CHAPA'S FINAL

THE COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
DEPARTMENT OF PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
THESIS SUBMITTED BY CHAPA CHIBEKA
COMPUTER NUMBER: 11395219
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE BACHELOR
OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
SUPERVISED BY: MRS. B.G MWANZA
DECEMBER 2014
ASSESSMENT OF THE FACRORS AFFECTING
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY IN KITWE; A CASE
STUDY OF NKANA WATER AND SEWERAGE COMPANY

ASSESSMENT OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY IN KITWE
2014
BY CHAPA CHIBEKA
Page i
DECLARATION
I, Chapa Chibeka, do hereby declare that the work herein presented is original and my own,
and that all the work of other persons has been duly acknowledged. To the best of my
knowledge, this work has not done or previously been presented for similar purposes at the
Copperbelt University or any other university.
Author’s Signature: ……………………….. Date: …………………………….
Supervisor’s Signature: ……………………... Date ………………………………

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DEDICATION
I dedicate this research to my dearest parents, Mum and Dad (Mr. and Mrs. Obias Joseph
Chibeka). You have really played a greater part in ensuring that I reach where I am right
now. Without your moral, spiritual and financial support, my education would seem
impossible but out of your love and care I have reached this far. I will always thank God for
the gift of having such parents who treasure education so much. God bless and protect you
in all days of your lives. You are wonderful pieces of my life. I love you.
Special dedication to the entire Chibeka’s family, my brothers and sisters: Mwewa,
N’gandwe, Mulanga, Kaoma, Chibwe, Lungo, Mwila and my only younger sister Chilufya
Chibeka. This document is not mine alone but a family asset. You are my motivation,
inspiration and my life pillars. Am proud to be part of this family. I love u all.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Above all, I thank God my creator for the gift of life and for giving me the opportunity to
acquire education from primary to university level. Further, for everything that he has done
for me throughout my life. This journey would not have been easy without God’s love and
grace.
Next, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor Mrs. B.G Mwanza, for
her valuable comments, encouragement and advice starting from the first presentation to the
end of the research. God bless you.
My special thanks extend to Mr. Shem Sikombe, the Project coordinator, for his remarkable
motivation en lecturing.
Thanks to the management of Nkana Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) for allowing
me do to the research in their organisation. Especially Mr. Philip Phiri, the production
supervisor, and Mr. Derrick Ntonyo, the Technical Manager, who were the main
respondents of the interviews.
Next I would like to express my appreciation to all my class mates who willingly and
cheerfully supported my efforts and helped to think aloud. Especially those who helped me
during data collection and gave me constructive ideas and advice for this thesis.
Finally, my deepest gratitude extends to my girlfriend, Melody Chisanga. Not only do you
mean much to me but you remain to be everything to me. I thank God every day for the gift
of having you in life as my soul mate. May the good lord our God bless you in all your life
endeavours and light your way with his love and grace. Thank you my love.

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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
1. NWSC Nkana water and sewerage Company
2. NWASCO National Water Supply and Sanitation Council
3. WTP Water Treatment plant
4. DC Distribution Center
5. WHO World Health Organisation
6. UFW Unaccounted for water
7. ZAMCOM Zambezi Water Courses Commission
8. ZWP Zambia Water Partnership
9. CSO Central Statistical Office
10. ECZ Environmental Council of Zambia
11. MDGs Millennium Development Goals
12. WBCSD World Business Council for Sustainable Development
13. USAID United States Agency For International Development
14. SADC Southern African Development Community
15. UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
16. ZABS Zambia Bureau of Standards
17. NTUs Nephelometric Turbidity Units
18. KPIs Key Performance indicators
19. KCC Kitwe City Council
20. CMMS Computer Maintenance Management System
21. TPM Total Productive Maintenance

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Unaccounted for water due to leakage...............................................................10
Table 4.1: Plant/ DC Age....................................................................................................38
Table 4.2: Capacity vs. Year...............................................................................................39
Table 4.3: Capacity of Water Towers.................................................................................39
Table 4.4: population of Kitwe north..................................................................................40
Table 4.5: Water Supply .....................................................................................................41
Table 4.6: Service Time......................................................................................................43
Table 4.7: Quality of Water ................................................................................................44
Table 4.8: Pipe Maintenance...............................................................................................45
Table 4.9: Maintenance Frequency.....................................................................................47
Table 4.10: Customer Satisfaction......................................................................................48
Table 4.11 Service Recommendation .................................................................................50

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figures 2.1(a) and 2.1(b): people fetching water from shallow wells. .................................9
Figure 4.1: Screens; mesh screens verses hole screens.......................................................33
Figure 4.2 Chlorine room....................................................................................................37
Figure 4.3 Water Supply.....................................................................................................42
Figure 4.4: Service Time.....................................................................................................43
Figure 4.5: Water Quality ...................................................................................................45
Figure 4.6: Pipe Maintenance .............................................................................................46
Figure 4.7: Maintenance frequency ....................................................................................48
Figure 4.8: Customer Satisfaction.......................................................................................49
Figure 4.9: Service Recommendation.................................................................................51

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ABSTRACT
This project was designed to help water utility companies, Nkana Water and Sewerage
Company in particular and its customers, in knowing the severity of the factors that affect
availability of water supply. This is the strategy that the researcher saw can improve the
quality of service delivery to customers.
The aim of this study was to assess the factors that affect availability of water supply with
the view to determining the one(s) with more severity. Further, the customers’ right to an
adequate water supply and sanitation service cannot be overlooked as it improves their
health and supports most of human activities. The research was narrowed to the study of
Kitwe north only which includes Kwacha, Chimwemwe and part of Nkana constituencies.
Other factors that affect availability of water supply emerged when the researcher
reviewed scholarly work related to the study. Among other factors, wear-out of
equipment, theft and vandalism of pipes, equipment age etc. are also some of the causes.
In a nut-shell, it is worth mentioning here that Kitwe was reported the most populated city
on the Copperbelt province with a total population share of 522,092 out of 1,958,623 people.
In 2000, the population of Kitwe was 376,124. Therefore, the average annual population
growth rate from 2000 to 2010 was 3.3 (Census of Population and Housing, Preliminary
report-2010). Therefore, in this study, population increase was found to be the main cause
of the non-availability of water supply because this has stretched the demand far beyond the
capacity (supply). Most of the utilities companies are over reliance on the design capacities
which were meant to meet a small population of people.

