MEKELLE UNVERSITY

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD WATER DEMAND:CASE OF

MEKELLE-ETHIOPIA

BY : HIKMA ABDU

ADVISOR :JEMAL A.

JUNE,2012

MEKELLE,ETHIOPIA
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Page no.

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………..I

Table of content…………………………………………………………………………..ii

List of tables……………………………………………………………………………...iii

Acronomy………………………………………………………………………………..IV

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………v

CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………

1.1 Background of the study……………………………………………………...

1.2 Statement of the problem……………………………………………………..

1.3 Objectives of the study……………………………………………………….

1.4 Significance of the study……………………………………………………..

1.5 Scope of the study……………………………………………………………

1.6 Limitations of the study………………………………………………………

 1.7 Organization of the study…………………………………………………….

CHAPTER TWO

2. LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………………….

2.1 Theoretical literature review………………………………………………….

2.1.1 Definition of water…………………………………………………..

2.1.2 The water supply system…………………………………………….

2.1.3 Water demand and its management…………………………………

2.1.4 Water pricing system…………………………………………………

2.1.5 Costs of supplying water and financing……………………………..

2.1.6 Sources of water for human consumption…………………………..

2.1.7 The water distribution system, tariff and metering…………………

2.2 Empirical literature review

2.2.1 Factors affecting household water demand………………………….

2.2.1.1 Physical and demographic factors……………………………..

2.2.1.2 Socio economic factors…………………………………………

CHAPTER THREE

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA AND METHEDOLOGY……………………..

3.1 Description of the study area…………………………………………………………

3.2 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………
 3.2.1 Type and source of data……………………………………………….

3.2.2 The sample design……………………………………………………..

3.2.3 Data collection techniques…………………………………………….

3.2.4 Model specification……………………………………………………

3.2.5 Variables in the model, descriptions and expected signs……………..

3.2.6 Method of data analysis………………………………………………

CHAPTER FOUR

4. EMPRICAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION……………………………………………

4.1 Descriptive analysis………………………………………………………………...

4.1.1 Socio economic characteristics of a household………………………

4.1.2 Water use and related problems in a household……………………..

4.1.3 Factors affecting household water demand…………………………..

4.2 Econometric analysis………………………………………………………………..

4.2.1 The multiple linear regression model………………………………..

4.2.2 The analysis of independent variables………………………………

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………..

APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………

LIST OF TABLES PAGE

Table1; the tariff structure in Mekelle…………………………………………………

Table2; water sources for household water use…………………………………………

Table3; Type of pipe water connection………………………………………………..

Table4; Household size and water consumption…………………………………………..

Table5; Type of pipe water and water consumption………………………………………

Table6; Monthly household income and water consumption……………………………

Table7; Education level of a household head and water consumption……………………

Table8; House ownership and water consumption…………………………………………

 ACRONYM

GDP-Gross Domestic Product

IWRA-International Water Resources Association

MDG-Millennium Development Goal

MOWR-Ministry of Water Resources

MWSSS-Mekelle Water Supply and Sewage Service

NAS-National Academy of Science

UNICEF-

WHO-World Health Organization

 CHAPTER ONE

1. Introduction

1.1Background of the study

Safe drinking water is an essential component of primary health care and has a vital role
in poverty alleviation. There is a positive correlation between increased national income
and the proportion of people with access to improved water supply. According to World
Bank (1994) a 0.3% increase of investment in household access to safe drinking water
generates 1% increase in GDP. Unreliable supply and shortage of water affects life of
human beings in various ways. According to WHO (2010) progress report on sanitation
and drinking of six billion people on earth, 884million did not get their drinking water
from safe sources and almost all of them live in developing regions. For instance in sub-
sharan Africa only 60% of the total population in the sub-continent is using improved
sources of drinking water. Ethiopia like any other developing countries has many
constraints to make potable water easily accessible. Only 38% of the total population
and 26% of the rural population have access to safe and clean water (WHO and UNICEF,
2010).

In Ethiopia, when we trace back to its establishment, the supply of pure water through
pipe was started during the era of Aste Menelik .In Mekelle, which is the capital city of
Tigray region, the supply of pure water through pipe was started in 1949.since the
population of the city is expanding from time to time, it demands the supply of more
pure water. To cope with such an expanding demand the city established an institution
called mekelle water supply and se wage service .Customers of this institution has been
expanding from time to time and reached 29,941 in 2003E.C(MWSSS,2003EC).

The supply of pure water for a household is obtained from a total of twenty water wells.
The major water wells are Aynalem, Dandera, Ashago, Kuya, and Chenfera. When we
come to current demand and supply of water in the city, water demanded for domestic
animals, construction, industrial and drinking purpose approximately equals 43,763m3
per day. Since the current supply of water is 28,120m3 per day, the city needs additional
15,343m3of water daily. The total coverage of water is 65 % ( Ibid).

As stated above, like other cities in Ethiopia, Mekelle is facing acute shortage of water
because the demand for water is by far larger than its supply. The demand side needs a
proper management to match with the supply. This calls for a demand analysis to
identify factors affecting household water demand in the city. This is helpful for supply
augmentation of expansion of the service among the society.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Access to safe water and sanitation in Ethiopia is among the lowest in sub- sharan
Africa and the entire world. Even if access has increased substantially with funding from
external aid, much still remains to be done to achieve the MDG’s (Millennium
development goals) of halving the share of people without access to water and
sanitation by 2015.In addition to this, effectively spending the money and ensuring
proper operation and maintenances of infrastructure built with these funds remain a
challenge (MOWR, 2004).

Since it is difficult to satisfy the needs of the society by supplying water to all, various
methods have been used by the government for reducing water consumption. Supply
augmentation requires several year of planning and large amount of capital investment
before water is available. In light of such challenge, the governments are opting for
strategies that promote water conservation, particularly with residential consumer
(Basina et al, 2008).

In most developing countries like Ethiopia, the quality of data base on residential water
consumption often poses problem in demand estimation. As opposed to developed
countries, where all household obtain water through a pipe network, the market for
household water demand in many developing countries show much variation.
Households may have connected to pipe network and use water exclusively from
private tap .But they may also combine piped water with water from well , public tap or
purchase water from venders.Little is known about households behavior regarding
factors driving their choice .As a result ,policy decision are not very well informed (ibid).

When the water supply one of the cities in Ethiopia, mekelle, is considered, the old
boreholes need rehabilitation pumps and all the pipe lines want replacement .The
construction of additional boreholes is also required to fulfill the current demand
.However all these activities need high capital out lays. The service beneficiaries are
required to pay for the improved water service .Thus to improve the water supply
situation of the city, demand side information is highly required.

Even though varities of studies have been conducted in this area, the city of mekelle is
facing problem in demand management and expanding service levels .This study is
destined to analyze the major determinants of water demand in mekelle city by
collecting information from the users side and suppliers as well .A similar study
conducted in this area by Fekadu (2007),explains the major problem of water in the city
by analyzing the supply side only .And concludes that for equitable usage of water ,the
city of mekelle should improve the water distribution means use and its water
management policies .But an improvement in the water use cannot came only due to
better supply of water ,but also problems related with the demand side should be
analyzed to reach at better conclusion.

And also studies have been conducted outside mekelle in analyzing factors affecting
households’ water consumption. A study made by Mequanent (1998) shows that the
demand for water increase with population growth, urbanization and high accessibility
to a taped water supply .He did not observe socio economic characteristics like income,
household size and educational level of household head which are major determinants
of the demand for water.

