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The first centralized sewage collection system in Addis Ababa
was established in the 1960s and was designed for the collection
and conveyance of wastewater to a treatment plant located in
Kaliti. With a capacity of 7 500 m
3
/day, the Kaliti system was
designed to serve only 200 000 inhabitants. When operating at
full capacity, the wastewater treatment plant serves less than 10
per cent of the residential areas connected to the system (EPA
2005). The second wastewater treatment plant was established at
Kotebe, and has a capacity of 30 000m
3
/day (EPA 2005), enough
to serve 800 000 residents. The homes that are not connected
to the wastewater treatment plant dispose waste into the city’s
storm-water drainage system (van Rooijen and Taddesse 2009).
WATER POLLUTION
The seasonal and perennial rivers and groundwater reserves of
Addis Ababa are polluted by industrial and municipal solid and
liquid wastes. The polluted river water is used by downstream
residents to grow vegetables, which are sold and consumed by
inhabitants of the city.
The city’s rivers are contaminated with different organic and
inorganic pollutants. The shallow groundwater and springs are
also contaminated (Tale 2000, Alemayehu and others 2005,
EPA 2005).
Solid waste that is generated is often disposed of in open spaces,
where it is washed by runoff during rains, and flows into rivers
and seeps into shallow groundwater.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
There are more than 2 500 industries in Addis Ababa, 90 per
cent of which lack onsite treatment facilities (AAEPA 2007,
unpublished report in Gebre and van Rooijen, 2009). These
industries discharge waste into nearby stream courses and open
ditches and the Akaki River is heavily polluted. A 1999 report
estimated the volume of wastewater discharged from industries
into the rivers at 4.8millionm
3
(Central Statistics Authority 1999).
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Despite generating large amounts of solid waste from
domestic activities, Addis Ababa does not have adequate waste
management facilities. As a result solid waste is often piled on
available open grounds, stream banks, and near bridges, where
it is washed off into rivers. According to SBPDA (2003), 65 per