Hydraulic performance evaluation of Aykel Town’s water distribution system using Bentley WaterGEMS, Gondar, Ethiopia

The adequate and reliable water supply in the developing towns of Ethiopia is becoming a challenge for most water utilities especially public service providers like Aykel town. The aim of this study was to check the hydraulic performance of Aykel town’s water distribution system by evaluating water demand and production, losses of water, and hydraulic parameters. Both secondary and primary data sources were used for this research. Primary data was collected through field surveys and photographs of relevant sites and infrastructures. The secondary data was collected from design documents, literatures, journals and office. Moreover, to analyze the existing water distribution system, a model was developed by using WaterGEMS CONNECT Edition version 10.00.0050. The model simulation run was performed for peak and low demand scenarios to analyze the distribution system. The hydraulic parameters, nodal pressure, and flow velocity were analyzed for the current demand conditions. Based on the WaterGEMS software analysis result after the model was calibrated, 12.16% of node pressures are below the minimum required, whereas 87.84% of nodes are in the recommended range of 15–70 m during peak hour demand. During minimum demand, all pressure nodes’ values are below 70 m head. During peak hour demand, around 90% of the pipe velocity is less than the recommended range of 0.6 m/s. The total water loss from water production and consumption data is 15.04% of water production. Therefore, the result of the analysis shows that the overall hydraulic performance of water distribution of Aykel town was moderate, which is reflected by medium water production rate, water consumption, and some velocities and pressure is not in permissible limit. So, it is important to improve the water distribution system capacities, and drill additional boreholes to meet the current water demand and future demand.