But information on the demand side such as household socio economic and
demographic characteristics as well as characteristics on the existing and new supplies
of water are believed to be vital. Like other cities in Ethiopia mekelle is facing major
problem of neglecting the demand of majority of households in the city .Therefore the
need to fill the gap of information on demand side appear to be crucial.

1.3 Objectives of the study

General objectives

The general objective of the study is to investigate the determinant of household water
demand in Mekelle city.

Specific objectives

In analyzing such a broad objective, the specific objectives to be analyzed include;

∙ To examine factors which change the consumption pattern of

residential water in mekelle

∙ To analyze major problems related to household water use in the city

∙ To examine the socio-economic characteristics of a household in

relation to the demand for water.

1.4Methodology

1.4.1Data sources

The study uses both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data is collected
through a questionnaire distributed to the households in the city. A sample of 90
households is taken by multistage sampling techniques .Since the city is large with a
number of kefeleketema s and kebelle, inorder to make proportionate sample, sample
of kefele ketemas will be taken based on the water supply situation. From selected kefle
ketemas a sample of kebelle and household would be taken with stages. The secondary
data is obtained from related literatures and annual reports of MWSSS.

1.4.2Data analysis

The data obtained from different sources is analyzed in two ways. The first one is by
using tables and percentages. The second one is by using appropriate econometric
model explaining the relationship between water demand and factors affecting it.

1.5Significance of the study

This study tries to identify the factors which affect household water demand in the city
by collecting information from the households themselves. Demand analysis is very
crucial because it tries to observe the problems from the users’ side. Besides, this paper
initiates other researchers to contribute their turn on this issue.

1.6 Scope of the study

The study is limited to the capital city of Tigray region, Mekelle. The analysis is only
based on questionnaire result and background information is used to describe the
region. Water consumption or demand in industrial, institutional and commercial sector
is beyond the scope of the study.

1.7 Limitation of the study

While conducting this researcher a number of obstacles were encountered .The first
and most important one is language. This is a constraint because the study is
conducted in an area where the researcher does not know the language spoken by
residents .The second one is a financial constraint occurring because the researcher is
a student. The third one is a time constraint .since the time given for this study is
limited deep analysis is imposible.And lastly the respondent’s willingness to provide the
necessary information will be challenging.

1.8 Organization of the study

The study is organized into five chapters. The first chapter deals with the introduction
part which contains background of the study, statement of the problem, objective,
significance, limitation and scope of the study. The second chapter is the review of
literature including theoretical and empirical reviews. The third chapter is all about the
methodologies used in conducting the research. The forth chapter contains data
analysis and discussion. The last chapter tries to provide policy conclusion and
recommendation.

CHAPTER TWO

2. Literature review

2.1 Theoretical literature review

2.1.1 Definition of water

Water can be deemed as an essential environmental resource. From an anthropogenic

perspective, its most important role lies in human sustenance. Human utilize water
directly for many purpose; municipal water supply, sanitation, irrigation, transportation,
industrial water supply, energy generation (hydroelectric) and recreation. Water plays an
absolutely necessary and irreplaceable role in many ecosystem services, such as
habitat creation, nutrient cycling, the hydrological cycle and climate regulation (Butler
and Fayyaz, 2006).

Water has many unique characteristic that makes it difficult to trade on regular
markets. Exclusive property right cannot be assigned because of its physical attribute in
particular its highly fluid nature and role in the hydrological cycle. Secondly, water can
be utilized as a non-rival good, where ones use does not preclude another’s use of that
resource. Thirdly, due to the large amount of interdependency with uses of water such
as hydroelectricity generation impacting recreation, externalities can be associated.
When externalities exist, the full cost of an activity may not be visible or taken into
account by the producer or consumer. Lastly economies of scale in the supply of water
lead to imperfect competition, where limited competition and monopoly supplier can
significantly influence the pricing of good. (Ibid)

Since the Dublin conference on water and environment, it is generally accepted

among water resource managers that water should be considered as an economic
good. Even if the terminology is the same it has different interpretations. Based on this
there are two schools of thought. The first school maintaining that water should be
priced at its economic value. The market will ensure that the water is allocated to its
best uses. The second school interprets ” water as an economic good ” to mean the
process of integrated decision making on the allocation of scare resource, which does
not necessary involve finical transaction (IWRA,2002)

Water is not divisible into different types or kinds of water. It may be ground water
at some stage, at a later stage it will become surface water. But any use of water
affects the entire water cycle. Since water is a resource vital to life for which there is no
substitute, for water no choice exists between resources. The only choice to be made is
how to allocate water and finding the most efficient way of using it. Water, then, is
fundamentally different from other economic goods. If one needs energy, for instance,
one can choose between solar, wind, hydropower, nuclear power etc. The market
mechanism works almost naturally for such goods. With water that is not the case. One
can easily choose another type of goods without tapping the same source (Ibid).

In sum, the first interpretation of “ water as an economic good ” has led to

considerable misunderstanding. Many observers fear that the adoption of this principle
would lead to economic pricing of water, which would damage the interest of the poor
and make irrigated agriculture virtually unfeasible. As a result many disclaimers suggest
that water is “ social good “ and should be affordable to the poor. In the school of
thought there is no confusion. Water economics is understood to deal with how best to
meet all human wants making the right choice about the most sustained uses of water
in broad social context. Considering water as an economic good is about making
integrated choices not about determining the right price of water.

2.1.2The water supply system

Water supply is a, process or an activity by which water is provided for some use
example to home, factory or business. The stringency of requirement that a supply of
water must meet depends on the use to be made of it. The more usual requirement
,however, are that water be free enough of harmful bacteria ,chemicals and other
contamination to be drinkable; free of substance that make its taste or appearance
unpleasant; and if the water is to be used for washing, free of salts of calcium and
magnesium that will interfere with the action of soap.(Colombia, encyclopedia)

A complete water supply system is often known as a waterworks. Sometimes

the term is specifically applied to pumping station, treatment stations or storage
facilities. Storage facilities are providing to reserve extra water for use when demand is
high and, when necessary, to help maintain water pressure. Treatment stations are
places in which water may be filtered to remove suspended impurities or disinfected
with chlorine, ozone, ultraviolet light or some other agents that kills harmful bacteria
and microorganisms. Salts of iodine and fluorine, which are considered helpful in
preventing goiter and tooth decay, are sometimes added to water in which they are
lacking. (Ibid)

2.1.3 Water demand and its management

A common characteristics of water demand in urban areas worldwide is its

relentless rise over many years and projections of continues growth over coming
decades .The chief influencing factor are population growth together with changes life
style, demographic structure and possible effects of climate change .Meeting this
increasing demand from existing resource is a struggle, particularly in water stressed or
water scarce regions .Worldwide there is considerable pressure from the general public
and some government to minimize the impacts of new supply project (e.g. building new
reservoirs) implying emphasis should be shifted toward managing water demand by
best utilizing the water that is already available.(NAS,2009)

Water demand management involves the adoption of polices or investment by

a water utility to achieve efficient use by all members of the community. Demand
management measure can be short or long term depending on the needs of the
community served by the water utility .Strategic planning is a key aspect of a successful
demand management strategy. It involves understanding the constraints, analyzing how
much water is used, when, by whom, for what purpose and at what level of efficiency;
determining the potential reduction in water use that can occur through improvement
to water using equipment and behavior(Ibid)
 Water management program involves decision about how should be best allocation
to receive the greatest public return from score resources. The full value of water needs
to be recognized to allow informed decision for public policies related to water supply
and quality. This is of particular importance, because these policies can have significant
economic consequence for household communities and industry. If water is allocated
to less valued uses, water quality will decline, ground water basins are over exploited
and floods and drought can destroy properly and take sever toll on life.(Butler and
Fayyz, 2006)

