Overall performance evaluation of an urban water supply system: a case study of Debre Tabor Town in Ethiopia

Urban water utilities in Ethiopia, including Debre Tabor Town, commonly suffer from an intermittent water supply, water quality issues, poor service delivery, and other problems. Thus, the main focus of this study was to evaluate the actual performance level of the water supply system of the town based on hydraulic efficiency, quality, cost recovery and customer satisfaction. The water distribution system status was measured by using reliability, resilience, and vulnerability as performance indicators. Weightage Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI) and household-based questionnaires were used to evaluate the water quality and customer satisfaction, respectively. Pressure and velocity-based sustainability index of 0.614 and 0.132 showed acceptable and unacceptable water supply status, respectively, and overall moderate sustainability. Results of the WAWQI revealed that more than half of the sampled tap waters were either poor or unfit for drinking purposes. The comparison of income collected from customers and the water production costs of the utility showed that only 34.31% of production cost is covered by customers. Generally, 62.6% of the society confirmed that they are unsatisfied with the existing water supply system. Thus, to improve the performance, it is recommended to address all the major social, economic, environmental and technical problems. HIGHLIGHTS In this study, Debre Tabor Town's water supply performance level was assessed.; The system hydraulic performance and water quality are not to the required standard.; Customer satisfaction with the existing system and utility cost recovery are considerably low.; To upgrade the utility performance, attention is needed to pump operation, supply equitability, and loss management, among others.;