Aklilu Tesfa, Sahilu Geremew, Ambelu Argaw
Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Environ Health Insights. 2024 Jun 10;18:11786302241258349. doi: 10.1177/11786302241258349. eCollection 2024.
Water quality issues in Ethiopia necessitate the implementation of the Water Safety Plan (WSP) to safeguard drinking water. Despite its benefits, WSP implementation is underutilized, a situation exacerbated by urbanization, agriculture, pollution, and climate change. This study evaluated water supply system vulnerability and delineated protection zones in the Upper Awash River subbasin. By employing the DRASTIC model, the National WASH Inventory-2 (NWI-2), and qualitative methods, this research aims to integrate the NWI-2 with vulnerability assessments. The study revealed that, among 2864 schemes, only 14.4% had a water safety plan, while 20.7% practiced water safety, and 6% reported the occurrence of waterborne diseases. Over 39.23% of the schemes were in high vulnerability areas, 12.32% were in very high vulnerability areas, and only 8% were in low vulnerability areas. The validation revealed a 61.7% association between the vulnerability indices and nitrate concentration. The strengths of the strategy included coordination and guideline development, but challenges such as institutionalization, catchment protection, the legal framework, and climate information remain for the Water Safety Plan. To promote public health, these findings help to demonstrate and integrate the NWI-2 with vulnerability assessments to protect drinking water sources. The conclusion also calls for all concerned authorities to implement water source protection, emphasizing the use of GIS technology and the adoption of integrated watershed management practices, which encompass regulatory control and conservation strategies. Furthermore, more research on the pollutant time of travel, assimilation capacity, and land use priorities is needed to delineate specific protection zones.
埃塞俄比亚的水质问题使得实施水安全计划（WSP）以保障饮用水安全成为必要。尽管水安全计划有诸多益处，但在城市化、农业、污染和气候变化的影响下，其实施未得到充分利用。本研究评估了上阿瓦什河流域子流域的供水系统脆弱性，并划定了保护区。通过采用DRASTIC模型、国家水、环境卫生和个人卫生清单-2（NWI-2）以及定性方法，本研究旨在将NWI-2与脆弱性评估相结合。研究表明，在2864个供水方案中，只有14.4%制定了水安全计划，20.7%实施了水安全措施，6%报告了水源性疾病的发生情况。超过39.23%的方案位于高脆弱性地区，12.32%位于极高脆弱性地区，只有8%位于低脆弱性地区。验证结果显示，脆弱性指数与硝酸盐浓度之间的关联度为61.7%。该策略的优势包括协调和指南制定，但水安全计划仍面临制度化、集水区保护、法律框架和气候信息等挑战。为促进公众健康，这些研究结果有助于展示NWI-2并将其与脆弱性评估相结合，以保护饮用水源。结论还呼吁所有相关当局实施水源保护，强调使用地理信息系统（GIS）技术并采用综合流域管理做法，其中包括监管控制和保护策略。此外，需要对污染物传播时间、同化能力和土地利用优先级进行更多研究，以划定具体的保护区。
