Cost Effective Design Guidelines for Urban Water

Supply

Ministry of Water Resources, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa
Feberuary/2007

(Prepared for training local town consultants,

regional project support consultants and regional
project coordination unit staff)

National Project Coordination Unit (NPCU)

Prepared by: Eskinder Woudneh

National Consultant
(Water Resources/Infrastructure Consultant)

Addis Ababa

1
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................3

2. STEPS FOR COST-EFFECTIVE DESIGN:....................................................................5

3. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENTS FOR COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN..8

3.1 SERVICE LEVELS...............................................................................................................8
3.2 EXISTING SITUATION ASSESSMENT..................................................................................8
3.3 PLANNING HORIZON FOR COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN........................................................9
3.4 WATER DEMAND..............................................................................................................9
3.5 CONSUMPTION PATTERNS AND PEAK FACTORS.............................................................13
3.6 SOURCE-BASED PROJECT ALTERNATIVES FOR COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN.......................15
3.7 ENGINEERING DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM COMPONENTS FOR
COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN..........................................................................................16
4. COST ESTIMATION OF WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS FOR COST EFFECTIVE
DESIGN..................................................................................................................................19
4.1 INVESTMENT (CAPITAL) COSTS IN COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN.........................................19
4.2 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE (O&M) COSTS FOR COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN............19
ANNEX-1: AFFORDABILITY LEVEL WORK-BOOK…WORKSHEET-1.A TO
WORKSHEET 1.J (10 WORKSHEETS):...........................................................................21

ANNEX.2: WORK-BOOKS STEPS FOR COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN: (5-

WORKSHEETS):..................................................................................................................32

Some Useful References:.........................................................................................................38

2
1. INTRODUCTION

In economics, Cost Effectiveness refers to the comparison of the relative expenditures (costs)
and outcomes (effects) associated with two or more courses of action (project alternatives). A
life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) might be required to estimate the overall costs of project
alternatives and to select the design that ensures the facility will provide the lowest overall
cost of ownership consistent with its quality and function.

In the project identification phase, it will be necessary to identify system deficiencies and
estimate the cost of investments required to bring the water supply system up to working
order. This presumably is partly done or to be done through the implementation of the
Immediate Service Improvement Plan. Preliminary long Term project identification might
also have been done or are to be done in STEP-1. In STEP-2 this preliminary level of long
term projects identification need be ascertained and raised to a feasibility level project study.
To facilitate this process and provide a basis for estimating costs, lists of technology options
need be prepared by considering possible options for functional elements of a water supply
system and combining these functional elements in different permutations.
The functional elements considered for the purpose of generating technology options are:
 Sources of water supply;
 Mode of access;
 Sources of power for water lifting;
 Transmission main requirement;
 Treatment requirement;
 Clean water storage requirement; and
 Distribution system
Site specific technical analysis will be required to determine the viable options for the
functional elements of a water supply system in the area and community of concern and how
these functional elements can be combined in the most cost effective, technically feasible
way.

There are numerous costs associated with acquiring, operating and maintaining a water
supply infrastructure. Water supply infrastructure related costs usually fall into the following
categories:
Initial Costs---Purchase, acquisition, Construction Costs
Operation, Maintenance and Repair Costs
Replacement Costs
Finance Charges---Loan, Interest payments

Costs that are relevant for cost effective design within each of the cost categories need be
significant in amount to make a valid cost effective investment decision. Costs are
significant when they are large enough to make a credible difference in the life cycle cost of a
project alternative.
In urban water supply infrastructure the amount of water produced and supplied has a quasi-
governing role in all cost categories and in the overall cost during the life cycle of the project.
It therefore deserves to be considered a significant cost variable.

3
On the other hand the amount of water produced and supplied should relate to the water
demand of the town and its user community in order to recover the overall costs and assure
sustained services over the design period and beyond.

The town and its user community make the market for the product ‘Clean Water’. The
amount of water produced and supplied and the overall cost to do so should therefore match
the ‘affordability –level’ of the town and its user community.
On the other hand the business of producing and selling ‘Clean Water Supply’ is also subject
to meeting minimum quality, quantity and accessibility standards. National targets like the
Universal Access Plan (UAP) need also be planned for.
Cost recovery should then be reasonably envisaged in a manner which would render the
chosen project financially viable.
An approach to attaining a viable and sustainable town water supply should resort to cost-
effective design methods that take into account all the above interests, concerns, targets and
regulations in the form of standards.