In short, demand management aims at achieving desirable demands and

desirable uses. It may include measures aimed at stimulating water demand in sectors
where current use is undesirably low. This is the same thing as making the right choice
about water utilization. Hence, “water as an economic good” is fully compatible with the
concept of “demand management” if well interpreted. (Ibid)

2.1.4 Water pricing system

In contrast to the point of view expressed by the first school, water pricing is not an
instrument for water allocation, but rather an instrument to achieve financial
sustainability .Only if the financial costs are recovered can an activity remains
sustainable. This premise is represented by the “free water dilemma”

If water for free, then the water provider does not receive sufficient payment for its
service. consequently ,the provider is not able to maintain the system adequately and
,hence ,the quality of services will deteriorate .Eventually the system collapse ,people
have to drink unsafe water or pay excessive amount of money to water vender ,while
wealthy and influential people receive piped water directly in to their houses ,at
subsidized rate .Thus the water –for –free policy often results in power full and rich
people getting water cheaply while for people by water at excessive rates or drink
unsafe water (IWRA,2002).

The water market would ensure efficient use by defining the optimum use and
allocation among competitive users, if it is perfectly competitive Indeed, in a market that
operate under competitive conditions, the price would be determined by the interaction
of demand and supply to reflect the actual marginal cost of water usage. This price
would induce users to purchase the optimal quality of water. In this context, no
exogenous administrative intervention would be necessary ,as the ” invisible hand ”
would by itself , insure the efficient level of use induced by an equilibrium price that
reflect water cost, further more “invisible hand” would lead to defining the appropriate
investment in order to attain the efficient use of water in the future. However, perfectly
competitive market conditions for water don’t and probably cannot exist in the majority
cases (Desalegn, 2012)

In most cases, the supply of water is a monopoly whose characterize closely

resembles those of a “natural” monopoly specifically, the extremely high infrastructure
cost for transporting treating and delivering water make difficult the operation of
multiple water supplies. The economics characteristics of water sector in combination
with the fundamental social perception that water is socially sensitive good related to
human existence and health, led to a strict administrative framework for the operation
of the water supply sector and hence of the water market.(Ibid)

Water price is an important instrument to break the vicious circle of the free water
dilemma. To determine the price both costs and value of water should be considered.
The cost includes the full supply cost, the full economic cost and the full cost. The full
supply cost includes operational costs and cost of investment (capital charges). The
full economic cost on the other hand contains full supply cost, opportunity cost and
economic externalities. The third one which is the full cost comprises the full economic
cost plus the environmental externalities (Roger et al, 1997).

On the other hand, the valued to the user may be quantified by his/her
willingness to pay but there are additional benefits like benefit from return flows, and
the benefit to meeting societal objectives the later aspect is often neglected by the first
school economists, since also here it can’t always be quantified in monetary terms, but
it is essential to the integrated decision process. If we use the definition that economics
is “ about applying reason to choice “ then full cost and full value should be used for
making allocation decision (Ibid).

It is obvious that a certain allocation of water is attractive when full values is

higher than full cost .In economic analysis determining these values and cost is
required. Once the decision has been taken to allocate the water then next is to decide
on the financing of the allocation. According to the first school, price should be the full
economic cost or full cost .But that is not necessary. In principle, if society finds the
allocation a good idea, then society may decide to finance the allocation completely.

In water pricing the following considerations are very important

-there should be full cost recovery and reservation for future investment.

-It is important to give due attention to equity consideration to prevent that

the weakest people carry too high burden.

-the price should be ‘reasonable’ allowing full cost recovery, but in line with
the ability to pay of consumers.

-those who can pay an economic price should pay a high price and by doing
so, cross subsidize the poor strata of the society.

2.1.5 Cost of supplying water and financing

The cost of supplying water consists to a very large extent of fixed cost (capital
and personnel costs) and only to a small extent of variable costs that depend on the
amount of water consumed (mainly energy and chemicals).The full cost of supplying
water in urban areas in developed countries is about us $1-2 per cubic meter depending
on local costs and local water consumption
levels.(www.answers.com/topic/water-supply)

These costs are somewhat lower in developing countries. Throughout the world,
only part of these costs usually billed to consumers, the remainder being financed
through direct or indirect subsidies from local, regional or national government. Besides,
subsides water supply investment are financed through internally generated revenues
as well as through debt. Debt financing can take the form of credits from commercial
banks, credits from international financial institutions such as World Bank and regional
development banks and bonds. (Ibid)

2.1.6 Sources of water for human consumption

Although water covers about 70% of the earth, less than 1% is available as fresh
water for human use. The vast majority of the water is found in the ocean, too salty to
drink and unfit for many other applications. Of the fresh water available on earth about
2/3rd is frozen in ice capes and glaceries, which leaves only a small fraction accessible
for human use. There are two major sources of fresh water, surface and ground water.
(NAS, 2009)

a) Surface water: - it is a primary source for human which includes river, lake,
stream and fresh water wet land. Surface water is naturally replenished by
perception and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans, evaporation and
 sub-surface seepage. Although the only natural input to any surface water
system is perception within its water shed, the total quality of water in that
system at any given time is dependent on many other factors. These factors
include storage capacity in lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs. Human
activities have devastating impact on these factors. They increase storage
capacity by constructing reservoirs and decrease it by draining wet lands.

b) Ground water- It is the second largest sources of fresh water. This is water that
lay under the surface. It exists almost everywhere in the world. In some places,
however people have to dig much deeper to access it than other places .In some
places, it might be accessible but it might not be healthy for human consumption,
if it is not treated. The level of ground water is supplied, in part, by precipitation
when rain falls it sinks down in to the ground.

It is often collected in aquifers, which are natural water storage compartment

formed between the rocks under the surface.

2.1.7 The water distribution system, tariff and metering

A. The water distribution system

Protecting and maintaining water distribution system is crucial to

ensure high quality drinking water. Distribution-system –consisting of pipe,
pumps, storage tanks, reservoirs –carrying water from centralized treatment
plant to consumer tap. Distributional systems represent the vast majority of
physical infrastructure for water supply and constitute the primary management
challenge from both an operational and public health stand point. Recent data on
water borne disease suggest that the distribution system remains a source of
contamination.

B. The tariff system

Almost all services provided in the world charge tariff to recover part of their
costs. According to estimates by the World Bank the average (mean) global
water tariff is us$ 1.04, while it is only us $0.11 in the poorest developing
countries. The lowest tariff in developing countries are found in south Asia
(mean of us $ 0.09/m3).while the highest are found in Latin America (us
$0.41/m3).

Water and sanitation tariffs, which are almost always billed together, can
take many different forms where meters are installed; tariffs are typically
volumetric, sometimes combined with small monthly fixed charge. In the
absence of meters, flats or fixed rates which are independent of actual
consumption are being charged. In developed countries tariff are usually the
same for different categories of users and for different levels of consumption.

In developing countries, the situation is often characterized by cross

subsidies with the intent to make water more affordable for residential
low-volume users that are assumed to be poor.
 For example, industrial and commercial users are often charged higher
tariff than public or residential users. Also, metered users are often charged
higher tariff for higher levels of consumption. However cross subsidies between
residential users do not always reach their objectives. Given the overall low level
of water tariff in developing countries even at higher levels of consumption, most
consumption subsidies benefit the weather segment of society. Also, high
industrial and commercial tariff can provide an incentive for these users to
supply water from other sources than the utility and thus actually erode the
utility’s revenue base.