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Table of Contents
DECLARATION ..............................................................................................................................i
DEDICATION .................................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................................................iii
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS.......................................................................................iv
LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................v
LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................vi
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................vii
................................................................................................................................1
.......................................................................................1
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................1
1.1 BACKGROUND .........................................................................................................................2
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT..........................................................................................................3
1.3 PROJECT AIM............................................................................................................................3
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................3
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .........................................................................................................4
1.6 SIGNIFANCE..............................................................................................................................4
1.7 SCOPE.........................................................................................................................................4
1.8 EXPECTED RESULTS...............................................................................................................4
1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS................................................................................................5
...............................................................................................................................6
..................................................................................................................6
2.0 INTROUCTION ..........................................................................................................................6
2.1 OVERVIEW ON WATER ..........................................................................................................6
2.2 WATER RESOURCES IN ZAMBIA .........................................................................................7
2.3 AVAILABILITY OF WATER RESOURCES IN ZAMBIA......................................................8
2.4 THE IMPORTANCE OF DOMESTIC WATER SUPPLY (URBAN AND RURAL)...............8
2.4.1 LEVEL OF ACCESS...............................................................................................9

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2.4.2 INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEMS (LEAKAGE, ILLEGAL USE,
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE).............................................................................10
2.4.3 CURRENT STATE OF TREATMENT FACILITIES ..........................................11
2.4.4 OBSERVED IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER DEMAND .......12
2.4.5 POPULATION GROWTH ....................................................................................12
2.5 WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS ..................................................................................................13
2.5.1 CONTINUOUS AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY ...................................14
2.5.2 MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY CONSIDERATIONS.......................................15
2.5.3 MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM DEMANDS.....................................................15
2.6 WATER STRESS......................................................................................................................16
2.6.1 WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE CONTRIBUTE TO WATER STRESS .................16
2.6.2 WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP ALLEVIATE WATER STRESS .................17
2.5 ... POLICY AND STATUTORY LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR WATER AND SANITATION
IN ZAMBIA ....................................................................................................................................18
2.5.1 THE WATER ACT (B) THE WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION ACT......19
2.6 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATION.............................................................................................21
2.7 UP-CLOSE WITH NWASCO...................................................................................................24
2.8 TRENDS THATILL AFFECT FRESH WATER USE .............................................................26
2.8.1 POPULATION GROWTH ....................................................................................26
2.8.2 INCREASING AFFLUENCE................................................................................26
2.8.3 EXPANSION OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY ...........................................................26
2.8.4 RAPID URBANIZATION.....................................................................................27
2.8.5 CLIMATE CHANGE ............................................................................................27
...........................................................................29
3.0 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................29

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3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN...............................................................................................................29
3.2 DATA COLLECTION ..............................................................................................................29
3.2.1 PRIMARY DATA..................................................................................................29
3.2.2 SECONDARY DATA ...........................................................................................30
3.3 DATA ANALYSIS....................................................................................................................30
3.4 SAMPLING METHOD.............................................................................................................30
............................................................................................32
4.0 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................32
4.1 TREATMENT AND DISTRIBUTION.....................................................................................32
4.1.1 TREATMENT OF WATER ..................................................................................32
4.1.2 BULAGILILO WATER TREATMENT PLANT .................................................34
4.1.3 DISTRIBUTION CENTERS (DCs) ......................................................................36
4.2 INFRASTRACTURAL PROBLEMS.......................................................................37
4.3 POPULATION GROWTH AND CAPACITY .........................................................................38
4.4 CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSESSMENT..................................................................................40
4.4.1 WATER SUPPLY..................................................................................................41
4.4.2 SERVICE TIME ....................................................................................................42
4.4.3 WATER QUALITY...............................................................................................44
4.4.4 PIPE MAINTENANCE .........................................................................................45
4.4.5 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.............................................................................48
4.4.6 SERVICE RECOMMENDATION ........................................................................................50
.............................................................................................................52
............................................................52
5.0 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................52
5.1 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS....................................................................................................52

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5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................................................54
5.3 AREAS OF FURTHER RESEARCH .......................................................................................56
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................................57
APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................59
APPENDIX 1. CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE.............59
APPENDIX 2. INTERVEW WITH MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE............................62
APPENDIX 3. WATER TREATMENT PROCESS DIAGRAM ..................................66

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
From the beginning of civilization humans have settled close to water sources.
Unfortunately, in many countries water is scarce or contaminated. Around 1.1 billion
people globally do not have access to improved water supply sources whereas 2.4 billion
people do not have access to any type of improved sanitation facility. Providing a reliable
water supply can significantly improve the quality of life; and is a source of, and the
condition for a social-economic development.
Over the past two decades, a number of international declarations have sought to ensure
access to safe water and sanitation for the majority (or all) of the world’s people. Despite
these declarations, however, the reality is that clean water and safe waste disposal remains
a life and death problem in much of the world. Zambia’s population stands at over 12 million
with a high urbanisation rate resulting in over 50% of the population living in urban and
peri- urban areas. Zambia’s population with access to safe drinking water is estimated at
43% and the corresponding figure for sanitation is 23%.
To provide a continuous and safe supply service calls for ample and reliable water sources
and adequate capacity for treatment, transmission, and distribution, as well as properly
functioning pumps, reservoirs and networks. The way these facilities are operated and
maintained can greatly affect the availability of water supply.
Nkana water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) is a utility firm which offers water and
sewerage services to Kitwe, Kalulushi and Chambishi. NWSC has a vision ‘to be a symbol
of excellence in the water and sanitation industry’ and its mission is ‘to consistently and

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efficiently provide adequate, safe, quality water and sewerage services for the well-being
of its customers and environment.’
This introductory chapter covers: Background, Problem Statement, Project Aim, Project
Aim, Project Objectives, Research Questions, Significance, Scope, Expected Results and
Operational definitions.
1.1 BACKGROUND
The major source of water for Kitwe city is the Kafue River. Nkana water and Sewerage
Company (NKWSC) has four treatment plants, these are Kafue, Bulangililo, Mwambashi
and Chambishi treatment plant. Of all the four the treatment plants, only Mwambashi
Treatment Plant has a different source of raw water. The rest sources raw water from the
Kafue River. Bulangililo and Kafue Plants are the biggest treatment plants. Bulangililo
treatment plant supplies its water to the following Distribution Centers (DC): Riverside
DC, Kwacha DC and Chimwemwe DC which makes up Kitwe North.
Raw water is abstracted from the river which is about 100m from the treatment plant. The
treatment plant is situated near Bulangililo Township, on the banks of the river. The
quality of raw water varies from season to season. According to the records at the plant,
turbidity during rainy season is usually high and low during dry season. There is normally
very low solid content and water is fairly odorless. Based on the low quality, water
purification process has been designed to incorporate the convection treatment process of
chemical dosing, clarification, filtration and chlorination.
The plant has a total design capacity of approximately 85000 cubic meters per day.
However, this is not enough to meet the daily water demand of the people in Kitwe north.
It is a well-known fact that water is an essential natural resource for human existence. It
is needed both for domestic and industrial processes. Although water seems limitless and
is for the most part taken for granted, it is not an absolute certainty that were settlement

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occurs, water will follow. Insufficient water facilities, poor physical structures, low
reliability of the service, poor facility designs, distance and time needed to collect water
and low awareness about their uses are some of the factors that affect the continued
functioning of water supply system. Hence, Availability of water supply is been affected
negatively.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Nkana Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) has the challenge in terms of satisfying
and meeting the demands of its customers in water delivery especially in this rapid
growing population in the city of Kitwe. Inadequate water supply is the talk of the day in
the city. Although providing water supply 24 hours a day and 365 days a year is the
ultimate goal of every water utility company, most of the townships in Kitwe receive water
just for a few hours of the day. The water utility firm has for a long time been identified
with an inherent weak capacity to meet the demands of water in Kitwe. Further, wear-out
of equipment, poor physical structures, and poor facility design etc. also affect the
availability of water supply.
1.3 PROJECT AIM
The aim of this project is to assess to the factors affecting availability of water supply in
Kitwe with a view to determining the severity of each one of them.
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1. To identify the main or potential causes of non-availability of water supply.
2. To determine the extent to which these factors affect availability of water supply.
3. To identify the key performance indicators used in water treatment and
distribution.

