Assessing Causes and Challenges of Urban Water Supply: The Case of Mekelle City

Urban water supply is a common problem in Ethiopia as well as in Tigray region. For this reason, the objective of this study was to assess causes and challenges of water supply facing Mekelle city. A survey of 203 households and five official interviewees were sources of primary data. Systematic random sampling was used to select households while purposive for interviewees. The analysis was conducted using statistical package for social scientists software (SPSS). The result indicated that mean daily per capita water consumption during water supply interruption and time of piped water service available is 11.9 liters and 20.46 liters, respectively. Moreover, the production-demand gap and the unsatisfied demand of the city inhabitants were widening from year to year. The study has revealed that shortage of water at the sources, operators lack of technical skill, rapid population growth and quick urbanization are among the major causes that resulted in water supply shortage. The study also indicates that water distribution in the city is not equal; the timing of water service in most areas is at night and non-scheduled. Therefore, capacitating employees of the office through experience sharing from other cities and countries, skill and knowledge upgrading, and good map of water distribution system are compulsory