The remaining sections of this report present some insights, methods, and exercises to this
end. The material presented has the limitations of not treating the relevant components to
better depth for reasons of time and resources. But it is presumed that the trainees for whose
consumption the presentations are meant would allot sufficient time to develop and utilize the
substances of the presentation.
In any case Cost Effective Designs are highly project specific and therefore the expectations
of extra efforts to develop and utilize the presented materials are only realistic.

4
2. STEPS FOR COST-EFFECTIVE DESIGN:

The following steps shall be adopted for identifying, choosing and proceeding with the
design of Cost-Effective water Supply Infrastructure.
a) Identify potential sources of water supply in and around the town of concern from
secondary data sources such as the woreda-level water resources database , basin master
plan (or previous) studies, and community applications;
b) Based on the information gathered at the town level during STEP-1, assess whether
rehabilitation of existing scheme should be considered, and thus determine the planning
period for rehabilitation projects accordingly;
c) Forecast the water demand (domestic and non-domestic) throughout the planning horizon
based on minimum standards for quality, quantity and accessibility as well as targets for
the Universal Access Plan.

d) The planning horizon for small towns (Population less than 15000) may need to be not
more than ten years. For larger towns longer years may need to be considered
incrementally starting from 10 years.

e) Planning horizons could be broken down in to conveniently phased design periods for
various functional components of the technical design option to be selected in order to
achieve cost effectiveness through reduction of costs.
f) Identify a range of technology options that seem technically feasible for the town under
consideration based on the potential sources of supply, service levels requested by the
community and service levels required by minimum standards and national plans like the
Universal Access Plan (UAP).

g) Execute outline design of the identified technology options and prepare preliminary
implementation and operation plans. You should be able to attach estimated costs for
investment, operation and financial costs. For each technology option selected, find the
estimated Present Value (PV) of the cost stream for the total cost (Investment cost +
O&M Cost + Financial Costs). You may need to conduct a survey of current market
prices for works, goods and services that the Investment and O&M require in case these
have not been captured in the baseline study of STEP-1 already.

h) Compare the Present Values (PV) of each viable technology option against each
other. Rank the technology option with the lowest PV option as the 1 st in rank and the
most preferred and the highest PV option as the last in rank and least preferred for now.
Note that outputs for design options with predetermined demands as in the present case
are similar and the Lowest Present Value (LPV) option rather than the Lowest Average
Incremental Cost (LAIEC) option may be used. )
i) Workout the average tariff based on the chosen design option by dividing the total cost
stream during the design period by the corresponding stream of total m 3 of water
produced.. Let this tariff be Wt-invest

5
j) Compare Wt-invest with the value of the Wt-aff s which are the affordable tariffs
checked for Willingness to pay . The procedure to calculate the Wt-aff is given in Sheet-
1 D1-D9. Example case is worked out in D10.

k) Scenario-1: The Wt-aff are less than the Wt-invest by more than 10%
a. Check all the Wt-aff s at the higher affordability levels for Wt-aff s which
might fall within the 10%.
b. Since planned water demand are to meet minimum standards and the UAP
target by 2012 , there would be no room for reduction of demands to reduce
cost of infrastructure for the chosen design option.
c. The unfortunate conclusion would be that the town would not be able to
recover cost fully in the design period.
d. It now remains to calculate tariff based on Operation and Maintenance cost
only. Say Wt-O&M.This exercise might be important to apply for grants to
cover total costs less Operation and maintenance Costs in case the Wt-O&M
falls below the Wt-aff s.
e. Full cost recovery would then be awaiting an expedited economic growth of
the town and its residents to a level where Wt-aff s exceed Wt-invest s. This
is an important feed back for the policy of cost recovery as stipulated for
towns. The policy seems to beg for qualification of towns in terms of level of
the economy of the town and its residents for it to be adopted or not
necessarily be adopted.
l) Scenario-2: The Wt-aff are within 10% of the Wt-invest Value
a. Check all the Wt-aff s at the higher affordability levels for Wt-aff s which
might fall within the 10%.
b. Pick the highest of the Wt-aff s within the 10% of the Wt-invest Value and
adopt this as the final derived flat tariff.
c. The derived flat tariff need be converted into progressive 4-band flat tariff to
meet social objectives that would make sure low income population have
access to clean water. Please see Sheet-1 E for methods of converting flat
tariffs on an incremental 4-band tariff structure.
m) Scenario-3: The Wt-aff are greater than the Wt-invest by more than 10%:
a. This scenario indicates that the planned service level based on projected
consumption to meet minimum standards and the UAP targets can be raised.
b. Check if the chosen technical design option can deliver increased demands
corresponding to the affordability level of the town by increasing the capacity
of its functional components.
c. Increased demands relating to the affordability level would be the planned
demand for meeting the minimum standards and the UAP target magnified by
the ratio of the Wt-aff to the Wt-invest. These would then make the new
projected demands corresponding to the affordability level in scenario-3.

