The Water Is Good

According to the United Nations Development Programme, one sixth of the global population  draws their drinking water from unregulated sources. To combat this problem, organizations such as the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) are working to improve water sources in the developing world and provide as many people as possible with safe, clean, and accessible drinking water.

In a December 2010 IFPRI working paper, “Access to Improved Water Source and Satisfaction with Services: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia,” authors Degnet Abebaw, Fanaye Tadesse, and Tewodaj Mogues examine the state of drinking water infrastructure in Ethiopia. Specifically, they evaluate rural Ethiopians’ satisfaction with their water supply to analyze the impact of development efforts on the lives of the intended beneficiaries.

The number of Ethiopians with access to safe drinking water has steadily improved: in 1990, only 19% of Ethiopians drank clean water, compared to 52% in 2007. However, it is unclear how well infrastructure improvements, such as wells and hand pumps, are being maintained. A 2005 working paper for the Rural Water Supply Network estimated that 35% of the water systems in sub-Saharan Africa are not fully functioning, mostly due to lack of maintenance. This issue compelled Abebaw, Tadesse, and Mogues to survey rural Ethiopians to better understand the efficacy of Ethiopia’s water systems. In 2009, they surveyed 1,117 rural Ethiopian households about both the availability and the quality of their water supplies.

Approximately 30% of the households surveyed retrieved their water from improved sources. The authors received overwhelmingly positive feedback from Ethiopians with access to treated water; in the wet season, they reported 92% satisfaction with availability and 90% satisfaction with quality. In contrast, Ethiopians using unimproved water sources reported only 42% satisfaction with quality and 77% satisfaction with availability during the wet season. During the dry season, satisfaction with quality did not change dramatically among either group, but satisfaction with availability decreased significantly: unimproved water users reported a satisfaction level of 66%, while improved water users reported an 83% satisfaction rate.

Still, Abebaw, Tadesse, and Mogues emphasize that there is room for improvement. Users of improved water sources report an overall satisfaction rate only 25% higher than users of unimproved sources. The authors believe these relatively meager results are due, in part, to users’ lack of knowledge about the benefits of clean water. In addition, many Ethiopians still have to travel long distances to access their water sources; a 2005 survey found that 52% of the population of Ethiopia had to travel half an hour or more to collect water.

Overall, Abebaw, Tadesse, and Mogues’ analysis reveals a generally effective program of water development in Ethiopia, while simultaneously highlighting the potential for improvement.