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1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What are the main or potential causes of non- availability of water supply?
2. To what extent do these factors affect availability of water supply?
3. What are the key performance indicators used in water treatment and
distribution?
1.6 SIGNIFANCE
As everybody knows, water is essential for life of man, plants and animals, and most
companies rely on this commodity for their operations. It is therefore important that
quality water of the right quantity is available for people to drink and to use for other
purposes. Therefore, the customers’ right to an adequate water supply and sanitation
service cannot be overlooked as it improves their health and supports most of human
activities.
1.7 SCOPE
The study was limited to the Bulanglililo Water Treatment Plant, the customers and its
Distribution centers (DCs): Chimwemwe DC, Riverside DC and kwacha DC. This was
because it would be practically and financially impossible to assess the entire city of
Kitwe.
1.8 EXPECTED RESULTS
The following are the expected results of the research:
 Awareness of the severity of the factors that affect availability of water supply to
all parties concerned.
 Improvement in the running of water operations by utility companies.
 Implementation of the research recommendations.

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 Improved customer satisfaction.
1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
1. Availability deals with the duration of up-time for operations and is a measure of
how often the system is alive and well.
2. Reliability is the probability that a component or system will give a failure-free
operation of its intended functions for its intended functions for the required
duration of time.
3. Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by foreign particles
suspended in it and generally invisible to our naked eyes.

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2.0 INTROUCTION
With the increase in worldwide water demand over the last few decades, water utilities face
problems of supplying the quantity of demanded water. The field of water demand analysis
is becoming increasingly important, due to the problems that water utilities are faced with,
when supplying the constantly increasing water quantities. A number of field researches
have been done on water-related problems including documents by World Organisations
and Water Bodies.
Therefore, this chapter will basically synthesize theoretical perspectives and previous
research findings related to this study.
2.1 OVERVIEW ON WATER
Water is a transparent fluid which forms the world’s streams, lakes, oceans, and rain. It is a
major constituent of the fluids of living things. As a chemical compound, a water molecule
contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms (H2O) that are connected by covalent bonds.
Water is a liquid at standard ambient temperature and pressure but it often co-exists on Earth
with its solid state, ice; and gaseous state, steam (WHO, 2004)
Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface. It is vital for all known forms of life. Safe drinking
water has improved over the last decade in almost every part of the world, but approximately
one billion people still lack access to safe water and over 2.5 billion lack access to adequate
sanitation. There is a correlation between access to safe water and gross domestic product
per capital. However, observers have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world’s
population will be facing water-based vulnerability. A report issued by World Health

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Organization (WHO) in November 2009, suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions
of the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50%.
2.2 WATER RESOURCES IN ZAMBIA
Zambia is one of the African countries blessed with plenty of water. Generally of good
quality (both surface and groundwater). The main water bodies are within the watersheds
of Zambezi and Congo rivers with their tributaries of Kafue, Luangwa, Luapula and
Chambeshi, and Lakes Tanganyika, Bangweulu, Mweru and Mweru wa-Ntipa including the
manmade lakes of Kariba and Itezhi-Tezhi. As the main water bodies are shared with
neighbouring countries, Zambia is a major stakeholder in the international agreements on
trans-boundary waters and has been a partner on the Zambezi River through the Zambezi
River Authority between Zambia and Zimbabwe and currently participating actively on the
establishment of Zambezi River Commission. Zambia has signed and ratified several
Agreements pertaining to the management of shared water courses. These include Zambezi
River Authority (1980), Lake Tanganyika Convention (2003), Revised Protocol on Shared
Water Courses in the SADC (2004) and the agreement on the establishment of the Zambezi
Water Courses Commission (ZAMCOM) (2004, not ratified by Zambia). International
competition is increasing on the utilization of water especially on the Victoria Falls and the
Kariba Dam complex, which is important for tourism and hydropower generation
respectively. To ensure Zambia’s maximum benefit from the shared water courses, there is
an urgent need to build up the national capacity to deal with these issues. Water in Zambia
is not evenly distributed. The majority of the population still lack access to good drinking
water and sanitation especially in rural settings and in the unplanned settlements
surrounding the major cities and towns.
Water quality also varies in the country. Generally the quality of both surface and
groundwater is good, but near the capital of Lusaka and in the Copper belt mining area water
pollution and increasing nutrient loads is a growing problem and Lusaka also experiences
falling ground water table. In Kitwe, the major source of raw water is the Kafue River which

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is proved to be the most contaminated river in Zambia because of the mining activities on
the Copperbelt province.
2.3 AVAILABILITY OF WATER RESOURCES IN ZAMBIA
Generally there is enough water in Zambia to meet the present demand, but water resources
needs to be developed if it has to meet the future demand for water for irrigation, energy,
fishery mining and for domestic use. Surface water is, however, unevenly distributed within
the country and there are often shortages in the southern parts of the country. Most of the
surface water is within the major rivers of the Zambezi, Kafue, Luangwa, Luapula and
Chambeshi, and lakes of
Tanganyika, Bangweulu, Mweru, Mweru-wa-Ntipa, Kariba and Itezhi-tezhi.
In the beginning of the 21st century Zambia experienced a population growth followed by
an increase in the water demand, which is not matched by developed water resources. Water
quality has been a major concern on the Kafue River, mainly because the river supports
most of the country’s economic activities such as mining, agriculture and industry as well
as over 40 percent of the population of Zambia. As such, Kafue River on the Copper-belt is
threatened by pollution, while, in middle and lower catchments there is an increase in
competition between different uses. Resulting problems are therefore high pollution
pressure from industry and households, proliferation of aquatic weeds and land degradation.
(Department of water affaires, Lusaka)
2.4 THE IMPORTANCE OF DOMESTIC WATER SUPPLY
(URBAN AND RURAL)
Domestic water supply includes the provision of water for drinking, cooking, washing,
bathing, sanitation and stock watering. Others include subsistence gardening, subsistence
fishing and brick making. Availability of water supply is mainly determined by the
following:

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2.4.1 LEVEL OF ACCESS
The standard access to domestic water supply has been set at 500m from a water point by
the Government. In most areas, this has been difficult to achieve. Over the years,
government has tried to reduce the distance covered to a water point but this has proven
difficult because of the settlement patterns. This has complicated the number of people
served by a water point. Ideally, each water point is supposed to serve about 200 people.
The rate of access to water supply and sanitation has therefore remained quite low especially
in peri-urban areas where 50 –70% of the people in urban areas live (Zambia Water
Partnership, ZWP 2008). Most therefore use shallow wells for their water needs. This is
shown below in figures 2.1(a) and 2.1(b).The Global Water Supply and Sanitation
Assessment 2000 Report (GWSSAR) defines “Reasonable access” to water as at least 20
liters per person per day from a source within one kilometer of the user’s home.
Figure 2.1(a) Figure 2.1(b)
Figures 2.1(a) and 2.1(b): people fetching water from shallow wells.
Source: Department of water affaires, Lusaka.
The 2000 Census by Central Statistical Office (CSO 2000) indicates that at National Level