6
d. Workout the average tariff based on the increased capacity of the chosen
design option by dividing the total cost stream during the design period by the
corresponding stream of total m3 of water produced and taking the average of
the tariff stream. Let this tariff be Wt-invest-2.
e. Compare Wt-invest-2 with the value of the Wt-aff in scenario-3.
f. The Wt-aff in scenario-3 would most likely fall within 10% of the Wt-invest-
2 . In which case the the Wt-aff in scenario-3 need be converted into
progressive 4-band flat tariff to meet social objectives that would make sure
low income population have access to clean water. Please see Sheet-1 E for
methods of converting flat tariffs on an incremental 4-band tariff structure.
g. If in b) above using the chosen design option of rank-1 is not a technically
feasible option , consider design option rank-2 and repeat the process starting
from fixing the Wt-invest for the design option under consideration.
h. Exhaust all technical design options (project alternatives) in the order of ranks
using the same steps until condition similar to Scenario-2 is achieved.

7
3. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENTS FOR COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN

3.1 Service Levels

Whenever a piped supply is feasible, a combination of different service levels should be
considered in order to fulfill the needs of the different groups in the community. The
connection profile will affect the volume of water to be supplied by the water supply system.
The higher the proportion of the house and private yard connections, the higher will be the
volume of water to be produced as well as the investment cost to provide the service. No
specific connection profile can be recommended, as it will obviously be different from place
to place;
Designers are advised to come up with site-specific connection profile considering the local
situation and the impact that the choice has on the affordability of the system. The STEP-1
base line survey assessments should elicit the connection profiles of the base year and the
trends which might be given evidence based projections over the business plan period and/or
the planning horizon.
Population using other protected/relatively clean water sources and without connection to the
water service are generally larger in small towns where the possibility of obtaining alternative
clean water source is higher. For larger towns the possibility of obtaining uncontaminated
alternative water source is usually very low. Since these groups of the population will not be
considered in the computation of tariff (marginal cost), proper estimation of the proportion of
the group is very essential.

For public fountains, the number of users per pipe and its location is the measure of the
service level as a general rule. In order to satisfy the proposed minimum per capita water
demand of the public tap users, the following conditions should be fulfilled by the UAP target
year (2012).
 The number of user per tap shall not exceed 50 (i.e. 300 people for a six faucet public
fountain)
 The maximum one way walking distance to fetch water should not exceed 500m
Whichever criteria govern should be the basis for determining the number of public
standpipes required for a given locality. However, depending on the peculiarity of the area
the designer can change these figures to suit the local situation.

3.2 Existing Situation Assessment

Existing Water Supply System: Evaluating the existing water supply system is the basis for a
new design or the required expansion work. Assessment of the water supply service shall
address all aspects of the system including the technical, financial, management, operation
and maintenance of the water supply service. The baseline assessment component of STEP-1
works comprises existing water Supply System Evaluation.

8
3.3 Planning Horizon for Cost Effective Design

The design period fixes the target date in the future for which a given project should serve
before it is abandoned or expanded. The design period has a direct impact on the overall
capacity, complexity as well as cost of water supply systems.
For the case of Ethiopian urban water supply systems, the recommended planning period
should have three phases. The first being the phase for immediate rehabilitation of the
existing water supply system and will have a short period of between five and ten years,
depending on the economies of scale of each component. The second and third phases are for
expansion of the system to a service level affordable by the community. The planning period
for the second phase and the third phase can have duration of 10 – 15 years.

3.4 Water Demand

Total Average Daily Water demand comprising domestic and non domestic demands and
non-commercial water losses should be carefully worked out. Excesses and Shortages need
be avoided in as far as possible. In the following some discussions and recommendations are
made in light of Cost Effective Design.

