3. Significant fluorescence intensity was determined for the rainwaters using LIF method and peaks specific to dioxin fluorophores were obtained in the resulted spectrum. Therefore, persistent pollution generated by garbage dumps fires is proven herein to affect both air and soil with the possibility to also contaminate town water supply, raising a major threat for human’s health, as well as for vegetation and all livings.

Independent water pricing of small town water systems in Ghana

This paper explored water pricing of small town water systems in Ghana and how households adapt to changes in pricing. Data were collected from four small towns in the Upper West Region through household survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The results of the study showed that small town water systems are semi-autonomous in determining water tariffs. As a result, water tariffs vary among systems although the processes involved in setting tariffs were the same. Tariffs for domestic water use were generally low compared to commercial use. Despite high poverty levels in small towns compared to urban centres, water tariffs in the former were lower than in the latter. It also emerged that most households did not have knowledge on how tariffs were computed. Households without on-premises connections spend 166% higher on water than households with on-premises connections. The empirical analysis shows that unregulated water vending makes households without connection to pay higher tariffs for water. The paper among others recommends that tariffs at which vendors should sell water to customers should be set and closely monitored in order to ensure that households without connections have access to water at reasonable tariffs.

Day Zero and The Infrastructures of Climate Change: Water Governance, Inequality, and Infrastructural Politics in Cape Town's Water Crisis

AbstractFrom 2015 to 2018, Cape Town, South Africa, was marked by fears of a water crisis in which the city's taps threatened to run dry. We argue in this article that Cape Town's crisis of water scarcity was a product of the convergence of ongoing contradictions in South African water governance as they came into contact with shifting infrastructural priorities associated with climate change. In its response to the possibility of a financial crisis brought on by reduced water consumption, the city withdrew the universal provision of free basic water (FBW) and reconfigured existing tariff structures. Both changes meant that the city moved further into commercialization and valuation practices in the context of restricted monetary flows. Based on an understanding of contemporary governance in South Africa as reflective of an often contradictory need to balance municipal budgets while also correcting for apartheid inequities, we argue that ongoing experiences of climate change are stretching existing municipal budgets in ways that threaten to deepen existing inequalities. Ultimately, we suggest that Cape Town's crisis is critical for understanding how climate change is reconfiguring existing governance dynamics at a planetary scale, thus offering insights into what form urban climate change adaptation may take in the future.

Influence of Antibiotics on the Denitrification Process of Antibiotic Resistant Denitrifying Bacteria and the Analysis of Microbial Community Structure

The removal rate of some antibiotics in urban sewage by conventional treatment is low, which leads to an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria in natural water environments. To reduce the ecological harm of antibiotics to the water in towns, a risk control technique for degradation of microantibiotics by the co-metabolism of antibiotic resistant denitrifying bacteria was proposed. Using sodium acetate as an electron donor and maintaining the concentration of ofloxacin (OFLX) at 1 μg·g-1, gradually increasing the dominant growth of antibiotic degradation bacteria, denitrifying bacteria (DnB1), trace antibiotics and sodium acetate, and denitrifying bacteria (DnB2) with the presence of sodium acetate and nitrogen elements were cultured. The degradation effect of antibiotics through denitrification and the effects of antibiotics on denitrification of resistant denitrifying bacteria and the changes to the microbial community were investigated. The results showed that DnB2 had a significant degradation effect on OFLX compared to DnB1. The degradation to OFLX by DnB1 and DnB2 was 0.31 μg·g-1 and 16.14 μg·g-1, respectively. Increased OFLX concentration inhibited DnB1 denitrification activity in the short term. The denitrification process of DnB2 was less affected by OFLX. At the same time, high-throughput sequencing using the Illumina MiSeq platform was used. Based on the operational taxonomic unit information formed by the clustering of sequencing results, the diversity of each sample was compared and analyzed. The research results show that the relative abundance and diversity of the microbial community of DnB1 are higher than those of DnB2.