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49.1 percent of households in Zambia had access to safe water. The ZWP (2008) indicates
further that 86.1 percent of urban households had access to safe water compared with 29.5
percent of rural households.
2.4.2 INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEMS (LEAKAGE, ILLEGAL USE,
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE)
The challenges facing provision of water and sanitation services include the high levels of
production cost, vandalism of infrastructure, run down water distribution pipes and
overloaded sewage system (ZWP- 2008). In most of the utility water companies in Zambia,
there is a reliance on infrastructure that is 30 years old on average. Whereas, water
conservation was paramount when systems were new, over the years much of this
infrastructure deteriorated due to untimely and lack of maintenance. This is illustrated in
Table 2.1 showing unaccounted for water due to leakage, illegal use, and other operational
performance indicators as obtained from different parts of the country. Table 2.1 shows that
Western Province has the highest uncounted for water (70%) followed by Nkana WSC
serving Kitwe, Kalulushi and Chambishi (60%) and mine area (60%) on the Copperbelt,
with Mulonga WSC Mufulira, Chingola and Chililabombwe on the Copper-belt the lowest
(38%).
Table 2.1: Unaccounted for water due to leakage

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As a result, a programme for increasing efficiency of utilities embarked by the regulator
(NWASCO) has placed infrastructure and technology improvement as a priority.
Infrastructure rehabilitation programmes that include repairs and replacement of old pipes,
installation of meters along the water reticulation systems, acquisition and utilisation of leak
detection technology, installation of billing systems have been initiated. In addition some
utilities are strengthening maintenance teams.
2.4.3 CURRENT STATE OF TREATMENT FACILITIES
Treatment facilities are available but of poor quality. In Kitwe and other major towns, there
has been no expansion of the sewage treatment plants and most of them are not functioning
therefore people depend on pit-latrines and septic tanks. For instance, the original plan for
Kitwe was that inhabited structures should be connected to the sewage system. Only 25%

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are connected to the sewer, 20% use septic tanks and about 55% use pit latrines
(Environmental Council of Zambia -ECZ, 2007).
2.4.4 OBSERVED IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER DEMAND
In the last seven years of the previous decade, Zambia has had to endure droughts in the
rainy seasons of 2000/ 01, 2001/ 02 and 2004/ 05 while floods have occurred in 2005/ 06,
2006/ 07 and 2007/08. The impacts of these drought or floods have included widespread
crop failure or loss, outbreaks of human and animal diseases, dislocation of human
population and destruction of property and infrastructure.
2.4.5 POPULATION GROWTH
Population growth is a major contributor to water scarcity. Growth in populations means
mounting demand and competition for water for domestic, industrial, and municipal uses.
Water is also needed for agriculture and industrial use, and for the evacuation of waste
materials. The most water scarce or stressed areas are typically those with few water
resources, high population densities, and high population growth rates. Population growth
limits the amount of water available per person, drives people into marginal regions, which
are already water stressed and also into cities. For instance, the water utility company in
Kitwe cannot meet the current water demand.
The above factors or determinants of water supply availability are illustrated in figure 2.2
below, called a cause-and-effect diagram. It is sometimes called as Fish-bone diagram. It
was first developed by Kaorv Ishikawa in 1943 and also called as Ishikawa diagram. In this
case, the main water supply problem is referred to as Fish-head; the major categories of
potential cause, Structural bones and the likely specific causes to Ribs. It explores possible
causes of problems, with the intention being to discover the root causes. The causes are
explained in detail below.

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Figure 2.2 Fishbone diagram- indicating causes of non-availability of water supply.
2.5 WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS
The purpose of municipal water delivery systems is to transport potable water from a water
treatment facility to residential consumers, for use as drinking water, water for cooking,
water for sanitary conditions, and other water use in a domestic environment. Water supply
also is essential for business and industry to operate in a municipal environment. Of no less
importance is the need to supply water to properly located fire hydrants to provide the public
with an effective level of fire protection. Municipal water systems also may need to provide
water for special services that include street cleaning, the selling of water to contractors for
erecting buildings, parks and recreation, and miscellaneous uses. Harry E. Hickey, Ph.D.
(2008)

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A water system has two primary requirements: First, it needs to deliver adequate amounts
of water to meet consumer consumption requirements plus needed fire flow requirements.
Second, the water system needs to be reliable; the required amount of water needs to be
available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
A water supply system is analogous to the human circulatory system. The heart pumps
blood through the arteries, veins, and capillaries to supply oxygen to all part of the body. A
water pump supplies water through primary, secondary, and distributor water mains to
supply water to consumers and for fire protection.
Therefore, every municipal water system has to have a water supply source that is both
adequate and reliable for the city to be served.
2.5.1 CONTINUOUS AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY
A municipal water supply system cannot service its customers unless there is a continuous
supply of water to meet domestic consumption needs in the broadest sense and water needs
for structural fire protection. Water sources need to be selected carefully to make sure that
this fundamental requirement is met. Harry E. Hickey, Ph.D. (2008)
Two main factors that affect water supply selection are:
1. Quality of water: Water must be treated or purified to meet Regulatory Requirements
established by World Health Organization (WHO).
2. Quantity of water: The quantity of water must be adequate to meet consumer
consumption at any time of the day, day of week, and week of the year. Maintaining
a continuous or uninterrupted supply of water for municipal demands is a major
challenge to many municipalities because of the following conditions: droughts,
growing demands that cannot be met by the treatment plant, lack of adequate storage
capacity, other communities drawing water from the same supply sources such as a
lake or a river, a major commercial fire or wild land or urban interface fire that
exhausts the water supply and undetected underground leakage on the pipe distribution
system. A municipality must recognize that the quantity of available water needs to

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be such that maximum daily consumption demands are satisfied at all times, even
during periods of drought or after years of community growth. The water delivery
system needs to expand as the municipality expands. Design Considerations In the
design and construction of community water systems are extremely important. This
dictates that the source of supply should be selected so that little maintenance for the
operational factors will be required to furnish an adequate supply of water to the
community.
2.5.2 MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY CONSIDERATIONS
There are two fundamental considerations for both designing and evaluating municipal
water supply systems. The first and most important is the quality of the water for human
consumption- drinking water. The second is the quantity of water required.
The quality of water provided by a municipal water system is based on three distinct
characteristics, each of which may independently govern the desirable portability of the
water.
2.5.3 MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM DEMANDS
The demand for water supplied by a municipal water system has two driving components:
1) consumer consumption: the amount of water in (gpm) or gallons per day that is used
by all of the taps on the water mains to supply single-family homes, multiple-family
residences of all types, health care facilities, schools at all levels of education, commercial
enterprises, industrial complexes, and adjunct uses (street cleaning; water fountains;
watering public grass areas; shrubs, trees, and flowers; parks and recreation including
swimming pools; and the sale of water to contractors for building roads, structures, etc.)

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2) An adequate and reliable water supply for fire protection. Water has to been readily
available for fire outbreaks which are usually unforeseen. A lot of household-lives and
property for both domestic and industrial use have been lost because of inadequate facilities
for fire protection in most cities of Zambia.
2.6 WATER STRESS
The concept of water stress is relatively simple. It applies to situations where there is not
enough water for all uses, whether agricultural, industrial or domestic.
In 60% of European cities with more than 100,000 people, groundwater is being used at a
faster rate than it can be replenished. Even if some water remains available, it costs more
and more to capture it.
In 2000, the world population was 6.2 billion. The UN estimates that by 2050 there will be
an additional 3 billion people with most of the growth in developing countries that already
suffer water stress. Thus water demand will increase unless everyone finds ways to conserve
and recycle the precious resource.
The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (2004) reports that the world is on track
to meet the drinking water target but that sub-Sahara Africa lags behind. However, the same
report indicates that progress towards the sanitation target is too slow to meet the goal.
Access to water is above all a local distribution issue. The people in urban slums are often
as close to water resources as are the more fortunate urban rich, but they often do not have
access to the infrastructure in place.
2.6.1 WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE CONTRIBUTE TO WATER STRESS
 Excessive withdrawal from surface waters over the past 30 years. It is been
caused by a lot developmental projects such as road-construction which are
under way and agricultural irrigation systems which draw water from rivers
and streams.

