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 43,763m 3 per day. Since the
current supply of water is 28,120m3 per day, the city needs additional 15,343m 3of 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 2/3 rd 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 13 03’ 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 m 3
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 m 3 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

2000-2003 0-5m3 2.30 6.10 6.10 3.50

6-10m3 3.50

11-20m3 4.90

21m3&above 6.10

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.

Table3;type of pipe water connection

Source; sample survey, 2012

Serial no Type of piped water No Percent

connection

1 Tap inside the house, 22 24.4%

private

2 Tap inside the 46 51.1%

compound, private

3 Tap water users from 5 5.55%

private vendors

4 Public tap users 15 16.6%

5 Others 2 2.22%

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 size Number of Household Daily water Per-capita

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 Percentage Household Daily water Per-capita water

water households of members consumption(in consumption(in
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
compound)

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/ mean 90 100% 452 5760 12.85

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 of Household Daily water Per capita

status households households member consumption(i daily water
n liter) consumption
(in liter)

Illiterates 9 10% 40 680 17

Only read 3 3.33% 23 220 9.56

and write

Primary level 22 24.4% 115 1440 12.52

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 of Household Daily water Per capital

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

Private 65 72.2% 356 4080 11.46

 Rented from 0 0% 0 0 0
kebelle

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.

4.2.1 Multiple 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;

. reg percapitalwaterconsumption totfamsiz sourceofwater yearsofeducation houseownership a

> ge wsordis

Source SS df MS Number of obs = 61

F( 6, 54) = 57.12
Model 35.5870015 6 5.93116691 Prob > F = 0.0000
Residual 5.60689102 54 .103831315 R-squared = 0.8639
Adj R-squared = 0.8488
Total 41.1938925 60 .686564875 Root MSE = .32223

percapital~n Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval]

totfamsiz -.3227712 .0193288 -16.70 0.000 -.3615231 -.2840193

sourceofwa~r -.1622884 .091858 -1.77 0.083 -.3464525 .0218757
yearsofedu~n .0635173 .0245023 2.59 0.012 .0143932 .1126414
houseowner~p .0607526 .1016663 0.60 0.553 -.1430762 .2645813
age .0014532 .0034814 0.42 0.678 -.0055266 .0084329
wsordis -.0000389 .0000191 -2.04 0.047 -.0000772 -5.95e-07
_cons 3.372518 .1919761 17.57 0.000 2.987629 3.757407

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
. corr
(obs=13)

percap~n totfam~z source~r income yearso~n sex houseo~p age

percapital~n 1.0000
totfamsiz -0.9073 1.0000
sourceofwa~r -0.3224 0.2282 1.0000
income -0.8388 0.8515 0.2923 1.0000
yearsofedu~n -0.3281 0.2900 -0.0778 0.1932 1.0000
sex 0.5142 -0.4444 0.0304 -0.6354 0.0079 1.0000
houseowner~p -0.2321 0.3294 -0.0577 0.1085 -0.0150 -0.1845 1.0000
age 0.0439 0.1535 0.1311 -0.0505 -0.1887 0.1837 0.6698 1.0000
wsordis -0.0523 -0.0596 -0.4523 -0.1298 0.0704 -0.4275 0.0219 -0.4042
tankcap -0.3341 0.5110 -0.0432 0.3740 0.4489 0.0974 0.3733 0.4112

wsordis tankcap

wsordis 1.0000
tankcap -0.4354 1.0000

. estat vif

Variable VIF 1/VIF

houseowner~p 1.37 0.729499

age 1.36 0.737069
totfamsiz 1.21 0.825210
sourceofwa~r 1.14 0.874858
yearsofedu~n 1.10 0.911828
wsordis 1.09 0.919834

Mean VIF 1.21

. estat hettest

Breusch-Pagan / Cook-Weisberg test for heteroskedasticity

Ho: Constant variance
Variables: fitted values of percapitalwaterconsumption

chi2(1) = 1.34
Prob > chi2 = 0.2473

. corr income totfamsiz

(obs=90)

income totfam~z

income 1.0000
totfamsiz 0.8667 1.0000

.
. reg percapitalwaterconsumption totfamsiz sourceofwater yearsofeducation houseownership a
> ge wsordis

Source SS df MS Number of obs = 61

F( 6, 54) = 57.12
Model 35.5870015 6 5.93116691 Prob > F = 0.0000
Residual 5.60689102 54 .103831315 R-squared = 0.8639
Adj R-squared = 0.8488
Total 41.1938925 60 .686564875 Root MSE = .32223

percapital~n Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval]

totfamsiz -.3227712 .0193288 -16.70 0.000 -.3615231 -.2840193

sourceofwa~r -.1622884 .091858 -1.77 0.083 -.3464525 .0218757
yearsofedu~n .0635173 .0245023 2.59 0.012 .0143932 .1126414
houseowner~p .0607526 .1016663 0.60 0.553 -.1430762 .2645813
age .0014532 .0034814 0.42 0.678 -.0055266 .0084329
wsordis -.0000389 .0000191 -2.04 0.047 -.0000772 -5.95e-07
_cons 3.372518 .1919761 17.57 0.000 2.987629 3.757407
 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 no sex Educational status Employment status

1.male 1.illitrate 1.unemployed
2.femal 2.grade ,if literate 2.employed
e 3.out of labor force(student,children,retierd,etc.
1
2
3
4
5

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

Serial Type of occupation Monthly income

no
1.private
2.public
1.
2
3
4
5
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?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
____