TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND ASSESSMENT OF WATER SUPPLY COVERAGE: A CASE OF BESHENO RURAL TOWN, WERA DIJO WOREDA, HALABA ZONE, CENTERAL ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Drinking water is the most fundamental requirement for survival, every citizen of the country has the right to obtain it. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the technical analysis of water distribution system of Besheno rural town and assessment coverage of water supply. In this study, both secondary and primary data source were employed. Furthermore, to analyze the distribution system, a model was created using Water GEMS software. The analysis shows that the current total domestic water demand in town was 244.08 m 3 /day, the water supply coverage was 30 % and average per capital domestic water consumption was 12 l/c/day. Hence, this result indicates there is a gap between demand and supply. Using performance indicators including pressure, velocity, and head loss inside the water supply systems, the hydraulic efficiency of the supply system for water was assessed while the network of distribution was in operation. The result indicated that, 100% of the nodes are within acceptable range between (15m to 70m) for the existing distribution system of Besheno rural town. However, 64.74% of the nodes are within acceptable range between (15m to 70m), 25.81% of the nodes are above acceptable range (70m) and 6.45% of the nodes fall below acceptable range (15m) for the transmission mains and rural kebeles. According to the results of hydraulic performance analysis, 94% of the pipes in the research area have velocities below the recommended minimum velocity. 6% of the pipes within the current distribution system for water supply had velocities ranging from 0.6 m/s to 2 m/s. The head loss analysis shows that, 79% of the pipes are below the recommended minimum head loss range of 1m/km, and 15% are within the recommended head loss range (1 to 5m/km) and the rest of pipes, 5% head loss are above the recommend range. Generally, the result of the analysis showed that, the overall hydraulic performance of water distribution of the town was poor and, it is therefore significant to improve the water distribution system capacities, changing the diameter of the pipe to get the proper level of pressure and velocity. Drilling new boreholes sources and building additional service reservoir, to narrow the gap between supply and demand in water supply system. Water quality physicochemical test findings revealed that the fluoride concentration of boreholes exceeded than the Ethiopian standard and WHO recommendation. Thus, the community's water is treated before use