HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE EXISTING WATER SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM USING WaterGEMS: A CASE OF WERABE TOWN, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Intermittent water supply is a series problem for utilities in many developing countries, including Ethiopia. This thesis focused on the evaluation of the hydraulic performance of the existing water supply distribution system in Werabe town, Ethiopia. A model has been developed for analyzing the hydraulic parameters of the existing water distribution system. Water GEMS V8i was used to determine the pressure junctions, velocity, and head loss through the pipe. To analyze the data, which was collected from different sources, descriptive statistical methods like percentages, graphs and cross tabulation were used. Water supply coverage of Werabe town was found to be 52.43%, and the average per capita consumption was 42.09 l/day, and water loss from the system accounts for 31.10% of the total water production. Hence, this result indicates that there is a gap between demand and supply. Modeling results showed violations of maximum and minimum pressure, velocity, and head loss criteria at different junctions and pipes. Generally, the result of the analysis of the overall hydraulic performance of the distribution system in Werabe town has revealed that it was poor, with a high level of non-revenue water, low service coverage, velocity, pressure, and head loss not being in the permissible range. As a result, it is critical to rehabilitate and improve the capacity of the distribution system. Thus, the distribution main pipes in the development of the model were modified, and pressure reducer valves were incorporated into the system to reduce the maximum pressure, but the head loss exceeded the maximum allowable value, which has been adjusted or modified by resizing pipe diameters. As a result, 18.11% of the total distribution networks have been resized.