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 Excessive withdrawal of water from underground aquifers. Much of the west
coast of India excessive fresh water abstraction has allowed sea water to enter
aquifers there-by making the water so saline that it is unfit for human use.
These consequences have been compounded due to excess irrigation water
containing fertilizers and pesticides leaching into these aquifers.
 Pollution of fresh water resources. Pollution can be so severe that the fresh
water is no longer useable without incurring unacceptably high clean-up costs.
Pollution from many small paper mills using outdated technology has depleted
the oxygen from the several river stretches in Zambia, making them unfit for
consumption by any form of life.
 Inefficient use of freshwater Poor irrigation practices, leakage in water
delivery systems, inefficient use by industry and excessive consumption by
individuals can all contribute to water stress.
2.6.2 WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP ALLEVIATE WATER STRESS
Improved access to quality water is a long-term goal that requires more than humanitarian
funds.
 Because sub-Saharan Africa is subject to more extreme climate variability than other
regions, it needs improved water storage capacity. Some experts say that large dam
projects would create a more sustainable reserve of water resources to combat the
burden of climate fluctuations, but other disagree, stating the harmful environmental
impact of large dams.
 Many experts say more water treaties are needed. Lautze (2010) says that trans-
boundary water agreements have cultivated international cooperation and reduced
the "probability of conflict and its intensity."
 Better donor emphasis on water development is needed.

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Small-scale agricultural improvements also offer a solution to water stress, including the
harvest of water in shallow wells, drip irrigation for crops, the use of pumps, and other
technological innovations. Sanchez says, "The key thing is the concept of green water as
opposed to blue water. Blue water is the water we see in streams. Green water is the water
we don't see in the soil, and green water accounts for two-thirds of the water supply."
Farmers can access green water through drip irrigation (systems that slowly and consistently
deliver water to plant's root system), supplemental irrigation (supplementary to natural
rainfall rather than the primary source of moisture during periods of drought) and rainwater
harvesting (the collection of rainwater for crops, which reduces reliance on irrigation).
Crops can grow poorly even during periods of rainfall, and most farms in Africa suffer from
nitrogen and phosphorus depletion in soil. One way to assuage water stress in terms of food
scarcity is to increase water-holding capacity with organic fertilizers that would increase
availability.
2.5 POLICY AND STATUTORY LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR
WATER AND SANITATION IN ZAMBIA
In November 1994, the Government of Zambia adopted the National Water Policy. The
main aim of the policy is to provide a holistic management approach to the water sector.
For the water supply and sanitation sector, the policies and strategies are aimed at improving
the quality of life and productivity of all people by ensuring an equitable provision of an
adequate quantity and quality of water to all competing user and sanitation services to all,
at an acceptable cost, on a sustainable basis. The overall objective of the water policy is:
“To promote sustainable water resources development with a view of facilitating an
equitable provision of an adequate quantity and quality of water for all competing users at
acceptable cost and ensuring security of supply under varying conditions”.

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The major legal enactments relating to water in Zambia are as follows:
2.5.1 THE WATER ACT (B) THE WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION ACT
The Water Act is the supreme law on water resource issues in Zambia. The Act stipulates
the ownership of water and the procedures of authorization and invalidation of water use.
The Water Supply and Sanitation Act is an “Act to establish the National Water Supply and
Sanitation Council and define its functions and powers; to provide for the establishment by
local authorities, of water supply and sanitation utilities; to provide for the efficient and
sustainable supply of water and sanitation services under the general regulation of the
National Water Supply and Sanitation Council; and provide for matters connected with or
incidental to the foregoing.
Under “obligation to provide water supply and sanitation services”, the Act contains the
following sections:
 “Not withstanding any other law to the contrary and subject to the other provisions
of the Act, a local authority shall provide water supply and sanitation services falling
under its jurisdiction, except in any area where a person provides such services
solely for that person’s own benefit or a utility or a service provider is providing
such services”.
 Utilities or service providers can only operate in accordance with the Act and under
a license issued under this Act. The Act does not squarely address the issue of
universal coverage with any deliberate urgency. There is in fact some confusion over
what is meant by “obligation to provide water supply and sanitation service”. It is
very much a “business-as-usual” Act – but perhaps a useful step.
There are other associated pieces of legislation including the Environmental Protection and
Pollution Control Act, the Local Government Act, the Public Health Act, etc. The
Constitution of Zambia contains Part III – Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms

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of the Individual. The part basically contains political and civil rights. The Constitution of
Zambia does not contain a Bill of Rights. Social, economic and cultural rights are not
explicitly enshrined in the Constitution.
Generally speaking then, the current policy and statutory legal framework is unfavorable in
as far as attempting to address the urgent task facing Zambia. Providing universal access to
safe water and appropriate sanitation is concerned. The process of translating declarations
of intent and policy into law is on-going but with the passing of the National Water and
Sanitation Act and the creation of NWASCO, it would appear that an opportunity to address
the challenge has almost slipped our hands. The “slip” may partly have been facilitated by
the fact that the supreme law (the Constitution) is silent on social, economic and cultural
rights.
In moving away from single-mission Acts, it is important that steps are taken to
progressively harmonize all existing water-and-environment related legislation in order to
ensure efficiency and effectiveness. National objectives should be seen to weave through
the supreme national law the Constitution.
Modern practices on water resource policy, administration and legislation require the
people’s participation in the management of water resources, which is generally achieved
where a more community-oriented approach prevails in respect of ownership, distribution
and use of water as well as within the organisation of water user’s associations or
cooperatives. Such an approach is easily applied in the African environment where the
existence of traditional forms of community organisations, associations, resource ownership
and right of use may greatly facilitate its institutionalisation. Customary laws are therefore
useful at this time when communities are increasingly being called upon to participate in
water resources management.