C. Water metering

Metering of water supply is usually motivated by one or several of four

objectives. First, it provides an incentive to conserve water which protects water
resource. Second, it can postpone costly system expansion and saves energy
and chemical costs. Third, it allows a utility to better locate distribution losses.
Forth it allows charging for water based on use, which is perceived by many as
the fairest way to allocate the cost of water supply to user metering is
considered good practice in water supply and is widespread in developed
countries.

2.2 Empirical literature review

Household and daily per capital consumption of water is affected by

various factors, the effects of which vary widely from place and from community.
 Many writers (Meseret, 2012, Teshome, 2007 and Aschalew, 2009) have
tried to identify the factors influencing the amount of household and daily per
capital water consumption. Although none of these writers could give a complete
list, the most frequent variables in all studies are house hold size, income,
education, expenditure of a household, and age and sex of the respond ants.

Analysis and evaluation of these factors will help to identify factors, which either
positively or negatively associates with the rate of capital house hold water
consumption. Thus in the succeeding paragraphs a brief review of available
literature pertaining these components will be provided.

2.2.1 Factors affecting household water consumption

2.2.1.1 Physical and demographic factors

One of the factors, which affect the use of water within each household,
is the physical distance of housing units from the water point. It is widely known
that distance involved in fetching water is inversely related to per capital
consumption of water. Large distance involves considerable energy and time
expenditure, which limits the frequency of fetching and the size of containers and
hence reduces the per capital daily water consumption. (Teshome, 2007)

A study made by Mesert in Simde district in Ethiopia suggest that the per
capita water use is negative and significantly determined by the distance of
water source from the households (i.e. keeping other factors constant, as the
distance of water source from a household increases, the per capita water use
significantly decreases. This implies that water facilities should be accessible to
all segments of the population to better satisfy daily water requirement of
residents. It also shows that convience of location of water source is a
significant determinant of water use at household level. This means that
households located nearer to water source are likely to use more than others
located farther away.

In dealing with the demographic factors like age and sex, Dessalegn
(2012) suggest that a one unit increase in age (one year) the daily per capita
consumption decreases. It terms of sex female headed households will have
lower per capita daily water consumption than the male headed households.

2.2.1.2 Socio_ economic factors

Among the enormous socio-economic factor that affect household waters

consumption pattern the most significant one’s are household size, household
income, and level of education, monthly expenditure of a household and
profession of a household head.

A. Household size and level of education

When there is an increase in household size, the probability of collecting

more water for large household size than individual household. As a result there
is a positive relationship between household size and total consumption.
 However the per capita water consumption decreases with an increase in
household size. When considering the supply necessary to meet the needs of
large family, there is a problem of access and adequacy .This implies that there
is a negative relationship between household size and per capita daily water
consumption.(mesert.2012).

Further investigation of data shows that as household size increases, the

amount of water used per day significantly decreases this suggest that, although larger
households increase the frequency of travel per day to water sources, they still are not
able to increase the available water at the house hold enough to satisfy the daily
requirement of their individual hose hold members. The significant decrease in per
capita daily water use because of additional household members might be explained by
the fact that available water at house hold level is limited by the factor such as distance
and waiting time at the water source. Thus additional members share this limited
amount, clearly reducing per capital daily water use(Aschlew,2009)

As indicated by Teshome (2007), the educational level of a house head is

positively related wit h the per capita daily water consumption. Households with less
educated head consume less water than a house hold whose head is more educated.
This is because the higher the educational level of ahead of family, the higher the
awareness about the benefits that could be gained from water.

B. House hold income and monthly expenditure

A study made by Teshome (2007), revealed that there is a positive relationship

between monthly income and per capital daily water consumption. This result confirms
with economic theory which states that an individual’s demand for a particular
commodity depends on his/her income and quantity demanded are positively related,
except in the case of inferior goods. The result of the survey shows that higher income
groups have higher per capital daily water consumption than lower income group.

According to Dessalegn (2012), monthly expenditure of a house hold was found

to have a positive relation with the per capita daily water consumption of house hold
because family members of better household are more likely to have frequent bath,
showering, frequent washes of cloth and more water for cooking as compared with
worse off house hold taking in to consideration the household life style and sanitation
preference of better- off house hold.

C.Sources of water and housing characteristics

Factor like the size of the house and access to appliance like shower, both
rooms, washing machines also influence water demand. It is evidenced that house
owner ship is likely to increase household’s decision to have private piped connection
as a primary source of water and is likely to increase the daily per capital water
consumption. Primary sources of water like private pipe users have 9 liter more daily
per capital water consumption than households who use other sources of water (ibid).
 CHAPTER THREE

3.1 Description of the study area

The city of Mekelle, located in northern Ethiopia, is the capital of Tigary region. It is the
sixth largest city in Ethiopia, and located some 783 km from Addis Abeba .It is found
within the circum scribed boundary of enderta woreda which is found in southern zone
of Tigray regional state. Geographically the city is located at about 1303’ north latitude
and 3903’ east longitude. The altitude of Mekelle varies from 2150 m.a.s.l to 2500
m.a.s.l. which makes it to be categorized under weyna dega type of agro climate zone.
The city has annual average rain fall of 618.3mm out of this the mouth of July and
august in combination account for 70.6% of the rain fall (Fekadu, 2007).

Since its establishment in 1872, Mekelle city has expanded tremendously by engulfing
many surrounding village and towns. In 2006, the areas know as quiha and aynalem
were incorporated with in Mekelle city limits. Villages recently incorporated include
adikenfero, felege daero, endamariam dehan, adi daero, serawat, adiha and others
(Castro, 2009).

In 2008,the city consisted of seven local administrative areas namely adihaki,

hawilti,semen,kedamawi weyana,ayder ,hadenet and quha .T he 2007 Ethiopian census
shows that the city has a population of 215,546 with a population density of 8,819,39
per sq.km and51% of the residents are women. In 2001, the government of Ethiopia
adopted a water and sanitation strategy that call for more decentralized decision
making, promoting the involvement of all stakeholders, including the private sector and
integrating activities related to water supply (ibid).

3.1.1 Existing water supply system

In Mekelle the public water supply (bono) was12 in number from 1984-1986, 38 in
number from 1987-1992, and 68 in number from 1993-1995. The public water supply
has been expanding from year to year. From 1996 onwards those who were using public
water supply or ” bono ” begun to use the private meter connection. Until 2003Ec there
are 21 public water supply taps in the town which are functional. The source of water
supply for the city is from 20 water wells whose capacity extends from 10m3-210m3
.In 2003 there are 12 reservoirs which are functioning in the city with a capacity
extending from 25m3-2000m3(Mwsss,2003)

3.1.2 Water production, consumption and tariff

The water production in the city from 1987 up to 2003ranges from the minimum
production in 2003 which is865, 639 m3 in 1990 up to the maximum production in 2003
which is 4,755,351m3. In each respective year the city was facing a wastage of water
use ranging from 10%-33% of the total production of water. The water consumption has
been expanding from time to time and reached around 3,827,015m3 in 2003Ec
(mwsss,2003.)

