Performance evaluation of water supply distribution system: a case study of Muke Turi town, Oromia region, Ethiopia

Abstract Adequate and sustainable supply of potable water in urban areas of developing countries is often a challenge. This study assessed the performance of the water supply system in Muke Turi town, Oromia, Ethiopia. The Water Geospatial Engineering Modeling System (WaterGEMS) model was used for hydraulic analysis of the distribution network. The water losses were determined by different indicators including non-revenue water (NRW), losses per pipe connection (LPC), losses per main pipe length (LMPL), unavoidable annual real losses (UARL), and infrastructure leakage index (ILI). The water supply coverage of the town was found as 43.34%, which is considerably low. From the hydraulic analysis, the velocity of flow in 54.2% of the pipe and pressure at 60% of the nodes were found within the recommended ranges. The NRW was estimated at 37.61%, which is above the acceptable limit. Of which, the real losses are the major ones with 37.14%. Moreover, the LPC and LMPL were found to be 298 l/d and 29,709 l/km/d, respectively, which are again above the recommended limits. Based on ILI, the annual real losses were estimated to be 4.31 times the UARL. Finally, it was concluded that access to water in the town is inadequate which is exacerbated by high losses.