The topic of Dr. Thandile’s dissertation is Sustainable Management of Water Resources for Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia, in the Face of Infrastructure Expansion, Population Growth and Climate Change.

Dr. Thandile stated the city of Addis Ababa has been urbanizing and expanding faster at an accelerated rate. Notable in this phase is the increased water pollution, contributing to water availability and quality issues within the city. Her study examines the impact of urban growth and climate change on surface water availability and quality in Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia. The impacts of land use/land cover dynamics and climate change on water quality and hydrology in the city were evaluated. Underlying causes of Addis Ababa’s water supply and quality issues and the residents’ willingness to pay for the improvement of the water supply system in the city are also quantified using participatory approach methods.

Her finding show that Addis Ababa’s water quality has been declining over the years. Projections under CMIP 6 SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios show that temperatures and evapotranspiration will continue to increase whilst the water yield decreases, negatively impacting the water availability and quality. It was revealed that the water utilities currently do not have enough financial capacity to manage the water supply system efficiently and that most of the residents were dissatisfied by the current service but willing to pay for its improvement. The study concludes that the capacity for water to support the needs of residents in the city is near its limit under current management practices.

Prof. Abebe Getahun,was the chairperson of the defense session of this dissertation. The dissertation was mainly supervised by Prof. Brook Lemma from Addis Ababa University where as Dr. Binyam Tesfaw similarly from Addis Ababa University, was Co-supervisor. Prof. Tenalem Ayenew from Addis Ababa University and Prof. Zinabu Gebremariam from Hawassa University, were internal and external examiners respectively.