ABSTRACT
The United Nations considers the provision of a safe and reliable water supply a basic human right. The problems in operation, maintenance, and monitoring of urban and rural water supplies are in part due to over-dependence on unsustainable expatriate funding and technical expertise. Fresh water comprises Ethiopia's most abundant natural resource. The river is a principal headwater of the Atbara River in Sudan, a major tributary of the Nile north of Khartoum. The transmission of water-borne diseases occurs when a person ingests the pathogen in water. The upper reaches of the river flow through Addis Ababa where industrial, domestic, and municipal pollution has greatly reduced water quality. Water-related diseases are widely prevalent in urban areas largely owing to insufficient water and poor sanitation services. The establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1995 led to a major reorganization of the water resource management.