When we come to the tariff structure, before 1999 the Mwsss has been charging 1.50
per m3 equally for residents, business firms and governmental organizations. But from
2000-2003E.C the Mwsss made some adjustment and change of tariff by charging from
2.30-6.10 per m3 for residents and 6.10birr per m3 for business firms and governmental
organizations. (Ibid)

Table 1; the tariff system in Mekelle

Year Water Tariff

consumed in for 1 m3
m3 (In birr)

For rest For For Public tap

dents business governmenta “bono”
firms l
organization

Until 1999 Depends on 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.75

the amount
consumed
by users

2000-200 0-5m3 2.30 6.10 6.10 3.50

3
6-10m3 3.50

11-20m3 4.90
 21m3&abov 6.10
e

Source; Annual report of MWSSS (2003)

3.1.3 Water supply problems in the city

The water supply in Mekelle doesn’t meet demand. Many households, schools
and health institution often lack water and sanitation facilities which have drastic
implication for public health. The key water supply problems in Mekelle include water
losses and non revenue water. In 2008 water losses in the distribution system
amounted to 4,456m3/day. According to world bank(2007),approximately 30%of the
volume produced in cities like Mekelle is not billed and 25% of what is billed is not
paid(Castro,2009).

3.2 Methodology

3.2.1 Type and source of data

The data source of the study is both primary and secondary in nature.

3.2.1.1 Primary sources

To achieve the objectives of the study a field survey using household questionnaire is
conducted. This questionnaire incorporate questions pertaining to socio-economic and
demographic aspects, source of water use, amount of water consumption of household
etc.

3.2.1.2 Secondary source

The secondary data is obtained from sources including the annual reports of Mwsss
and related literatures.

3.2.2 The sample design

The sample for this study is drawn from three ‘kifle ketemas’ in the city from a total of
seven ‘ kifle ketemas’. A multistage sampling technique is used because the sample
selection involves three basic stages i.e. selection of sample ‘ kefele ketema’ at first
stage, a sample ‘kebele’ at the second stage and a sample household at the third stage
which are done randomly.

The main criterion for selection of sample is the water supply situation. Because water
supply disparity exists among ‘kefele ketema’ as well as ‘kebeles’ in the city. Taking the
above criteria into consideration, three ‘ kefle ketema’ out of seven will be taken for
evaluating the factors affecting household water demand in the city. It is desirable to
have a sample that is representative of the study population as much as possible but
limitations, most importantly, in time and cost prohibited the sample size to a total of 90
households.

3.2.3 Data collection techniques

Background information on the water supply and demand situation in the city obtained
from secondary sources.

The primary data is collected by making a household survey in the selected areas by
means of questionnaire.

3.2.4 Model specification

Most of the models that are employed in residential water demand study in both
developed and developing countries are regression model. They typically use the form
q=f(p,z) where p is the price variable and z are other factors or range of shifters of
demand such as income, household demographic and other characteristics like the
weather variables etc.

In countries where complete data set of residential water uses are unavailable from
water supply offices, a cross sectional data that are collected for sample over individual
households at a point in time can be used for estimating water demand of the
household. For this particular study the standard multiple regressions Model is used to
analyze factors affecting daily per capita water consumption of a household. And the
method of ordinary least square is applied for estimating the parameters of MRM.

The standard multiple linear regression Model will be selected because it helps to build
belter models for predicting the dependent variable, it incorporates the general
functional relationships and it is most widely used for empirical analysis (Woodridge)

The multiple linear regression Model is given by the form,

Yi=βo+b1X1i+……………. +bkxki+Ei…………………………………… (1)

Where, yi- the independent variable.

Xki-independent or explanatory variable.

Ei- error or disturbance term.

The b’s are regression coefficients, they are unknown and usually assumed to have a
fixed value; Bo is the intercept coefficient, Bk (k=1....k) are the slope coefficient.

The estimated regression coefficient or sample regression is

Yi^=Bo^+Bi^x1i+……………+B^kXki……………………………….. (2)
 Where yi-the ‘estimated ‘or fitted value of yi

Bk (k=0……k) is the estimated regression

coefficient.

The specific econometric model for this study is

DPC=f (FSHH, SWHH, INHH, EDHH, OWHH, AGHH, WRDS,SXHH) +e………………. (3)

Equation (3) explains the per-capita daily water consumption (DPC) is a function of
family size (FSHH),The type of source of water (SWHH),monthly household
income(INHH),educational status of a house hold head(EDHH),house ownership
status(OWHH) and age of a household head(AGHH) and distance from water
source(WRDS).

For estimation purpose equation (3) can be expressed in linear from as;

Dcp=Bo+B1FSHH+B2SWHH+B3INHH+B4EDHH+B5OWHH+B6AGHH+B7WRDS b8SXHH
+U……………………………………………… (4)

Where Bo-the constant term

Bi-regression parameters (i=1………7)

U-error term

3.2.5 Variables in the model, descriptions and expected sign

Even though there are many variables which affect the pre-capita daily water
consumption of a household this study takes in to account the major variables i.e.
Based on review of literature economic theories of residential water demand and
knowledge of the researcher
The dependant variable per capital daily water consumption was obtained by asking the
total water consumption of a household for different uses and dividing it by the total
number of people currently living in the family. For house with private piped water
connection, the monthly expenditure on water can be calculated by using the
information in the water bill. For those who did not have such connections, since they
use other water sources (from well, river), the information provided by the bill is not
reliable. So for both household , the average daily water use is estimated by using
bucket, clay jars or plastic jars i.e. ‘jerican’ to take water in to the house.

The impact of independent variables and expected sign of the variables used in this
empirical study is reviewed based on the previous studies available.

The following are the independent variables in this specific analysis.

FSHH; family size of the household, household water use or the demand for water
increase with an increase in the household size. But per capita consumption of water is
inversely related to family size. As a result a negative sign is expected for B1

SWHH; The type of source of water- The volume of domestic water consumption is
expected to be linearly related to the level of connection that is areas having better
level of connection are expected to consume higher volume of water as they can easily
get it within their building or compound. Similarly better level of connection may imply
for better paying capacity that is families who can afford to have their connection may
have better capacity to consume. A dummy variable one is specified for households
who have private meter connection and zero otherwise. As result a positive sign will be
expected for B2.
INHH; the monthly income of a household; Households with higher income have greater
ability to pay and have more water consumption. As a result B3 is expected to be
positive.

EDHH; The education level of a household head. Generally the higher the educational
level of a head of a family, the higher the awareness about the benefits that could be
gained from water. And hence educated household heads have preference for higher
water consumption. So a positive sign will be expected for B4.

SXHH; sex of a household head; It is assumed that women are often around the house
with a higher burden of fetching water for domestic use. A dummy variable will be
specified as one for female and zero for male. So a positive sign will be expected for B5.

OWHH; ownership of a house, the estimation of household wealth is difficult. However,

ownership of a house is used to as a proxy to the wealth of a household. The rational
for wealth is similar to that of income. A positive sign will be expected for B6. A dummy
variable one is specified for private house and zero otherwise.

AGHH; age of a house hold head; it is assumed that a person get older and older,
his/her per capital daily water consumption declines, so a negative sign will be expected
for B7.

WRDS; distance from water sourse; It is known that as the distance from the water
source increases, the water consumption of a household declines. So a negative sign
will be expected for B8

3.2.6 Method of data analysis

The study uses both descriptive and econometric analysis. After obtaining the
response of respondents, the data is described in the form averages and percentages.
The statistical software (STATA 10) is used to analyze and interpret the data
econometrically.
 CHAPTER FOUR

4. Empirical results and discussion

The information obtained from house hold water consumption survey can be
analyzed in two ways; by looking at the descriptive statistics of the survey result and
using econometric models to examine the determinants of house hold water
consumption.

4.1 Descriptive analysis

Before getting in to estimation process, it is necessary to summarize the results
of the survey. In this part a brief review of the result of the survey with the help of
descriptive statistics will be presented.

