A Study of Whenci Woreda in West Showa Zone Ethiopia

Abstract

Even though access to water has been recognized as a human right and is important for human development, still in the year 2008 about 884 million people lacked access to improved water sources. Most of these people live in the developing regions of the world. This study will be focusing on an area in west Showa zone in Ethiopia. The purpose is to study the status of water security for households in Chitu, its surrounding areas and Mete Walga kebele. The point of departure is the analytical framework of the Millennium Development Goals, Howard and Bartram’s water service level and the Rapid Assessment of Drinking Water Quality method for sanitary risk inspections. This offers a framework when examining the water security in the studied area. By combining both quantitative and qualitative methods the study aims at providing a deeper knowledge about the water situation. Water sampling, GPS mapping, sanitary risk inspections, a quick question survey and semi-structured interviews are all methods used. The findings show that the study area has a basic access (i.e. consumption should be assured) to water according to Howard and Bartram’s service level in relation to time spent on walking to the water source. With regards to the quantities of water used the people using Meti well have no access according to Howard and Bartram´s service level. Five improved water sources were located in Chitu and three improved water sources were located in the rural area. One unimproved water source was identified and studied. At the time of the study there was no water quality problems in the area that could cause any health problems when the water was consumed by the population. However there can be a water quality problem during the rainy season. It was the water sources in the rural areas that had the highest sanitary risk scores. In relation to the Millennium Development Goal seven to “halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation” and how it is measured it is apparent that more aspects needs to be included when defining water access e.g. water quality and water quantities per capita a day. If the access to drinking water should be sustainable and safe in the long run, more than just the distance to an improved water source is important. This study has also showed that an improved water source can have water quality problems and an unimproved source might not have water quality problems.