State of groundwater resource: relationship between its depth and sewage contamination in Leh town of Union Territory of Ladakh

Groundwater as a resource of wide-spectrum use, especially in the tourism sector, has evolved as the prime most source of water in Leh town in recent years. Unfortunately, the regulation on groundwater use and monitoring as well as scientific management of this resource is almost zero so the resource is over-exploited as well as ill managed. The skewed balance of technology required versus that already available in order to manage this fast urbanizing town is massive, and the place is already showing initial signs of management issues of waste, traffic, air and water pollution. The town is in dire need of innovative and cost-effective solutions for keeping alive its environmental sustainability quotient as it is undergoing a paradigm shift from an agricultural society into a class III urban agglomeration as per Indian Census. In the absence of constant monitoring of this resource, there is a wide data gap related with groundwater resources in Leh town, and so it is very difficult to derive an exact estimation of the water table all over the town. This paper thus gives an elaborate description of the status of groundwater resources in Leh town in dearth of baseline data. Further the risks posed by various factors which are threatening the proper management of this resource are mentioned, and the way forward for sustainable management of Leh town keeping groundwater as a focal point is rightly covered.

Effects of valley reshaping and damming on surface and groundwater nitrate on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Remote rural areas, which are generally the source regions for drinking water in small towns in China, experience nitrate pollution due to intensive agricultural activities. However, little is known about the nitrate sources of these waterbodies and how human activities affect the water quality in these rural areas. Here, a pair of rural watersheds on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) were selected for study. One of the watersheds, which provides drinking water for local villages and a nearby small town, has experienced valley reshaping, damming and agricultural land consolidation, whereas the other one was not affected by human activities. Water chemistry monitoring and environmental isotope analysis were combined to identify the nitrate sources of the surface and groundwater in the dammed and natural watersheds and to assess the effects of landform transformation and agricultural and living activities on water quality. The results demonstrated that nitrate concentrations in both watersheds were lower than 10 mg L−1. However, the seasonal nitrate contents in the surface (0.42–0.52 mg L−1) and groundwater (1.86–3.65 mg L−1) of the dammed watershed were significantly lower than those of the natural watershed (surface water: 0.92–2.07 mg L−1; groundwater: 2.73–8.21 mg L−1). Isotope analysis demonstrated that nitrate fertilizer, soil ammonium, and manure and septic waste were the main sources of nitrate in the surface water of the two watersheds, while the nitrate in the groundwater mainly originated from the nitrification of soil ammonium and manure and septic waste. Compared to the natural watershed, the dammed watershed had increased inputs of agricultural fertilizers in the surface water. However, there was no significant difference in the groundwater nitrate sources between the two watersheds. The results also demonstrated that denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) probably occurred in the groundwater during the wet season, while nitrification likely occurred during the dry and snowmelt seasons. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) showed that there were strong interactions between the surface runoff and the reservoir water in the dammed watershed, while in the natural watershed, streamflow had a close relationship with the groundwater. We concluded that valley reshaping, damming and agricultural land consolidation increased the nitrate input from mineral fertilizers in the watershed, but decreased the nitrate concentrations in the surface water through changing the transformation and transportation processes of nitrate. However, these activities had little influence on the groundwater, while the time lag between land consolidation and the groundwater quality response should be considered in the future. This study aids in developing strategies for the comprehensive management of watershed and drinking water sources in rural regions.

Water Safety Planning and Implementation in a Ghanaian Small-scale Water Supply System

This study looked at the Assin Fosu Small Town Water Supply System in Ghana to verify whether the operation of the scheme is based on a comprehensive water safety plan and how the practice of water safety planning affects the quality of water delivered to the consumers. The study employed document reviews, structured observations, interviews and laboratory analysis of water samples. System design data files and an Operation and Management Contract document were reviewed along with in-depth interviews with key stakeholders of the water supply system. Structured observations were made to assess the management practices of the system managers. Three rounds of sampling of water were done at monthly intervals from 10 randomly selected public standpipes, 3 boreholes and 2 filtration units. Samples were analysed to assess their bacteriological safety and aesthetic (physical) quality (turbidity and colour). Upon detection of bacteriological contamination, the adequacy of disinfection was assessed by measuring the levels of residual chlorine. It was found that the recommended schedule for some key documented water&#x0D; quality control and monitoring activities were not complied with. Consequently, the quality of water delivered to consumers at several public standpipes failed to meet the WHO guidelines for drinking water. Forty percent (40%) of all samples were found with faecal contamination, with 60% and 50% exceeding the WHO’s guideline levels for turbidity and colour respectively. It is recommended that the Community Water and Sanitation Agency in Ghana intensifies on-going efforts at ensuring that small-scale water supply systems in the country are managed with comprehensive water safety plans to prevent microbial contamination which could pose significant health risks to the consumers.