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2.6 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATION
International attention has focused upon the needs of the developing countries. To meet the
Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) targets of halving the proportion of the population
lacking access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. This does not include
investments required for the maintenance of existing infrastructure. Once infrastructure is
in place, operating water supply and sanitation systems entails significant ongoing costs to
cover personnel, energy, chemicals, maintenance and other expenses. The sources of money
to meet these capital and operational costs are essentially either user fees, public funds or
some combination of the two. But this is where the economics of water management start
to become extremely complex as they intersect with social and broader economic policy.
They are, nevertheless, highly relevant to understanding how critical water issues will affect
business and industry in terms of both risks and opportunities.
The ongoing work of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
program on Water and Sustainable Development will provide an opportunity for further
exploration in the determinant factors for the sustainability of rural water supply systems
are categorized in to two main categories. These are pre-implementation factors and post-
implementation factors. Community participation, technology selection, site selection,
demand responsiveness, construction quality, population and training are some of the pre-
implementation factors. And post-implementation factors are technical support, community
satisfaction, institutional and financial management, training and willingness to sustain the
water project (Gebrehiwot, 2006). One of the pre-implementation factors for rural water
supply systems is demand responsive approach. In this context ‘demand’ is defined as the
quantity and quality of water, where community members will choose to consume at a given
price (Gizachew, 2005). In a demand responsive approach, beneficiaries should feel the
need for safe drinking water supply, in order to identify safe drinking water supply projects.
Water projects are more or less demand responsive to the degree that beneficiaries make
choices and carry out resources in support of their choices (Gebrehiwot, 2006). If there is

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willingness in the community to provide valued resources in the exchange for services then
these community members valued the service. As a result demand for supply of water will
facilitate the management of the water supply system and it enhances the rate of
sustainability of the water supply system (Gizachew, 2005). In the last three decades,
literature in the water supply sector has shown that Sustainability of rural water supply
structures has become positively associated with small-scale initiatives, which maintain
public participation (Davis and Liyer, 2002). Involving the users in the planning,
implementation, operation, protection and maintenance of water supply systems
meaningfully is the key to sustainability. Community members’ contributions might take
the form of money, labour, material, equipment, or participation in project-related decision-
making and meetings (Davis and Liyer, 2002).
Over the past three decades, experience has shown that water and sanitation activities are
most effective and sustainable when they adopt a participatory approach that acts in
response to genuine demand, builds capacity for operation and maintenance and sharing of
costs, involve community members directly in all key decisions, develop a sense of
communal ownership of the project, and uses appropriate technology that can be maintained
at the village level. Also important are educational and participatory efforts to change
behavioral practices (USAID, 2009).
The human body’s basic water requirement depends on climate, work load and factors. If
the work load is high and the season is dry the family use large amount of water per day,
whereas the family size increases the amount of water consumed by one person per day
decreases relative to the one that small number of family sizes. However, Gleick (2006)
defined the minimum requirement for human body and found that it is between 3 and 10
liters per day. The amount of water needed for other purposes, including cooking or hygiene,
is more variable and depends on cultural habits, socio economic factors and types of water
supply in terms of quantity, quality and availability. Gleick (2006) stated that the
international acceptable standards for water requirements for basic needs, commonly

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referred to as basic water requirement (BWR). BWR is defined as water requirement in
terms of quantity and quality for the four basic needs of drinking water, human hygiene,
sanitation service and modest household needs.
This standard is defined by World Health Organisation (WHO) guide line as 20 liters per
capita per day (Admassuet. al, 2002). When springs are used for multiple purposes such as
domestic use, livestock watering, irrigation and tanker supply, care should be taken to
prevent contamination of water used for human consumption (Muthusiet.al. 2007). Relative
to hand dug wells natural or developed springs is easily contaminated by different
contaminant agents. The effective operation and maintenance (O & M) of rural water supply
systems is crucial element for the sustainability of the water project. The community
management of rural water supply systems on operation and maintenance (O & M) is not
successful, if financing resources are not available and frequent supports are not provided
(Binder, 2008). Budgeting sufficient funding for rural water supply systems is an important
issue for sustainability and proper maintenance but not only one.
Binder (2008) states that “increasing the budget allocation for rural water supply systems is
very important, but that is not the only thing to meet the challenges of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).” Enhancing the capacity of the operators’ related to the choice
of appropriate institutional management is also mandatory to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).

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2.7 UP-CLOSE WITH NWASCO
Poor sanitation is a time bomb in this country and we need to act now and act decisively.
The situation is better in residential areas with sewerage systems and septic tanks but dare
take a walk or drive through compounds such as Wusakile in Kitwe, Maiteneke in Lusaka,
Lubuyu in Livngstone you will find sewage flowing furiously in the streets as the sewage
system is blocked and people have to use their hands to unblock their sewer lines. Worse
still in the rural areas, people defecate in open spaces with no shame because their dignity
has been stripped off.
The above situation has to be addressed and this is why the world commemorates World
Toilets day which is an important day in the global events calendar devoted to voicing out
the importance of sanitation and raising awareness for billions of people world-wide who
lack access to toilets and proper sanitation. The United Nations estimates that there are 2.5
billion people who still do not use an improved sanitation facility and a little over 1 billion
practicing open defecation.
Access to basic sanitation is still grossly insufficient with many people with the poorest
being the worst affected. Rapid urbanization is adding to additional stress. For our own case
here in Zambia, the national rural sanitation coverage is 43% while the national peri-urban
sanitation is 58.7%. The national picture therefore stands at 49.6% (weighted average).
What this means is that more than half the population has no access to sanitation. Clearly
action is needed and the key elements in making progress is the need for both more money
and better targeting of that money to achieve improvements which will benefit all. One can
only imagine the health, emotional and psychological consequences some people endure as
a result of inadequate sanitation.
Sanitation is the safe disposal of human excreta to prevent disease and safe guard privacy
and dignity. Sanitation coverage as per NWASCO definition is the ratio of population with
access to adequate sanitation which includes factors such as distance and number of people
per sanitary facility. For NWASCO, only people connected to the sewer network and with

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septic tanks are considered covered in the urban and peri-urban areas. Without adequate
sanitation, safe drinking water is impossible. Lack of adequate sanitation is a major cause
of contamination therefore water and sanitation are integrally related and equally important
for a life in health and dignity. Many diseases are caused by lack of access to adequate to
and water is essential for hygiene. The indicator for water supply accessibility is better than
that of sanitation. The national urban water coverage is 83.9% while that of rural is 63%
giving an average of 72% (weighted average) for the country.
The current status of sanitation will only improve greatly if a legal regulatory framework
enforces sustainable sanitation standards especially in unplanned settlements. In the new
development areas where the ministry of Lands or councils have allocated land for
individual people to develop, inadequate coordination in developmental planning among
stakeholders has forced people to resort to onsite sanitation which may contribute to
underground water contamination. Investing in water and sanitation is costly yet evidence
has shown that the cost of not ensuring access to drinking water and sanitation is even higher
in terms of public health and loss of school days and man hours. In an environment of scarce
public money, it is about the best possible allocation of public funds to the entire sanitation
value chain. (Rose Tembo).

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2.8 TRENDS THATILL AFFECT FRESH WATER USE
2.8.1 POPULATION GROWTH
Projected to reach over 8 billion in 2030 and to level off at 9 billion by 2050.
Figure 2.3 Population trends 1950 - 2030
Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: 2003 Revision
2.8.2 INCREASING AFFLUENCE
The rate of poverty alleviation is increasing especially within the population giants of China
and India. However, increasing affluence inevitably means more water consumption: from
needing clean fresh water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and basic sanitation service, to
demanding water for gardens and car washing, to wanting Jacuzzis or private swimming
pools.
2.8.3 EXPANSION OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY
Business activity ranging from industrialisation to services such as tourism and
entertainment continues to expand rapidly. This expansion requires increased water services

