ABSTRACT
The current aim of the Ethiopia‟s Millennium Development Goal declaration is to alleviate poverty through improving the strategy of effective utilization of water supply sources. In order to achieve the goal, a priority area is providing adequate and quality water. The study was conducted in Simada District, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, where after considerable expansion of the water supply systems, people still
rely on unimproved water sources that may be contaminated with waterborne diseases. The objective of the research was to investigate the reasons behind the use of unprotected sources in both urban and rural settings. Sixteen water points were selected. Three water points (that were functional) were located in urban areas, and the remaining 13 in rural areas ranged from nonoperational to completely functional.
Forty four households were interviewed in the urban area and 116 in the rural area, covering water consumption behavior, perception of water source quality, and factors determining use. Water quality was determined at 11 selected water points representing both improved and unimproved sources.
In the urban areas people were generally satisfied with the water services provided by the municipality because the water quality was good and walking distances were short. The water cost was considered high especially for the poor who could not afford the cost and therefore used alternative unprotected services. In response, the municipality recently lowered the cost. . In other cases, because most of the systems were only a
few years old, some people were not adjusted to taste and went back to the original, lower quality water sources. On some days, waiting times were too long, forcing some people to use a more distant, unimproved source.
In contrast, more people in the rural areas did not use the constructed water points because of the quality of water, adequacy, distance and longer waiting times. Systems had broken down or failed for several reasons, the main one being that a functional organization did not exist within the community to manage the water supply. Other people who were dissatisfied did not like the taste of the water, could not pay for the water services and therefore sought out alternative unimproved sources.
Sanitation coverage in urban areas was much less than that in rural areas where more extension and promotion has been conducted. Construction of latrines without waste decomposition or removal mechanisms service and the habit of open defecation were common problems especially in urban peripheries.