Analysis of Land Use in Jining City

Jining City is a typical area with complex and diverse landforms, developed water systems and rich mineral resources. Research on its land use changes will be of great significance in terms of sustainable development and ecological protection. This paper is based on the four LANDSAT remote sensing image data in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015, using RS, GIS, mathematical statistics and other methods, mainly analyze the land use of Jining City from 2000 to 2015 from three aspects: land use structure, land use characteristics and problems, land use area and structure changes. The results show that: (1) Jining City has the largest area of dry land, which is widely distributed in various regions; followed by construction land, water, grass, woodland, paddy field, and unutilized land. (2) The land use characteristics of Jining City are: high arable land rate, high land utilization rate, large proportion of water area, abundant surface water resources, and obvious regional differences in land use; the problems are that the land use structure is unreasonable, per capita land resources are few, and the contradiction between people and land has become increasingly prominent. (3) On the whole, land use changes in Jining City are relatively complex. The town house area has been showing an increasing trend; the grass area has shown a continuous decreasing trend; the fluctuations of dry land, paddy field, woodland, house-site in the countryside, water, and unutilized land area fluctuations are obvious. During the 15 years from 2000 to 2015, the largest change in the land use structure of Jining City was town house, followed by paddy field, house-site in the countryside, dry land, grass, woodland, unutilized land, and water. The area of town house, dry land, forest land, and water has increased, while the area of paddy field, house-site in the countryside, grass, and unutilized land has decreased.

ОЦЕНКА УРОВНЯ ЗАГРЯЗНЕНИЯ ТЯЖЕЛЫМИ МЕТАЛЛАМИ ДОННЫХ ОТЛОЖЕНИЙ РЕК ВОСТОЧНОГО ДОНБАССА (РОСТОВСКАЯ ОБЛАСТЬ, РОССИЯ)

Introduction. River bottom sediments are a significant link in the biogeochemical cycles of water bodies and an accumulator of pollutants. The purpose of this study is to assess the level of heavy metal pollution of river sediments within the coal-mining areas of the East Donbass (Rostov Region, Russian Federation) to assess the potential risk for the population using surface water as a source of water supply. Methods. It is suggested to use the pelitic fraction for a more accurate assessment of the heavy metal pollution level of river sediments. It is proposed to use the average continental shale concentration as a baseline value for the pelitic fraction. Contamination factor (Cf), degree of contamination (Cd) and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) were used to assess the degree of heavy metal pollution of the bottom sediments in the East Donbass rivers. Results. Studies of the chemical composition and the level of bottom sediments pollution in the East Donbass rivers showed that the concentration values of heavy metals vary greatly. Assessing the degree of heavy metal pollution of the river sediments in the East Donbass allows us to classify them mainly as moderately contaminated (uncontaminated to moderately contaminated). At the same time, the level of river sediments pollution in the Seversky Donets basin is generally lower than that in the Tuzlov basin. Conclusion. The results will be used to improve the system for assessing water and bottom sediments quality in the region as well as evaluate the environmental risk to public health. Although the results showed a moderate level of heavy metal contamination of the East Donbass rivers sediments, the potential hazard of secondary pollution of the aquatic environment with metals deposited in sediments remains. Pollution of water and river bottom sediments is directly linked to the potential risk to public health because these rivers are used as sources of drinking water for towns and countryside.

Modeling of Water Distribution System for Reducing of Leakage

Water loss is a common phenomenon observed in all water distribution systems. The process of water loss reduction is a basic part to increase the performance of a water supply system. The means presented in this study is aimed at evaluating water distribution pressure for the minimizing leakages in Dilla town water supply system network. Water CAD software was used to evaluate water distribution system, fixed pressure reducing valves (PRV) were installed at the most effective set of water distribution systems to reduced pressure as well as leakage quantities of water. An average water distribution pressure in the existing water distribution system was 58 m. Then, after the pressure reduced by pressure reducing valves (PRVs) average pressure dropped to 44 m, therefore, leakage in average reduced by 24%. The study concluded that the application of PRVs in the water distribution system as a promising solution for leakage minimization by reducing pressure in the water distribution networks, such as Dilla town.