4.1 .1 socio-economic characteristics of the house holds

As previously stated a total of 90 household responses were obtained from
different areas of Mekelle. Out of the total population 61.1% is male and 38.8% female.
The average family size is 5.0 with a minimum of 1 household member and maximum
of 11 household members. With respect to religion, out of the total population 93.3% is
Orthodox, 2.22% is Muslim. The remaining 4.44% are protestant, catholic and others.
When the marital status of household is considered, out of 90 household head 74.4%
are married, 12.2% are single, and 8.88% are divorced. The average age of the
household head is 41 years with a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 95 year.

The education status of the household head figure reveals that 10% are illiterate
2.22% only read and writes, while 35.5% have attended primary level education. The
majority of the people (25.5%) have attended secondary level education, the same
25.5% have attended higher education and 1.11% of the household heads have attended
other type of educations.

Concerning the employment structure in the area, out of the 452 people in the 90
household, 15.9% are employed in private companies and 12.83% are government
employees. Thought there is income variation the average monthly income of sample
household is birr 3153.8. As far as housing condition are concerned, the sample survey
indicates that 72.2% are currently living in their own house 25.5% are rented from private
house owners and no person is found living in kebelle house in the city out of the
sample taken.

4.1.2 Water use and related problems in household

4.1.2.1 Water sources for a household

Urban dwellers collect water for their daily households needs from tap, river
well/spring etc. The households who are depending on tap water supply service for their
domestic use .are supplied either with the help of private meter connection or public
stand pipe. people use such different kinds of meter connection because of various
socio-economic and physical factors but mainly of economic factors. Urban dwellers
know that households with private meter connection have favorable condition for
having ample amount of tap water than those who do not have this facility and the
water fee per cubic meter is lower than water sellers. water source for households in
mekelle is indicated in table 2

Table2; Water sources for a household use

Serial Water sources Household

no
No Percent

1 Well 38 42.2%

2 Artificial dam 33 36.6%

3 River 0 0%

4 Lake 0 0%

5 Other 19 21.1%

Source; sample survey, 2012

According to table 2, the communities of mekelle have limited number of

sources to move water to their living compound .Majority of water (42. 2%) for a house
hold comes from well and 36. 6% of water comes from the artificial dams. since there
are no regular rivers and lakes in the city, they have no contribution towards water
provision a house hold

For households using the piped water connection, the type of piped water connection is
indicated below in table 3.

Serial no Type of piped water No Percent

connection

1 Tap inside the 22 24.4%

house, private

2 Tap inside the 46 51.1%

compound, private

3 Tap water users 5 5.55%

from private
vendors

4 Public tap users 15 16.6%

5 Others 2 2.22%

Table3;type of pipe water connection

Source; sample survey, 2012

The sample survey result shows that about 75.5% of the total sample households have
private meter connection where as 5.5% of the households are using water from private
vendors. The other 16.6% & 2.22% are users of public tap and other type of piped water
connection. Out of households having private meter connections insignificant number
that is 22.2% are having water tankers.

4.1.2.2 WATER USAGE AND PAYMENT FOR SERVICES

Most of households (63.3%) use water for food and drink, cloth washing,
cleaning and planting. Household which don’t have private meter connection are obliged
to move long distances to obtain water. From the survey result a household have to
travel an average distance of 970(m) in order to get water. The price charged by the
private vendors varies from place to place that is from a minimum of 20 cents to a
maximum of 3 birr per a twenty liter “jerikan”. such households don’t have a bill payment
services conducted monthly because the lack private connections.

On the other hand, households possessing a private connection have a monthly

bill payment. From the sample survey the payment of bill for last three months were
obtained. For the month January an average of 48.87 birr, for February an average of
41.38birrand for March an average of 47.82 birr is payed by households having private
connection. This shows that the average trend of payment from January to February
decreases by 15.3% and from February to march it increase by 15.5%.

4.1.2.3 Problems related to water use in a house hold

Almost all of the household surveyed( 75.5 %) used piped water as the main source of
water for domestic purposes .Sources of piped water in the survey area include private
tap in house and in compound, tap water from vender and public tap.

Problems related to household water supply system are numerous and they vary from
one urban center to the other .But, in general ,the main problems related to this which
affect the household water consumption are delay in the repair of broken water pipes
,limited number of wells ,frequent interruption ,lack .of piped water supply ,improper
usage of water by the society ,beurocratic problems, imbalance between the supply and
demand for water, inconvenient time of water supply ,etc……..

Among these problems of urban water supply, 61.1% of the respondents suggest the
frequent interruption of piped water supply as a major one. And 23.3% the households
argue that they are using water sources other than pipe ,because there was no
adequate piped water supply in the city .Where as 6.66% of the respondents replied that
the major cause of not using piped water is the physical distance of housing units from
the water point.

The other problem observed in the city is that there are some residents lacking the
access to private meter connection. Various reason have been suggested by the
respondents, 36.6% of the respondents argue that the major cause of this problem is
lack of pipe water supply and28.8% beurocratic problems ,while 7.77% lack of financial
capacity to have it.

4.1.3 Factors affecting house hold water consumption

In urban communities various socio-economic and physical factors have

significant relationship with household and per-capita water consumption pattern .The
impact of these factors on water consumption had been studied by number of
researchers in urban centers as it is indicated in preceding chapters.

Here an attempt is made to assess the impact of the factors that have
significant influence on the level of household and per capita water consumption of the
communities of Mekelle.

4.1.3.1Household size and water consumption

Household size is one of the significant variables that affect house hold water
consumption. As it is evidenced by various studies, the rate of per capita water
consumption decreases with an increase in the size of house hold members.

In order to assess the relationship between house hold size and the level of water
consumption of the study area, the sample house hold were divided in to five groups
according to the size (table 4)

Table 4: household size and water consumption

Household Number of Household Daily water Per-capita

size household members use(in liter) daily water
use (in liter)

<3 23 59 1440 24.4

4 15 60 1000 16.7

5 19 95 1160 12.2

6 14 84 700 8.34

7+ 19 154 1460 9.48

Total/mean 90 452 5760 14.22

Sourse; sample survey, 2012

As indicated in the above table, per capita water consumption decreases with an
increase in the household size. The result of the study also shows that the average daily
per capital water consumption in the study area is about 14.22 liter/day/ person. The
mean household consumption of water is 64 liters per day. Based on this information,
the average household’s water consumption per month is 1920liters.

Consistent with the findings of other researches, the result of the sample survey
shows that per capita water consumption decreases with an increase in household size
except an interruption in a movement from six to seven household sizes. Those
households with low family size (<3 person) accounts for 24.4 liter of per capita daily
water consumption. On the other hand, households with family size 7 person and above
exhibit water consumption (9.48 liter/day/person) lower than that of the lowest family
size.

4.1.3.2 The type of source of water and water consumption

Type of water source for household use urban communities varies from urban center to
urban center. Out of the total household in the sample (42.2%) obtain water from well,
36.6% from artificial dam and 21.1% from other source.

Table5; The type of pipe water connection and the water consumption

Sources of No of Percentag Household Daily water Per-capita water

water household e of members consumption(in consumption(in
s household liter) liter)

Private(tap 22 24.4% 120 1280 10.66

inside
house)

Private(tap 46 51.1% 216 2940 13.61

inside the
compoun
d)

Tap water 5 5.55% 23 380 16.52

use from
private
vender
Public tap 15 16.6% 74 960 12.97

Other 2 2.22% 19 200 10.52

Total/ 90 100% 452 5760 12.85

mean

Sources, sample survey (2012)

It is evident from the table 5 that families and people who have private meter
connection consume more water per-capita per day (24.2 liter/day/person) than those
who are lacking private connections.