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including both supply and sanitation, which can lead to more pressure on water resources
and natural ecosystems.
2.8.4 RAPID URBANIZATION
The trend towards urbanization is accelerating. Small private wells and septic tanks that
work well in low-density communities are not feasible within high-density urban areas.
Urbanization requires significant investment in water infrastructure in order to deliver water
to individuals and to process the concentrations of wastewater both from individuals and
from business. These polluted and contaminated waters must be treated or they pose
unacceptable public health risks.
2.8.5 CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change could increase annual precipitation and make more fresh water available in
some places. Rising temperatures, however, could increase the rate of evaporation from
surface waters and reservoirs and lead to the loss of freshwater held in glaciers. Furthermore,
increased rainfall might come in the form of storms that lead to flooding and damage thereby
doing more harm than good. Climate change poses a series of risks to water availability and
water management systems, although much uncertainty remains.
The good news is that there is a lot of fresh water in the world. Water is free from nature
In many areas, water is easily accessible at a low cost Nature is constantly recycling &
purifying water in rivers & lakes There is a huge amount of water underground 5 billion
people have reasonable access to fresh water 3.8 billion people have at least basic
sanitation Millions are working their way out of poverty The pace of industrialization is
increasing Industry is becoming more efficient in its water use Awareness of water issues
is increasing.
The bad news is that it is not always where man needs it Infrastructure needed to deliver
water is expensive People assume it will always be available & take it for granted Man is
polluting water faster than nature can recycle it Man is using this water faster than nature

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can replace it Over 1 billion do not 2.4 billion do not Affluent people use more water
Industry will require more fresh water Many industries are still using water
unsustainably/inefficiently Translating awareness into action can be slow

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3.0 INTRODUCTION
The study was generally targeted at the Water Sector in the City of Kitwe and how
operations are run. The scope of this project was therefore narrowed down to the assessment
of Kitwe North which consists of the Bulangililo Water Treatment Plant and its Distribution
Centers (DC, s) Kwacha DC, Chimwemwe DC and River side DC.
This chapter stipulates the research methodology which will includes the research design,
data collection methods, data analysis tools and sampling methods to be used.
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
Due to the nature of the research and in ensuring that the objectives are met, descriptive
research was used. Descriptive method was used to illustrate the effects that factors have on
the availability of water supply.
3.2 DATA COLLECTION
Both primary and secondary data were collected.
3.2.1 PRIMARY DATA
Primary data was collected through the use of questionnaires, interviews and direct
observations. This means that structured interviews were conducted with employees under
the operations department of NWSC, observations were made on both human resource and
plant/ equipment, and questionnaires were distributed to the customers of the Northern
Division.

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3.2.2 SECONDARY DATA
Secondary data was gathered from:
 Literature studies of published and un-published text, journals and other
investigations related to the study.
 Recorded materials from Nkana Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC),
National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) and published
documents of the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
3.3 DATA ANALYSIS
The data that was collected in this research was analysed using the ‘Statistical Package for
Social Science’ (SPSS version 20). SPSS was used to analyse the data qualitatively. This
means that it gave results in form of graphs, charts and tables so as to reach a conclusion on
the information that was collected.
3.4 SAMPLING METHOD
The purpose of sampling was to reduce the cost of collecting data about a population by
gathering information from a subset of the entire population i.e. the study was conducted
from Kitwe North only.
Three types of questionnaires were made: One for the Bulangililo Water Treatment Plant,
one for the distribution centers (DCs); Kwacha DC, Riverside DC and Chimwemwe DC;
and one type of questionnaire for the customers of the Northern Division.
To ensure unbiased data collection and analysis under customers’ section, random sampling
was used because every member (customer) of the population was affected.
According to the published survey documents from NWSC report, Kitwe North has a total
number of serviced households of about 26,000. In order to come up with a sample size of

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the targeted population, the households were used as sampling element and the following
equation for estimation of the sample was used.
Source: Schaeffer, 1979
Where: q = 1 - p, D = B2 ÷
4
N= Total number of households in Kitwe North (26,000)
n = Sample size of (households)
p = Probability of households stratum, ranges from 0-1
q = The opposite of p, i.e., 1 - p
B = Marginal/ bound error, which must be smaller to the value p
Taking p = 0.5, then q = 1- 0.5= 0.5
If the value B = 0.063, (which should be less than the value of p) then, D = 0.0009925
Therefore, n = 249.5441021
n = 250
Out of the 250 questionnaires distributed, only 50 were successfully analysed. This was due
to resistant by customers to give answers. Many people thought the researcher worked for
the case company.
n = Npq
(N -1) D + pq

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4.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the research findings and interpretation. This was divided into four
sections, each dealing with the cause of the water problem. This included: Treatment and
Distribution, Infrastructural Problems, Population Growth and Capacity; and Customer
Service level.
4.1 TREATMENT AND DISTRIBUTION
Before giving out the data findings and analysis under this section, it is imperative to stress
out the Water Treatment process as follows:
4.1.1 TREATMENT OF WATER
Water treatment is process of making water suitable for its application i.e. for domestic and
industrial processes etc. or simply retuning its natural state. The goal of water treatment is:
 To remove the existing contaminants present in the raw water.
 To reduce the concentration of such contaminant.
The following is a summary of the treatment process at Bulangililo Water Treatment Plant:
1. SCREENING
Screening is done at the intake. Screening devices are classified as PRIMARY
TREATMENT devices. This is basically a physical treatment process. The screens are
located at the intake where they serve to prevent the entry of logs and sticks or even fish
and animals. The rate of flow through these screens should not cause any head loss or
clogging; so average design velocity through these bars is about 1.2m/s. The type of screens

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used are called Trash Racks. They are four in number. Each Trash rack section is about 50kg
in mass and the sections are bolted together to above the maximum river level. The trash
rack is galvanised to combat corrosion.
Figure 4.1: Screens; mesh screens verses hole screens.
2. LOW LIFT STAGE
After the water has passed through the screens it enters the pumping stage. This stage is
called the low lift because the lift is low. It consists of four centrifugal pumps. Not all pumps
run at the same time. One or two is (are) on standby to allow for maintenance schedules and
capacity control.
3. DISTRIBUTION CHAMBER
Raw water is then transported through 500mm diameter pipes to the distribution chamber.
Immediately before the distribution chamber is the Alum, lime and Permanganate dosing.
Water is then distributed to each of the five pulsators, controlled by penstocks.

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4. PULSATORS CLARIFIERS
The pulsators clarifiers are primarily for sedimentation. Raw water is introduced from the
pulsators into the vacuum chamber from which air is exhausted by a vacuum pump
removing airflow more or less equal to half the maximum water to be treated. This vacuum
chamber communicates with the bottom pipe system of the clarifiers.
5. FILTRATION
The clarified water then enters the filters. The filters being used are rapid gravity sand filters.
So when water enters the filter beds, the water passes through the gravel into the sand and
finally into the nozzles and out through the siphons into the clear wells.
6. CLEAR WELL
Then filtered water then goes to the clear well final chlorination is done in order to achieve
sterilization
7. HIGH LIFT SATGE
This is where water is pumped out to consumers in Riverside (using pump1), Kwacha (using
pump 2/3), Chimwemwe (using pump 4/5). The pumps in this stage pump water to the
service reservoirs storage tanks located at each of the three residential distribution centers
before reticulation.
The plant process diagram for the above process is shown in Appendix 3.
4.1.2 BULAGILILO WATER TREATMENT PLANT
It was found that the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) used in the treatment process are:
 Production Hours: On average, the treatment plant operates 24 hours a day.

