One approach to Water Scarcity: Legedadi Phase II Water Project

In my previous blog post, I mentioned how exposed Ethiopia is to climate change, as Ethiopia is recording consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall, making many regions susceptible to crop failures, livestock loss and food and water insecurity.  In this blog post, I aim to disclose how the Ethiopian government is approaching and tackling their domestic water crisis.

Legedadi Phase II Water Project

The latest approach to tackling water insecurity in Ethiopia is the Legedadi Phase II Water Project, launched in April 2019. One aspect of the project consists in drilling 20 boreholes that would give the combined output capacity of 86,000m3 of clean water a day to Addis Ababa. Likewise, it will integrate 15 concrete reservoirs with a water holding capacity of 2000 - 10,000m3 of water.  According to Nigusse Desalegn, spokesman for the Addis Ababa Water and Sewage Authority, this project will play a significant role in tackling water scarcity.

Despite, Ethiopia being the source of up to 80% of the River Nile’s water, the capital has extensively suffered from water shortages because of an aging water supply system, that poorly stores water and struggles to meet growing demands. In attempts to ease these water shortages, the government of Addis Ababa believes this new water project will improve and support its existing water system. Indeed, The Legedadi Phase II water project will assist in cleaning, storing and delivering more groundwater to people in the Addis Ababa region.  

This is the solution!

A study carried out in 2012 by the Addis Ababa Institute of Technology highlights that a third of the water distributed to residents is lost through pipe leakages. Additionally, Ethiopia is heavily dependent upon hydropower for energy supply. Therefore, frequent below average rainfall patterns due to climate change make the task of distributing clean water to everyone even more of a challenge. Indeed, recurrent power shortages prevent or make it more challenging to pump water from groundwater stores.

The Legedadi Phase II Water Project would help fix many noticeable failures that exist in Ethiopia’s aging water system by reducing leakages, increasing storage and withdrawals. This is an essential short-term solution to help increase water efficiency.

Or is it?

According to Bisrat (2017), the solution to water insecurity is not to construct more reservoirs and increase rates of groundwater extraction using more boreholes, but to make our water usage more efficient and water conservation a domestic priority.

Figure One: Simplified hydrogeological map of the Akaki catchment, around Addis Ababa, central Ethiopia.

Although Figure one shows there are productive aquifers in the Addis Ababa region, it is evident that the region does not have sufficient productive aquifers to meet future demands as the population of Addis Ababa is projected to double by 2039. Moreover, the rates at which these aquifers are replenishing is significantly low due to below average rainfall.

Bisrat (2017) highlights that projects such as the Legedadi Phase II Water Project, although they may appear to be the solution in the short-term, are not in the long-term. He believes the government should impose seasonal tariffs as people should be charged more for water during drought seasons to make them more conscious and efficient about the way they use water.

How does this impact agriculture and food?

The Legedadi Water Project will undoubtedly have a significant impact on agriculture as an estimated 93% of all water withdrawals are for agricultural use. Therefore, because the state-funded project will increase water supply, it will certainly assist food production in the short-term. However, if the government keeps supporting projects similar to Legedadi, the agriculture sector will suffer severely in the future as these aquifers are being pumped faster than they are being replenished. Therefore, once these aquifers are no longer productive, the agricultural sector will suffer severely as there will be reduced irrigation and soil moisture, which will diminish crop and livestock productivity.

Fundamentally, I believe the Legedadi Water Project is necessary to meet short-term water and food demands. However, I also believe it is imperative that the Ethiopian government does not fixate in simply meeting short-term demands. I believe that in order to ensure food and water security in the future, the Ethiopian government needs to adjust to more sustainable approaches. Using their top-down power they can implement schemes and policies such as seasonal tariffs that shape lifestyles and norms so people support conservation and shame consumerism.