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Factors impacting water quality and quantity in rapidly expanding urban areas based on the DPSIR model: experiences and challenges from Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia

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Abstract

Due to the increasing pressures of global change, such as urbanization, climate change, population growth, and socioeconomic changes, cities around the world are facing significant water challenges, both in terms of supply and quality. This emphasizes the need for concerted effort to manage water supplies effectively for sustainable development. The driver, pressure, state, impact, and response (DPSIR) model was applied in this study to determine the underlying causes of Addis Ababa’s water supply and quality issues. Field observations, key informant interviews, and previously published reports were used to identify these variables, impacts, and coping mechanisms. The model suggests that issues with urban water are caused by inadequate waste management, fast urbanization, climate change, sociodemographic shifts, economic challenges, changes in land use and land cover, and institutional pressures. As a result, aquatic ecosystems endure damage and there is also an increase in water-related diseases and unmet water demand. Some of the responses to these effects include using bottled water, digging boreholes, harvesting rainwater, planting trees, and soliciting funds. The study concludes by recommending an integrated approach to managing the risks of declining water quality and shortage. This study will advance the important empirical understanding of how urban water supply and quality are impacted by environmental stresses on a global scale. It will also positively impact the development of sustainable water management policies and practices.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge AAWSA, Ministry of Water and Energy for Ethiopia, EPA of Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Environmental Authority for their assistance in data collection.

Funding

This research was funded by the World Bank Group through the African Centre of Excellence for Water Management, Addis Ababa University, grant number: GSR/0140/13.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Africa Centre of Excellence for Water Management, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Thandile T. Gule

  2. College of Natural and Computer Sciences, Aquatic Sciences Section, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Brook Lemma

  3. College of Natural and Computational Sciences, School of Earth Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Binyam Tesfaw Hailu

  4. Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 4, Helsinki, Finland

    Binyam Tesfaw Hailu

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  1. Thandile T. Gule
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Contributions

Thandile T. Gule: conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; investigation; methodology, validation; visualization; writing—original draft; and writing—review and editing.

Brook Lemma: conceptualization; resources; supervision; and writing—review and editing. Binyam Tesfaw Hailu: conceptualization; supervision; and writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Thandile T. Gule.

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Gule, T.T., Lemma, B. & Hailu, B.T. Factors impacting water quality and quantity in rapidly expanding urban areas based on the DPSIR model: experiences and challenges from Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 22131–22144 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32550-4

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