Addis Ababa University’s College of Natural and Computational Sciences held a public seminar on averting the looming water supply crisis in Addis Ababa based on lessons from cities in other countries of Africa and internationally.

Two leading water resource engineering scholars delivered presentations highlighting the urgency of the water supply challenges and offered recommendations to address Addis Ababa’s urban water supply system problems.

The presenters, Fekadu Moreda (Ph.D.) and Tirusew Assefa (Ph.D.) indicated that Addis Ababa City needs to devise a solution to its water supply issues to meet the demand of its dynamically growing population.

Currently, only 40% of the city’s daily demand is being met.

The presenters, who demonstrated the city’s present insufficient water supply and the challenges ahead, recommended solutions based on the international experiences of well-developed cities.

The expert recommendations included enhancing systems of enriching surface and groundwater holding capacity, building institutional settings to address chronic water issues, and considering proper pricing for cost recovery.

Globally, as water demand grows, communities are witnessing the depletion of groundwater and alternative water sources are becoming costly.