Tap water users from private vendors have better level of per capita daily water
consumption (16.52liter), than that of public tap users (12.97liter) and those using other
sources (10.52liter).

4.1.3.3 Household monthly income and water consumption

Monthly income is other independent variable, which is supposed to affect the per
capita water consumption. Generally, the living standard and income level of the people
are directly related everywhere. People with higher income are in a better position
satisfy their basic needs than low-income groups .The high income group can afford to
allocate a relatively larger amount of their income for water than the lower income
group.

To identify the impact of income on the level of water consumption the sample
households are categorized in to five income group.

Table 6 Monthly household income and water consumption

Monthly household Household Daily water Per capital daily
income(in birr) number members consumption(in water
liter) consumption(in
liter)

<900 18 85 1040 12.23

901-1800 20 80 1440 18

1801-3500 26 138 1580 11.44

3501-7500 18 103 1200 11.6

>7501 8 46 500 10.6

Total/mean 90 452 5760 12.8

Source; sample survey (2012)

The lowest income group (<900) have a per capita daily water consumption of 12.23
liters which is even below the average (12.8). As income increases to 1800 birr per
month, the per capita daily water consumption increases to 18 liters. On the other
hand, on moving beyond an income level of 1800, the per capita daily water
consumption faces a fall to 11.44 liters. This occurs because the respondents are
understating their actual income which makes the survey result less accurate. Beyond
an income level of 3500 up to 7500 birr per month, the per capital daily water
consumption shows some improvement.

4.1.3.4 Educational status of households head and water

consumption
Educational status of household head has been identified as one of the factors
influencing the level of household water consumption .Educational status of the sample
household head is classified in to five levels illiterate, read and write, primary level
education, secondary level education and higher education. The daily per capita water
consumption of household in each of educational category is given in t he table below.

Table7; Educational level of house hold head and water consumption

Educational Number of Percentage Household Daily water Per capita

status households of member consumption daily water
households (in liter) consumptio
n (in liter)

Illiterates 9 10% 40 680 17

Only read 3 3.33% 23 220 9.56

and write

Primary 22 24.4% 115 1440 12.52

level
education

Secondary 24 26.67% 104 1480 14.23

level
education
Higher 24 26.67% 128 1580 12.34
education

Other 8 8.88% 42 360 8.57

Total/mean 90 100% 452 5760 12.37

Source sample survey (2012)

As can be observed from the table,10% of the sample household head are illiterate ,
3.33%can only read and write,24.4 % have attended primary e ducation,26.6%
secondary education and alsothe same 26.6% have attended higher education the
remaining 8.88% attended other forms of education .

As evidenced by various researches, the educational level of a household head is

positively related to the per capital to daily water consumption but the data obtained
from respondent face interruption in moving from illiterate group to a group which can
only read write those who can only read and write have a per capital daily water
consumption of 9.56liter, followed by those who have attained primary education
(12.52liter) lastly those who have attained secondary education (14.23liter).

This three educational group satisfy the proposition above which suggests that the per
capital daily water consumption is positively related with educational level of household
head.

4.1.3.5 House owner ship status and water consumption

Ownership status of household on the house they are living in it is the other factor that
is felt to have its on influence on household water consumption pattern house
ownership status of house hold in this study is classified I two private, rented from
kebele, rented from private owner and other.

Table; 8 distribution of household and their daily per capital water consumption by hose
owner ship status

House Number of Percentage Household Daily water Per capital

ownership households of members consumption daily water
status household (in liter) consumptio
n (in liter)

Private 65 72.2% 356 4080 11.46

Rented from 0 0% 0 0 0
kebele

Rented from 23 25.5% 90 1600 17.78

private
owner

Other 2 2.22% 6 80 13.33

Total /mean 90 100% 452 5760 10.64

Source sample survey (2012)

As can be observed from table 7, in the study area mekelle, out of a total of 90
respondents no person is found living in kebele house but 72.2% of the respondent live
in a private house with a per capital daily water consumption of 11.46 liters and 25.5
percent of the respondent live in a house rented from private owners having a per
capital daily water consumption 17.78 of liters.
 4.2 Econometric analysis

In this section the final results of the econometric analysis are presented based on ordinary
least square (OLS) estimation technique. Such presentation helps to examine whether or not
the per capita daily water consumption is related to the explanatory variables.

4.2.1Multiple linear regression model; results and discussion

As it is stated in chapter three there are eight variables which affect the per capital water
consumption of households . but in running thise regression only six of them are taken as
explanatory variables . because the variable income is highly corrleted with total family size with
correlation coefficient of 0.8867 (above 0.8). thise demands the regression to avoid
multicolinearity. Total family size can not be dropped because it has a significant contribution
to the variation in the daily water consumption of a household . so the variable income is
dropped because consumption of water is a basic need . a person even with no income should
consume water. The other variable not included in this model is the sex of household head.
According to various literature review ed, it is insignificant to affect the water consumption in
household

The result obtained from regression estimation using STATA version 10 is given below;
As explained above in the regression result, the per capita daily water consumption (DPC) is
determined by the total family size (FSHH), the education level of a house hold head (EDHH),age
of house hold head (AGHH),source of water(SWHH),house ownership(OWHH)and distance from
the water source (WRDS).In explaining the model the adjusted R2 Should be interpreted than the
normal R2value .Because the adjusted R2 is more appropriate for small sample sizes. The value
of adjusted R2= 0.8488 which shows that the model explains 84.8% of the variation in the
dependant variable. The multiple linear regression model is statically significant even at
1%.Because it has a prop>F value of 0.000..The constant term in the model which is equal to
3.3725 shows the predicted value per capita daily water consumption regardless of the values
of all independent variables. This specific econometric model does not face a problem of both
multicolinearty and hetro skedasticity.

2) The analyses of independent variable

A. Family size of the households (FSHH)

Family size of the house hold was found to be statically significant at 1%, with a positive
parameter estimate (0.2778).This shows that as the house hold size increase by one unit, the
per capita daily water consumption increases by 0.2778 liters. As the family size increases,
there will be large amount of wastage of water. So the house hold begins to consume large
amount of water daily. In contrary to the expectation in the hypothesis, the variable has a
coefficient with a positive sign.

B.Educational status of a house hold head (EDHH).

From table 7 of the descriptive analysis section it was not possible to identify the trend of water
consumption. But from the coefficient of regression which is 0.0835 for educational status of
house hold head, it is observed that there is a positive relationship. The variable is significant at
10% .As education level increases by one year; the per capita daily water consumption increase
by 0.0835 liters .The variable education has a positive coefficient as expected.

C. Age of a hose hold head (AGHH)

The test result shows that the variable age is insignificant to affect the per capita daily water
consumption. But the sign of the coefficient is positive (0.00145) as opposed to the
expectation. This may happen because getting older and older may not imply a decrease in
water consumpsoin.An old age person may consume more water than an adult one due to
various reasons.

D.Sources of water (SWHH)

It is found to be statistically significant at 10% because it has a p value of 0.083.This variable

has a negative parameter estimate (-0.1622) as opposed to the expectation. Households having
private connection have 0.1622 liters less water than those who did not have.

E. House ownership (OWHH)

The test result shows that this variable is insignificant to affect the per capita daily water
consumption. The sign of the coefficient is positive as expected.

F.Distance from water source (WRDS)

This variable is statistically significant in both 5% and 10% because it has a p value of 0.047.the
coefficient for this variable has a negative sign as expected(-0.000038).this indicates that as
distance from water source increases by one unit, the per capita daily water consumption
decreases by 0.000038 liters.

