Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | december 2014 | 29 Digging deeper Urban planning and African water C ities in Africa are undergoing dramatic change. With population growth and rural-urban migration driving rapid expansion, existing infrastructure is coming under increasing pressure and many of the poorest families are forced to settle in unplanned areas without water, drainage or sewage systems. More than half of urban popula- tions are living in informal settlements or slum conditions and these numbers are expected to grow over the coming decades. Africa's overall population is forecast to increase by more than a billion people by 2050, and many cities are likely to double or even treble in size. Although investment is needed to expand services, it's also important to ensure existing services are working as efficiently as possible. Earlier this year, WaterAid launched a project in Ethiopia working with the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy to provide technical and management support to the water and sanita- tion providers in 20 towns across the country. By bringing together a number of partners to help build the capacity of utility providers, the project will ensure towns are better placed to cope with the growing demand on services. Building the capacity of utility providers in Ethiopia The Ethiopian government has identified 20 towns across Ethiopia with a high rate of urbani- sation due to unplanned growth and expansion of informal settlements in and around the town centres. Almost a third of the people living in these towns have only partial or no access to piped water. Many of the public water points are broken or damaged and in some cases 55% of the water is lost through leaks. Families without access to piped water are forced to rely on expen- Yorkshire Water's Stephanie Walden and david Ste- phenson survey the local water infrastructure with members of the WaterAid ethiopia team • WaterAid's 20 towns project in numbers ● Total population across 20 towns = 914,847 ● 25% of households currently have direct connections to a water supply. ● On average, families have access to water for 10 hours every other day. ● 50% of households use pit latrines. Overflowing pit latrines is one of the most common causes of surface water pollution. The rapid growth of city populations has meant spiralling demand for water services in Africa. How is WaterAid helping local utilities respond to the challenge? TimEyin UwEjamOmErEE UrbAn TecHnicAl SUpporT mAnAger, WATerAid

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