3.4.1 Domestic Water Demand

Domestic water consumption is usually intended for toilet flushing, bathing/showering,

laundry, dishwashing and other less water demanding purposes like cooking, drinking,
gardening, car washing, etc.
Domestic water consumption varies according to the mode of service, climatic conditions,
socio-economic factors and customs of the people among others. The main modes of service
to be considered in the design of water supply systems in Ethiopia are
 House connection
 Yard connection
o Private
o Neighborhood
 Public fountains

Computation for domestic water demand shall be based on properly conducted demand
survey of the settlement. In STEP-1 the baseline survey and analyses comprises demand
surveys and assessments.
Minimum standards for quality, quantity and accessibility and targets of the Universal Access
Plan (UAP) of Ethiopia need to be planned for in towns where the standards have not been
met yet. Most towns in the UWSS program do not meet the standards in particular with
respect to accessibility and quantity.
For such towns where the minimum standards and the UAP targets are yet to be achieved,
water demands to be planned for are thus pretty well prescribed. It might be prudent to
assume that water demand might during the remaining planning horizon after 2012 closely
follow the town’s anticipated income growth rate.

9
Box-1 Recommended minimum water supply service level
Users are said to get basic water supply service level only when the following conditions are
met:
 The water supply system has to supply a minimum of 15 litres per capita per day;
 The water quality must comply with the national water quality guidelines;
 The two-way walking distance to collect water should not be more than 1 km; and
 The mode of water abstraction must not risk contamination of the source.

Box-1 gives the recommended minimum water supply service level which agrees with other
minimum standards in LDC countries and the SPHERE, which is a minimum standard in
observations of the rights to live with dignity as is stipulated in the Humanitarian Charter of
the United nations. The UAP targets meet the minimum standards and have also set target
year of attainment of the goals to be the Year 2012.
Minimum standards are set in consideration of minimum threshold values in light of
generally improving health , saving labor and time critically needed for other livelihood
improvement activities using indicators like infant mortality/morbidity rates, primary school
enrollment rates, prevalence of water born diseases etc. It is therefore evident that trying to
reduce the service level of water supply below the minimum standards would be terribly non
cost effective as the main critical objectives would be missed and the whole exercise would
reduce to saving money at the cost of critically needed benefits.
Cost effective design for most of the towns need thus be based at meeting the minimum
standards and the UAP target dates. In section 2 this has been taken as the principal approach
to control over design and reduce costs.
In the few cases where the towns have already met the minimum standards and are therefore
in a raised income and/or socio-economic level the level of water supply service should cater
for improved quality of life commensurate with the livelihood standards, for attraction of
investments, etc.
Scenario-3 of the steps for cost effective design as presented in section 2 might address the
situation of those program towns which have affordability level slightly greater than the
required investment to supply water at the minimum standards and to meet the UAP targets.

For larger towns with a much higher affordability level, the principle of cost effective design
is still an important tool to place the utility in a position where financial viability is most
assured and ever increasing standards can be met. In such cases demand surveys need be
made in a pretty robust manner and projections made in a classical way.

3.4.2 Non-domestic Water Demand

a) Industrial demand

Water in industries can be used for various purposes: as part of final product, for the
maintenance of the manufacturing process (cleaning, flushing, sterilization, conveying,
cooling, etc.) and for personal needs of the labor. Amounts needed depend on the type of
industry and technological process.

10
Industries in smaller towns and towns which are yet to meet minimum standards might be
given head count and individual demands be assessed. This work is to be is comprised in the
baseline report of STEP-1 works.
Municipal water services are not obliged to provide water supply for the production processes
of large industries; however, whenever there is no source limitation and there is no problem
in securing higher initial investment costs, the option can be advantageous as it can have
significant impact in reducing water tariffs for the domestic users.

In towns with higher affordability level/larger towns for planning purposes industrial demand
can be estimated as a percent of the domestic water demand or the demand per square unit of
land if there is a definite area allocated for industry by the town development plan.
In the absence of a defined water demand for specified industries, the following can be used
for planning purpose:
o 5 m3/ha/day for small industries
o 10 m3/ha/day for large industries or

When there is no land use plan for the project area, 5 to 10% of the domestic water demand
can be taken as industrial demand depending on the size of the project.

b) Public and commercial water demand

Commercial demand includes water requirement for restaurant, Cinema house, railways, bus
stations, shopping centers, Local drinks (Tej, Areke, Tella) etc. Whereas institutional
demand includes water required by schools, hospitals, dispensaries, day-care centers, office
blocks and so on.

