Ethiopia

SELECTION OF CONSULTING SERVICES FOR NON‐REVENUE WATER REDUCTION STRATEGIC PLAN AND IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS & BUSINESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT OF HAWASSA, WOLAITA‐ SODO AND ARBA‐MINCH TOWNS WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE AUTHORITY

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia received financing from the International Development Association (IDA) for the im-plementation of Second Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project (SUWSSP). The Ministry of Water and Energy applied a por-tion of the proceeds of the fund to SNNP Regional State Water, Mines and Energy Development Bureau. The SNNP Region is in the southern part of Ethiopia, its area covers 112,343 km2 and its population is over 15 million. The capital city is Hawassa. The Project focused on the cities of Hawassa, Wolaita Sodo and Arba Minch and included two main assignments, each with its own specific objectives and scope of services:

• Develop a Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Reduction Strategic Plan.
• Develop a Business Plan.
  As the two assignments feed into each other, Z&A executed the two assignments concurrently for each of the three Water Enterprises.
  Main water supply service and operation data for the three cities are given in the below table.

The development of a NRW Reduction Strategic Plan for each of the three Water Enterprises involved the following tasks:
• Infrastructure (Network) mapping,
• Customer survey,
• Metering of System Input Volume,
• Assessment of customer metering and meter reading practices,
• Preparation of preliminary IWA Water Balance and NRW assessment,
• Capacity Building – Basic Level,
• Establishing a NRW Management Unit,
• Customer meter testing,
• GIS development and hydraulic modeling,
• Design of pressure zones with bulk flow metering,
• Design of District Metered Areas (DMAs),
• Pressure monitoring,
• Preparation of IWA Water Balance and evaluation of Key Performance Indicators,
• Pipe failure documentation and statistics,
• Capacity Building – Medium Level
• Creation of pressure zones and pressure management,
• Creation of pilot DMAs,
• Active Leakage Control in pilot DMAs,
• Customer meter management,
• Reduction of unauthorized consumption,
• Improvement of billing efficiency,
• Rehabilitation planning,
• Capacity Building – High Level,
• Preparation of Strategic Plan Report.

The development of a Business Plan for each of the three Water Enterprises included:
• Review of any existing Master Plan and/or Strategic Plan,
• Assessment of Water Services Provision,
• Assessment of Sanitation Services Provision,
• Assessment of Management Organization and Institutional Framework,
• Identification and scheduling of priority investments,
• Financial projections for the next 3 to 5 years, including the expected performance improvements,
• Key Performance Indicators and corresponding targets for the next 3 to 5 years,
• Plan for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of results and their dissemination.

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR NRW REDUCTION, HYDRAULIC MODELLING AND GIS DEVELOPMENT (ETHIOPIA)

The scope of this project was the development of a coherent framework of principles and practices, established in international practice, for achieving the overall goal set by the Client and defined as reducing AAWSA’s overall Non-Revenue Water (NRW) from a current level of about 36% to 40% to a level of 20% by the year 2020. Addis Ababa and its surrounding areas has currently population estimated at about 3.5 million inhabitants. The total pressurized water network length was 3,700 Km.

All aspects of NRW management were addressed in the project. In order to achieve the overall project goal a Strategic Plan was implemented including the following tasks:

• Review of Existing Situation.
• Organizational Structure Assessment.
• Bulk Flow Meter Installation and Replacement Proposals
• Sampling and Testing of Existing Customer Meters
• Development of Specifications for the Procurement of New Customer Meters and Test Benches. 
• Development of strategic (skeletal) and all-mains hydraulic models.
• Development of a GIS Management System for the Addis Ababa water supply network
• Implementation of ten pilot District Metered Areas and active leakage control activities using acoustic techniques.
• Initial and End Case Water Audits and evaluation of Performance Indicators.
• Training and Institutional Capacity Building.

Emphasis was placed on improving network monitoring and water metering practices. A detailed proposal for the installation of bulk flow meters at selected locations was developed. Technical specifications for the procurement of state-of-the-art customer meters, DMA inlet meters and customer meter test benches were developed. A program for the random sampling of testing of customer meters was implemented and a total 683 meters from two Branch Office Areas were replaced and tested. A sample of 1,214 unused customer meters was also tested. Statistical processing of the test results took place and the conclusions were used to estimate apparent (commercial) water losses in the network. A Metering Database was established to store customer meter information and test results.

Ten pilot District Metered Areas each including approximately 800-1200 customers were proposed and their creation was overseen. Zero pressure tests were performed to test DMA watertightness and the Active Leakage Control was carried out at all ten DMAs using listening sticks, leak noise correlators and ground microphones. On-the –job training was provided by the Consultant to AAWSA staff in the course of the Active Leakage Control. DMA Minimum Night Flow analysis was carried out using available field data. A program of individual consumer demand monitoring of sampled customers was implemented for use in the Minimum Night Flow Analysis.

Network hydraulic modeling was used to study the effective distribution of the output of new water supply sources in order to provide continuous supplies to all consumers, eliminate supply interruptions and rationalize the flow and pressure regime. In this context, present and future water demand estimates were obtained and the distribution of water demand within the supply area was studied. Improved hydraulic operation and achieving continuous supply to customers is considered as a key issue in achieving reduced leakage losses.