Tracing and Tracking Residential Water Consumption in Adama City, Ethiopia: Coupling Geospatial and Socioeconomic Analysis for Water-Sensitive Intervention Decision-Making Support

Abstract

Abstract To develop a water-conscious strategy, it is critical to trace and track water from its source to the end users, understand water conservation behaviors and identify the factors that influence water usage. However, in developing countries, comprehensive studies on water consumption are still scarce, and those that are already available are difficult to generalize and do not provide a full picture for decision-making. Hence, the main objective of the study is to trace and track water consumption from its source to end users to generate water consumption information for water-sensitive intervention decision-making. In terms of methodology, both secondary and primary data were gathered using a household survey and a Geospatial technique. The current analysis found that internalization and diverse water harvesting methods are not taken into account and that there is just "one source option" for the supply. The result asserted that the average water consumption per capita per day is 73 L/person/day. This falls short of both the national standard (80 l/person/day) and the WHO standard, the water delivery network only covers 45% of the city master plan, 38% of the demand is unmet and 40% of the city area coverage receiving water no more frequently than once per week. This shows that the city is experiencing a physical and economic water scarcity. The findings also demonstrated that variables like family size, housing quality, closeness to the city center, and reliability have a big impact on water consumption. Based on the findings, it is possible to infer that water crisis will continue at an accelerating rate so long as the ‘business as usual’ water consumption practice remains unchanged.