In general, the same factors affect both commercial and institutional demand. Water
requirements in these cases depend on such factors as the use of the building, number of
employees and/or residents, number of visitors and other users, floor space and the type of
activity.
In case where it is possible to estimate the type and number of public institutions and
commercial services, the water demand figures given in Table 4.3 can be adopted when the
demands are found to be applicable for that specific locality:
Table 3.1 Typical Water Demands of Commerce and Institution
Category Typical Rate of Water Use Per Day
Day schools 5 l/pupil
Boarding Schools 60 l/pupil
Hospitals 60 l/bed
Hostels 60 l/bed
Mosques 5 l/visitor
Cinema houses 5 l/seat
Office 5 l/person
Railway & Bus Stations 10 l/user
Public baths 60 l/visitor
Swimming pool 500 l/m3
Abattoir 100 l/cow
Camp 60 l/person
Source: 25 towns water supply development & rehabilitation project

11
The baseline report of STEP-1 again comprises survey of all major water consuming public
and commercial institutions. Table 3.1 above presents typical water demands of public and
commercial institutions and may be applied.

In larger towns where exhaustive estimation of the different public and commercial
institutions are not possible, the following planning figures are recommended:
o 20 to 40 % of the domestic water demand, depending on the size of the population

c) Livestock demand
Not much livestock water demands are expected in the larger towns relatively. In smaller
towns however, livestock demands could be a bit higher.
In such towns in the absence of any traditional water source to supplement the livestock
water demand, the water demand figures given in Table 3.2 can be used to estimate the
livestock water demand. Lesser figures can be adopted if seasonal traditional water sources
can supplement the demand.

Table 3.2 Livestock Water Demand

Livestock type Consumption
(l/animal/d)
Cow and Ox 30
horse, donkeys 30
Sheep, goat 5
Chickens 0.2
Camel 10

The other parameter that has to be determined in order to compute the livestock water
demand is the livestock population. This information can be obtained by consulting the local
community with regard to the average number of livestock per household. To compute the
livestock water demand, the demand figures should be multiplied by the livestock population
size of each category and then summed up.

3.4.3 Unaccounted for Water (UFW)

UFW is that part of water that has been produced but not billed by the water services. In
Ethiopia depending on the age and complexity of the water supply system, UFW has been
observed to fall in the range of 20 – 40%1. Therefore it is very important to properly estimate
it at the planning stage taking into consideration the different factors that cause it. Causes of
UFW differ from case to case but in most cases, it is pure leakage due to improper
maintenance of the distribution network, illegal connections and unbilled water. UFW can
also be caused by poor education of the consumers with respect to water use and/or poor
management capacity of the water supply services. UFW also includes water that has been
used by the water services for cleaning of pipelines, storages and operation of treatment
plants.

1
Based on the survey conducted in 13 Oromia towns conducted by Tropics (2001/2) for organization and
management studies of the water supply services

12
 In Cost Effective Design adequate leakage control capability need be planned for. Operation
and maintenance budgets should allow for leakage control. Commercial losses can be curbed
by increasing the capacity of the utility. Appropriate operation expenses in terms of
employing skilled and dedicated personnel for Active Leakage Control (ALC), financial
management and technical operation might need to be contemplated in the cases where Non-
Revenue-Water (NRW) is on the high side. Normal utility staff and resources should be able
to conduct Passive Leakage Control (PLC) for NRW on the lower kevel. It is up to the
designer to come up with a reasonable figure for allowing a certain percentage of NRW but
this should remain well below 20% for a cost effective investment.

3.4.4 Fire Fighting Demand

Annual volumes required for fire fighting purposes are generally small but during periods of
need, the demand may be exceedingly large and in many cases may govern the design of
distribution systems, storage, and pumping equipment.
In cost effective design water required for fire fighting shall be met by stopping supply to
consumers for the required time and directing it for fire fighting purposes. Therefore, in
smaller towns there is no reason to increase capacity to provide for fire fighting.
In larger towns and towns with water supply service level well above the minimum standards,
economic risk analyses may need to be made to fix the level of extra cost to be incurred for
fire fighting in terms of the overall cost of the water supply system. Here again cost effective
design should be considered viz a vis pressure zones, vis a viz operational plans during
emergency fire fighting incidences etc. Water for fighting purposes in towns of moderate
sizes is provided for as a reserve of 10% of the storage reservoir volume.

