Addis Ababa groundwater at risk.

18 Jun, 2007

Discharge from industrial and residential areas is threatening groundwater supplies in the Ethiopian capital according to a research paper presented by Dr Tamiro Alemayehu, an earth scientist at the state-run Addis Ababa University. Garages, hospitals and health centres and petrol stations pose the greatest threat to water supplies, while the stadium area in central Addis Ababa and the industrial areas in the southern part of the city are the places worst affected. Groundwater springs and boreholes account for 40 per cent of water in the capital while the remaining 60 per cent comes from surface water. Besides contamination, other threats to local water supplies include rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and the salination of reservoirs.