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Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia and one of the largest cities of Africa, is located at
the edge of the East Africa Rift Valley. Since its establishment 130 years ago, the city has
grown from a sparse and scattered settlement to 530 km
2
(Alemayehu 2005).
Ayenew, T. and Belliethathan, S.
URBANISATIONANDWATER
POLLUTIONINADDISABABA
Samuel. With the exception of Aba Samuel, all reservoirs supply
domestic and industrial water. The Aba Samuel Reservoir was
constructed in the late 1930s for electricity generation, and today
some of the municipal and industrial effluents are discharged
into this reservoir (EPA 2005).
The city is also dependent on groundwater, supplied through
springs, and shallow and deep wells. Most of the springs are
found at the foot of the northern Intoto mountain range. The
Akaki well located close to Aba Samuel Dam is a major water
supplier for the city.
During its first fifty years, Addis Ababa was supplied by the
Intoto springs. Due to increasing water demand a water
treatment plant was built in 1938 at the foot of Intoto Ridge,
and in 1944 the Gefersa Dam was built (Semie 1998). In 1970,
the Legedadi Dam and treatment plant were commissioned.
This was followed by the development of groundwater sources,
as well as the construction of the Dire Dam.
The demand for potable water was estimated at 204 000 m
3
/d
in 1994, and this was projected to increase to 431 000 m
3
/d and
1.1 million m
3
/d in 2006 and 2020, respectively (Semie 1998).
Currently the demand for water in the city exceeds supply. And
the current water supply coverage is 70 per cent (AAWSA 2011
personal communication).
Addis Ababa’s sanitation coverage is low, with 13 per cent of the
city’s population using flash toilets, 57 per cent using pit latrines
and 30 per cent having no sanitation facilities at all (AAEPA 1999).
Asosa
Jima
Metu
Gambéla
Negélé
Kibre Mengist
Debra
Birhan
Debre
Mark’os
Gonder
Maych’ew
Weldiya
Nek’emté
Mek’elé
Awasa Goba
Degeh Bur
Jijiga
Diré
Dawa
K’ebrí
Dehar
Imí
Árba Minch’
Áksum
Godé
Desé
Addis
Ababa
SUDAN
UGANDA
KENYA
SOMALIA
ERITREA
DJIBOUTI
YEMEN
In the last 50 years, the population of Addis Ababa has grown
from 100 000 to 2.7 million in 2007 (Central Statistics
Authority 2007), and to 3.5 million inhabitants in 2010 (UN-
HABITAT 2010). Due to the growing population, the city
is facing challenges in providing its residents with enough
freshwater and sanitation services.
WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION
AddisAbaba is locatedwithin theAkaki River Basin, which covers
an area of 11 454 km
2
(Ebba 2006). There are four artificial water
reservoirs in the basin, namely Legedadi, Gefersa, Dire and Aba