3.5 Consumption Patterns and Peak Factors

Peak factors have direct bearings on cost effective design of the overall water supply
infrastructure because they form the basis for the design of different water supply
components..
The consumption patterns of different users of water supply services vary on hourly, daily
and annual basis. Keeping records of these variations can help in developing standard peak
factors for a given locality.
In general, variation of consumption on hourly, daily and annual basis is higher for
settlements having few populations than those having large population size. This is due to
the fact in small residential areas the consumers have more or less the same schedule of daily
activities. They share most of the time common national and religious holidays and other
yearly events.

13
Fig. 3.1 shows typical hourly consumption patterns for a small town and a large town.
3.5

large town small town

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23

Table 3.3 below presents the various types of peaking factors in water supply infrastructure
and the component infrastructures they are applied to. For cost effective design purposes
some peaking factors are suggested for use in towns of modest sizes and below. Large towns
would need a demand pattern study and the necessary resources and time need be allocated
for such activities along with Demand Survey tasks. Some preliminary figures are
nevertheless given as indications. Peak factors are to be applied on total average daily water
demand relating to design period. In phased implementation the phase-end years are the
design periods for components which can technically be implemented in stages.

Table 3.3: Peak factors for cost effective design and their Use
Component to be Type of Peak Factor2 Recommended figure Recommended figure
applied on for Cost Effective for Cost Effective
design (moderate size design (Larger towns
towns and below)3
Rising and Gravity Maximum Day 1.15 1.1
Mains Demand
Distribution Network Peak Hour Demand 1.8 1.5
Reservoirs Peak Hour demand 1.8 1.5
Sources Maximum day 1.15 1.1

2
Peak factors are to be applied on total average daily water demand relating to design period
3
Moderate town pop (15,000 to 50,000), Small towns (< 15000) and large towns > 50,000 population.

14
 demand
Treatment Plant Maximum day 1.15 1.1
Demand

3.6 Source-based Project Alternatives for Cost effective design

Different water sources can be available in a given locality to be developed for water supply
service. However, the choice of a certain water source has to be based on the following
requirements
 Quantity: Is the water source sufficient to meet the present and future demand?
 Quality: Is the raw water quality such that, without or with appropriate treatment water
can be supplied to meet the potable water quality requirements?
 Protection: Is it viable to protect the water source from contamination, e.g. by proper
siting of boreholes, establishing of protection zones, etc?
 Financial: Are the estimated costs for the construction as well as the operation and
maintenance acceptable for a water source to be developed?

3.6.1 Data, Investigation and Analysis Requirement for Water Source Identification

a) Groundwater
o Collect and scrutinize all previous hydro-geological and/or ground water development
studies in and around the town.
o Collect and analyze available topographic, geologic, hydro-geologic maps and aerial
photos of the town and its surrounding. Geo-physical investigations should be conducted
at the proposed site
o For large towns test pumping and perhaps ground water modeling need be conducted in
order to determine the yield and the recharge capacity of the aquifer

b) Springs
o Collect and scrutinize all previous hydro-geological and/or ground water and spring
water development studies in and around the town.
o Where available long-term flow records of the spring should be the basis for determining
the yield; otherwise, measurements have to be taken at different seasons of the year
o Analyzing existing topographic and hydrogeologic maps can help in estimating the
reliability of the source

c) Surface Water
o Collect and scrutinize all previous surface water hydrology and surface water
development studies.
o In the absence of any relevant previous studies conduct a preliminary hydrological
studies using appropriate methods for the size of the catchment.

15
3.7 Engineering Design Principles of Water Supply System Components for Cost
effective design

3.7.1 Treatment Plants

Water supply systems having treatment plants are the least recommended options because of
the fact that they incur high investment cost on the overall project. However, in some
localities it may not be possible to avoid this option due to the lack of a water source that
require less treatment.
The prerequisite for the recommendation and design of treatment plants is the water quality
analysis. A representative sample shall be obtained from source for water quality analysis.
Quality of water for cost effective design should be absed on minimum quality standards.
Depending on the water quality analysis result, the recommendation given in Table 4.7 can be
used in selection of the type of treatment.

