Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions.

List the ways by which municipal water reaches consumers in urban areas of Ethiopia served by a distribution system.

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Water reaches the consumers through indoor taps, taps in the yard, public taps and water kiosks.

Which of the following is not a cause of leakage? Give your reason why.

  1. excessive pressure in the pipes
  2. poorly-constructed distribution systems
  3. illegal connections
  4. old, corroded pipes
  5. pipes damaged due to construction of roads, etc.

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The answer is 3. An illegal connection is loss of water through theft, and not through leakage.

Which of the following statements relating to illegal connections is false? Give the reason for your choice.

Illegal connections result in:

  1. the possibility of the mains supply becoming contaminated
  2. an increase in the quantity of non-revenue water
  3. greater revenue for the water utility because more water is used
  4. a crime, since water is being stolen
  5. an increase in the financial burden to those people who do pay for water used.

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The answer is 3, because the people who use water from illegal connections don’t pay for the water.