CHAPTER FIVE
5. CONCLUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 CONCLUSION

An improved and sufficient water supply service is an important thing for

economic development, and its existence enables to have healthy and productive
population that has a great role in increasing the productivity of the economy. In relation
to this, access to safe drinking water varies from community to community because of
physical and socio economic factors. As a result, now a day, a number of people in the
world doesn’t have reasonable access to adequate amount of potable water.

Like most of the urban centers of developing countries mekelle, the

capital city of tigray region, has been experiencing the problem of potable water supply
in a adequate quantity. The city of Mekelle is supplied with water from twenty water
wells which in clued Aynalem, Dander, Kuya, Chenfera and etc. However, the water
supply is becoming inadequate to meet the present water needs of the population of
Mekelle.

The major goal of this study is to assess the determinants of house

hold water demand .To accomplish the task; primary as well as secondary data were
collected. Primary data was collected from a total of 90 sample household through
questionnaire. Information obtained from the surrey was analyzed by using descriptive
analysis and econometric model.

The descriptive analysis shows that at present the majority of

(42.2%) of the households obtain water from well where as 26.6% of the households
receive water from the artificial dams built in the city. The sample survey result also
indicated that about 75.5% of the total sample households have private meter
connection; where as 5.5% of the households is using water from private venders. The
other 16.6% and 2.22% are users of public tap and other type of piped water
connections respectively. The average pre-capital daily water consumption is 12.85
liters. The mean household consumption of water was 64 liter per day. Based on this
information, the average households’ water consumption per month was 1920 liters.
As for as the problem of water supply is concerned, more than 61.1% of the
respondents mentioned frequent interruption of water supply as the most serious
problem . The other problems are delay in the repair of broken water pipe, limited
number of wells and inconvenient time of water supply.

To assess household water consumption pattern the researcher used

per-capital daily water consumption as dependant variable and family size, educational
status of the household head, age of a household head, source of water, distance from
water source and house ownership status of a household.

The econometric analysis indicates that from the six variables, education, total family
size source of water and distance from water sources are statistically significant to
affect the per capita daily water consumption of a household while house ownership
and are insignificant.

5.2 RECOMMENDTION

From the preceding chapters it is clear that the yield of the water source and
pipeline network is not enough to satisfy the needs of the community. This and related
factors invite researchers on such topics and help to recommend ways and means of
improving water supply system. Thus, the following measures should be taken in order
to improve water consumption rate of the community of mekelle.

1. One of the problems of mekelle water supply system is its frequent

interruption. Thus, in order to solve the shortage of water, MWSSS should expand
sustainable water supply project.

2. it is better to construct dams as an additional source of water at the time of

interruption. And also the quality of pipelines and boreholes should be rehabilitated

3. One of the causes for low pre-capital water consumption is high price of tap
water from water sellers. Most of the respondents suggest that the price charged by
venders is fluctuating .Thus to provide adequate water to a large number of people at
minimum cost, MWSSA has to install additional public stand pipes.

4. Since a positive relationship exists between educational level and water

consumption, the MWSSS has to launch strong public awareness and orient the
community on economical use of the available water supply. `

BIBLOGRAPHY
Andrea Castro (2009). A water and sanitation needs assessment for
Mekelle city. Ethiopia.

Basania, M., ishamb, J.relly, B, (2008). The determinant of water connection

and water consumption; Empirical evidence from a Cambodian household
survey.

Butler, D and fayyaz M.,Eds (2006); water demand management; IWA

publishing, lond-and white, S., ED, (1998); wise water management; A
demand management.

Dessalegn chaine (2012), factors determining residential water demand in

north western Ethiopia. The case of Merawi. Cornell University. Master’s
thesis.

Fekadu mekonnen (2007). Determinant of water supply for household in

Mekelle .Mekelle University. Department of economics. BA thesis. Mekelle
.Ethiopia.

International water resource association water international, volume 27,

number 1, pages 98-104, March 2002.

Mekelle water supply and sewage service (2003E.C). Annual report

mekelle.
Mequanent ejigu (1998). Household water consumption pattern use Addis
Ababa. Ethiopia. The case of Gonder town, Addis Abeba University. Addis
Ababa. Ethiopia.
Ministry of water resource (2004). Annual report. Addis Ababa.

National academy of sciences 500 Fifth Street, N.W, Washington Dc 2000.

Rogers, p., R. Bhatia and A.huber, 1997 “water as a social and economic
good; How to put the principle in to practice.” TAC background paper
number 2. Global partnership, Stockholm, Sweden.

World health organization (WHO), (UNICEF) progress report on sanitation

and drinking water, Geneva

APPENDIX
 MEKELLE UNIVERSITY

COOLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONNOMICS

DEPARTEMENT OF ECONOMICS

This questionnaire is prepared to gather information about the determinants of household water
demand in Mekelle. Its purpose is to prepare a senior essay as a partial fulfillment of the
Bachelor of Art Degree in Economics, in Mekelle University. I kindly request you to give the
required information for this study. The information generated by using this questionnaire will
be used only for academic purpose and all household level information will be confidential.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Section A. Socio-Economic characteristics of household

1. Sex

Male Female

2. age

3. Marital status

Married unmarried divorced 4.other, specify___________

4. Religion

Orthodox catholic protestant Muslim other, specify___

5. Educational status

Illiterate from7-8 other, specify___________

 Read and write from9-12

From1-6 above12

6. House hold size

Male ______ female _____ total__________

7. Sex, educational and employment status of house hold members

Serial sex Educational Employment status

no status

1.male 1.illitrate 1.unemployed

2.femal 2.grade ,if 2.employed

e literate
3.out of labor
force(student,children,retierd,etc.

8. Type of occupation and monthly income of employed family members

Serial Type of Monthly

no occupation income

1.private
 2.public

1.

total

9. House ownership status of a family

Private rented from private owners

Rented from kebele other specify,__________

SectionB.household water use practice and related problems

10. What is/are the sources of water for household use? (More than one choice is possible)

From river from lake from pond from artificial dam others________

11. If you have access to private pipe, what kind of pipe water service do you use currently?

Tap inside a house, private

Tap inside a compound, private

Tap water from private vendors

Public stand pipe/bono

Others__________
12. Do you have a private water tanker in your compound?

Yes no

13. If yes, what is the capacity? __________(in liter) ?

14. Do you have water using fixture?

Yes no

15. If yes, which one?

Bath flush toilet kitchen with complete water supply service

Other,_________

16. For what purpose do you use water at home?

For food and drink for cleaning 3.for washing cloth

For watering garden other,___________

17. If you use sources of water other than pipe, what is the main reason to do so?

High price of water physical distance of tap water point from your home

Lack of access to tap water high interruption of tap water supply

Other,___________

18. Mention the average distance at which your source of water is far from your home._______
meter on average.

19. If you fetch water from public stand pipe/private venders, how much are you charged
currently?___________ per baldi/insera (or a twenty –liter bucket)

20. How much water did your household consume per day? _______ Baldi/insera (a
twenty-liter bucket)
21. What is your water bill payment for the last three months?

_____________January

____________February

_____________ March

22.If you did not have private connection now, what is the reason why you did not get private
line so far?

Shortage of pipeline beaurocratic problems

Financial problem you did not like to have it.

Other, _____________

23. Are there problems of water supply, distribution and consumption in the area?

Yes no not sure

24. If yes, what are the problems?

___________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

25. Would you like to suggest how to ensure safe and sufficient water supply for a house hold in
Mekelle

City?

_________________________________________________________________________________________