Table 3.4 Treatment Option Selection Guideline

Treatment process
Typ Water quality Pre Coa Sedi RS SS Post
e - g. ment F F Chl.
1 Clear & unpolluted O

2 Slightly polluted, low turbidity (<10 O X O

NTU)
3 Slightly polluted, medium turbidity (10 O X X O
to 50 NTU)
4 Slightly polluted, high turbidity (>50 X X X X O
NTU)
5 Slightly polluted, many algae, high X X X X X
turbidity (>50 NTU)
6 Heavily polluted, little turbidity (< 10 X X X O
NTU)
7 Heavily polluted, much turbidity (> 50 X X X X X
NTU)
(X necessary, O Optional)
Sources: Community Water Supplies, IRC International Reference for Community Water
Supply and Sanitation, WHO collaboration Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands, February
1986.

3.7.2: Service Reservoirs

The volume of service reservoirs should be sufficient to increase capacity in the distribution
system to meet reasonable peak demands on an average day. This volume will ideally be
determined via a mass flow balance. Data for mass flow balance analyses would need
demand pattern study besides operational schedules. The hourly demand factors will be the
basis to determine the volume of the reservoir. In the absence of hourly peak factor data, the
volume of the service reservoir can be determined taking 8 –12 hrs of the average day
demand.
For cost effective design, where affordability level of the town and its user community is a bit
less than the investment requirement the service reservoir sizes may be reduced to even lower

16
volume than is required. In such cases where sizes of service reservoirs are reduced for lack
of the necessary finance, individual storage should be proactively encouraged by the utility to
balance the hourly demand variation of each household, thereby reducing the load on the
service reservoir of the system.
Where the power supply is highly unreliable and expensive, for cost effective design, the
need for some additional storage capacity should be considered in conjunction with the
requirement for stand-by power generation facilities at pumping station. The designer should
use operation and cost data for choosing cost effective alternatives.

3.7.4 Transmission Mains

The transmission line transports water from the source to the treatment (if there is one) and
onwards to the distribution. The transmission line doesn’t usually serve consumers directly
and at the end of the system there is often some central Storage and/or Service reservoir.
The selected service level of the water supply system determines the diameter of the
transmission pipe. In cost effective design, for towns where the minimum standards for clean
water supply are not yet met, the service level in terms of quantity of flow would be the
minimum standard value adjusted for the Maximum Day demand. Higher service levels
require large volume of water to be transported by the transmission line, which implies larger
diameter pipe. Cost Effective size of the transmission line can be obtained by selecting a
service level that is affordable to the community and designing the sizes to the affordable
quantity of flow adjusted for the Maximum day Flow.
The design of all transmission mains shall be correlated with projected supplies from the
source facilities and storage. In specific cases involving long transmission mains delivering
pumped water, an economical evaluation shall be made on costs of various size transmission
mains versus pumping costs. The sizing of all transmission mains shall take into
consideration the minimum pressure specified.
It is preferable that flow velocities remain in the range of 0.6 to 1.5 m/s although in
exceptional conditions this can rise to approx. 2.0 m/s.

3.7.4 Distribution

Basically three types of distribution systems can be distinguished:

 Gravity: Distribution of water by making use of the existing topography of the area. The
advantages of gravity system are
- No energy costs
- Simple operation
- Low maintenance costs
- No sudden pressure changes

 Pumped: These systems are common for distribution systems on flat topography. The
advantage of pumped systems are opposite of those for gravity systems.
 Combined: These systems operate with reservoirs and pumping stations. Storage in this
case has considerable volume provided for balancing of daily variations in consumptions
and a buffer for irregular situations. These are the most common system for large
distribution areas.

17
The hydraulic design of the distribution networks should be carried out with the assistance of
a computer program. It should always be remembered that the model is purely mathematical
and that the standard of the results is totally dependent on the quality of raw data. This data
includes factors such as the physical nature of the distribution network itself, friction factors
to be applied, estimates of nodal demands and estimates of the variation in the water demand
with time.
For cost effective design estimates of nodal demands based on service areas (Core/Fringe or
differentiated by Kebele’s) and usage of the minimum standard values for flow quantity,
adjusted for Peak Hour Demands is recommended for towns with present service level lesss
than the minimum standard values.
It is preferable that flow velocities remain in the range 0.6 to 1.5 m/s although in exceptional
circumstances this may increase to 2.0 m/s. The minimum and maximum residual pressures
in the distribution network should be 15 and 50 meters respectively. In certain towns this
criteria may dictate that the distribution network may have to be divided into a number of
pressure zones.
Where sub-systems are required, each one shall be served by its own service reservoir.
Although each sub-system shall operate independently from the others, links will be provided
between systems, via pressure reducing systems as required, to ensure flexibility of operation
and back-up under emergency conditions.

