Modelling of Urban Water Demand Assessment and Existing Supply System: Case of Awaday Town

Abstract

The study area, Awaday Town, does not have its own water sources rather the town gets water for drinking from Harar water supply. Harar water supply allocates one borole for Awaday town on top of this, fast population growth and establishment of different public centres are putting more pressure on water supply and causing major water shortages in the town. This research is thefore, focused on modelling urban water demand assessment and existing water supply in Awaday town. Specifically it aims to analyze the existing water distribution system ,estimating current and future water demand and supply as well as water sources.A sampling procedure with purposive sampling method was used to identify out of two kebeles those who have high number of house connection and critical difference in topography four administration unit were selected purposively, and the survey was carried out with 111 household. using simple random sampling were no significant differences within the house hold as long as their mode of water consumption is considered while for the water demand assessment Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model was used. WEAP modelling that aided to evaluate water resources management options for Awaday town. As a result indicated that access to the water supply ware an irregulaway. So that most of the respondent households were not satisfied by the service provided in town. Well water is the major source as the potable water supply is frequently irregular. Results show that the actual demand-supply situation is unbalanced and the deficit percentage estimated 38%. Using the WEAP model the current and future water supply demand assessed along with an evaluation of future scenarios. The water supply demand in the current account year 2016 is 440022 cubic meters while this demand in the future grows to 16376256 million cubic meters in the year 2036; which corresponds to 26.8% increment. The per capita water availability will decrease approximately 28.9 l/c-d by the end of the year 2036 if the available water remains unchanged this due to climate change. The results show that the unmet water demand will continue to increase over the coming years. This is mainly due to the increase in population with limited water resources. Therefore, securing additional water supplies, the option of using stormwater harvesting becomes an essential issue to meet the increase in water demand. Development of additional groundwater wells is a preferable to address the water supply problem in the town in the `period indicated.