AAWSA to Select Design for Gerbi Water Project

The two rivers, Gerbi and Sibilu, which are the tributaries of Abay throughMugerRiverwill be used as a source of water for capital in the coming five years.

Addis Abeba City Water & Sewerage Authority (AAWSA) will choose a design for the Gerbi water project this week, located 30Km north of Addis Abeba.

GerbiRiver, located beyondMountEntoto, is a tributary of theAbayRiver. The project was studied 20 years ago, says Etsegenet Tesfaye, head of communications at AAWSA, although it was not realised due to financial problems.

AAWSA’s board, which includes Mayor Kuma Demeksa, is now considering three alternative designs, all made by Wapacon Consulting, an Indian firm.

All designs include a dam. One of the designs includes a water purifying facility at the project site. The second design shows that water has to be transported to Gefersa Dam through a tunnel, whilst the third option has a water purifying facility around Dil Ber in Gulele District located south of the Entoto Mountains.

The project will cost 47 million to 77 million dollars, all of which will be covered by the City Administration, according to Etsegenet.

“When this project is completed, it will help distribute water easily to the areas around Entoto, where it is currently a challenge to pump water,” she said.

Construction will start at the end of this fiscal year, with planned completion in five years, she added. The dam will provide 100,000 cubic metres of water a day.

Currently the city gets 374,000 cubic metres of water a day from different sources, allowing 97pc of the City access to the water.

AAWSA is planning to have more water sources in the coming 10 years to produce a total of about 813,500 cubic metres a day.


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