3.7.5 Selection of Pipe Materials

The cost of pipes is one of the principal components of a water supply investment and hence
it is very import to make a careful selection. The commonly used pipes for water supply
projects are Ductile Iron (DCI), uPVC, Galvanized Steel and Polyethylene pipes. The choice
of pipe material is dependent on the following factors:
 Chemical nature of soil
 Chemical nature of water
 Comparative cost of alternatives pipes
 Weather conditions of the area
 Geologic formation of the pipe route
 Expected pressure in the pipeline
In cost effective design the designer should try to mix the cheapest materials with the more
expensive one while observing the physico-chemical factors that merit/demerit each type.

18
4. COST ESTIMATION OF WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS FOR COST EFFECTIVE
DESIGN.

In general, two cost components have to be differentiated in any water supply project. These
are the investment (capital) cost and the Operation & Maintenance (O&M) costs. Estimating
the capital and O&M costs is the basis for the financial analysis. The level of detail in a cost
estimate depends on the planning stage of the scheme. The later in the design stage, the more
detail should it be. Cost effective design at feasibility level need be used for financial
viability studies and for decisions to go ahead with detail designs.

4.1 Investment (Capital) Costs in Cost effective design

Investment costs are costs that are incurred for the design and construction of water supply
projects. Based on sizes and layout of the different water supply components determined in
the cost effective design, the amount of materials and equipment to be supplied as well as the
volume of work to be undertaken should be clearly stated in the bill of quantity. Further the
supply and installation work volumes and cost of the following components should be
separately given:
o Source Development
o Collectors and/or Transmission
 Supply of pipes and fittings
 Pipe laying
o Pipe laying works
o Treatment
o Pumping stations
 Supply electromechanical equipment
 Installation
o Storage and Controls
o Distributions
 Supply of pipes and fittings
 Pipe laying
o Auxiliary buildings
o Power Supply
 Supply electromechanical equipment
 Installation
o Access roads
o Study and design costs
The unit rates to be used for cost estimation should be site specific and as much as possible
have to reflect the current market price. In cases of exaggerated/distorted market prices, cot
effective design should consider alternative procurement arrangements for works, goods and
services in order to control costs as far as possible.

4.2 Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Costs for Cost effective design

These are the costs incurred for the day to day running of the water supply system and
maintaining the system in operation up to the planned design period. The O&M cost is very
much dependent on the type of water source and the choice of technology option. Cost

19
effective design has to look into the project alternatives and technology options in order to
choose the ones that would reduce lifecycle costs of the project optimized along with
investment costs. Depending on the source type and the technology type of the scheme, one
or more of the following O&M costs have to be considered for cost effectiveness and for
estimation of costs:
o Power costs (Type of power source, operation hours, power supply contracts etc)
o Chemical costs for treatment (treatment level, choice of chemicals, preparation and
dosing technology, etc)
o Maintenance costs separate for
 Civil structures ( reservoirs, access roads, treatment plants, head works, etc)
 Pipes and fittings ( passive and Active Leakage Controls, minor replacements, etc)
 Electromechanical equipment ( major repairs, preventive maintenances, minor
replacements wtc)
o Personnel costs (Salaries, skilled staff development and Incentive for employees)
o Administration costs

20
ANNEX-1: AFFORDABILITY LEVEL WORK-BOOK…WORKSHEET-1.A TO
WORKSHEET 1.J (10 WORKSHEETS):

21
1.a

22
1.b

23
1.c

24
1.d

25
1.e

26
1.f

27
1.g

28
1.h

29
1.i

30
1.j

31
ANNEX.2: WORK-BOOKS STEPS FOR COST EFFECTIVE DESIGN: (5-
WORKSHEETS):

32
1.

33
2.

34
3.

35
4.

36
5.

37
SOME USEFUL REFERENCES:

1. “World Bank: Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Ethiopia

Cost effective design guideline , June 2006”.

2. Project Design: Technical, Financial and Economic Feasibility; Issues Paper- Volume I:
Main Report

38