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 Pump Availability. From the process given above, the treatment plant has nine (9)
water pumps. Four (4) at the low lift stage and five (5) at the high lift stage.
 Quality. Management also believes that the quality of the water which the utility
company produces is good. The parameters which are mostly measured are:
1. Colour. This is the appearance of water and pure water has no colour. It is
colorless and after treatment of water, a colourless appearance of water must be
achieved as required by the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS).The colour of
water is measured by the comparator. The recommended colour of water is 15
Hz. The colourlessness of water is achieved during the process of sedimentation
and filtration.
2. P.H. P.H is the acidic and alkalinity of water. It is also the negative of
logarithmic of the molar concentration of hydrogen ion when referring to acidic
water. The P.H scale goes extremely acidic when the reading is (1) and
extremely basic when (14) and neutral when (7). According to the Zambia
bureau of standards the acceptable P.H of water should be in the range of (6.5-
9.0).
3. Turbidity. Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by foreign
particles suspended in it and generally invisible to our naked eyes. Turbidity is
defined as the amount of light reflected 90 degrees to the incident ray. The
measure of turbidity is important in water quality. It is also the measure of
clearness of the water. The less suspended particles or solids in water, the lower
the turbidity. It is measured in the laboratory by the device called
spectrophotometer and the units of measurement are called Nephelometric

2014
BY CHAPA CHIBEKA
Page 36
Turbidity Units (NTUs). According to the Zambia Bureau of Standards
Turbidity in portable water is 10 NTUs.
4. Chlorine residue. Residual chlorine is defined as the unreacted chlorine
excess remaining in water at least 30 minutes after breakpoint disinfection of
water. Chlorine is added to water for disinfection. Chlorine is a very powerful
oxidizing agent and shows to be successful in decontaminating the water we
drink. Residual chlorine is measured by a comparator. It is measured in a same
way the colour of water is determined, the only difference is that, to determine
residual chlorine, a certain chemical in tablet form called (DPD) reacts with
residual chlorine to give a pink colour. When the pink colour is intense it means
there is a lot of chlorine. According to the Zambia bureau of standards free
chlorine at the treatment plant should be in the range of 2.5ppm-1.5ppm and the
recommended free chlorine for consumption is 0.5ppm-0.2ppm.
The quality of water is assessed later under Customer Service Time section.
4.1.3 DISTRIBUTION CENTERS (DCs)
From the treatment plant, water is pumped to the distribution centers.
For example, Kwacha DCs receives 25000 M3
/day though it has a total capacity of about
47000 M3
/day. This means there is under-utilisation of the available space.
Therefore, Utilization = (25000/ 4700) × 100% = 53.19%
The reason for under-utilization is due to Pump non-availability mainly caused by frequent
breakdowns. In the distribution process, the Key Performance indicators (KPIs) are: Hours
of supply, Water Quality and Pump availability. Water quality and hours of supply are
analysed later under Customer Service Time.

2014
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4.2 INFRASTRACTURAL PROBLEMS
Under this section, the data collected was highly qualitative. From interviews and
observations, it was found that the plant and its distribution centers have never under gone
expansion in terms of capacity. The department of maintenance and Operations is highly
centralized and relies so much on breakdown type of maintenance. Moreover, the plant has
never undergone complete overhaul and most of the equipment is old and worn out as it is
seen in the picture below. Another contributing factor to infrastructural problems is the
rampant theft and vandalism of equipment especially the pipes. This contributes greatly to
uncounted for
water losses
through leakages.
Figure 4.2 Chlorine room

2014
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Source: a photo taken from Bulangililo water treatment plant; 2014-10-6
Furthermore, the average equipment age was calculated in table 4.1 below:
Table 4.1: Plant/ DC Age
WTP/ DC YEARS
BULANGILILO WATER
TREATMENT PLANT
45
KWACHA DC 45
CHIMWEMWE DC 38
RIVERSIDE DC 14
AVERAGE AGE =35.5
Source: Data compiled by author, 2014
4.3 POPULATION GROWTH AND CAPACITY
The Bulangililo Water Treatment Plant was constructed in the year 1969 with the design
capacity of approximately 85000 cubic meters (M3
) per day. Kwacha DC was constructed
in the same year as the treatment plant with the design capacity of approximately 45450
M3
/day. Chimwemwe DC was constructed in the year 1976 with a 20400 M3
/day capacity.
Riverside DC which was constructed in 2000 is the smallest of all the three DCs. It has an
approximated capacity of 10000 M3
/day. This can de illustrated in the table 4.2 below.

2014
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Table 4.2: Capacity vs. Year
Total Capacity of DCs = 75850 M3
/da
Source: Data compiled by author 2014
Apart from these reservoir capacities, Distribution Centers (DCs) also have other alternative
storage capacity called water towers shown in table 4.3 below.
Table 4.3: Capacity of Water Towers
DC CAPACITY(M3
/day)
KWACHA 1248
CHIMWEMWE 1140
RIVERSIDE 1100
Total capacity of towers = 3488 M3
/day
Summing up the two totals gives (75850 M3
/day + 3488 M3
/day) = 79338 M3
/day.
WTP/DC CAPACITY(M3
/day) YEAR CONTRUCTED
BULAGILILO 85000 1969
KWACHA 45450 1969
CHIMWEMWE 20400 1976
RIVERSIDE 10000 2000

2014
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Subtracting this figure from the capacity of the treatment plant gives;
(85000 M3
/day – 75850 M3
/day) = 5662 M3
/day.
This shows that treatment plant has a capacity cushion of 5662 M3
/day which is normally
stored in the clear well tank. However, the capacity was meant to serve a small population
which lived in Kitwe north by then. Hence, the capacity is not enough to meet the daily
water demand of households in Kitwe north because population has drastically increased
though the average production time pay day is 24 hours. The numbers of households and
population are shown in the tables 4.4 below. It is seen that total number of households is
54,498 but the number of serviced households is about 26,000 approximately. This is just
about 50% of the total number of households.
Table 4.4: population of Kitwe north
Source: 2010 census of population and housing-preliminary report. (Central Statistical
Office)
4.4 CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSESSMENT
Under this section, the data collected was highly qualitative thus SPSS was used to interpret
the results. Only fifty (50) customer-questionnaires were analysed. Each sub-heading
represents a different question.
CONSTITUENCY NAME № OF HOUSEHOLDS POPULATION
CHIMWEMWE 22,351 116,138
KWACHA 26,365 139,996
NKANA 5782 30369
TOTAL 54,498 286,503

2014
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4.4.1 WATER SUPPLY
Table 4.5: Water Supply
WATER SUPPLY
FREQUENCY PERCENT VALID
PERCENT
CUMULATIVE
PERCENT
VALID NO 37 74.0 74.0 74.0
YES 13 26.0 26.0 100.0
TOTAL 50 100.0 100.0
To support the subject matter, customers were questioned if they had a constant water
supply. From the frequency table 4.5 above, it was found that out of fifty (50) customers
only 13 households representing 26% said that they had a constant water supply and 37
households representing 74% had no constant supply of water. This data is also represented
in the bar Chart below.

2014
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Figure 4.3 Water Supply
4.4.2 SERVICE TIME
To continue with the assessment of customers, a question was asked to find out how many
hours, in a day, customers receives water. From table 4.6 below, it is was found that 46%
(23) of households received water just for 1-8 hours a day, 22% (11) between 8-15 hours/day
and only 6% (3) for 15-24 hours per day. The bar chart below illustrates these results
YES NO
26%
74%
WATER SUPPLY

2014
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Table 4.6: Service Time
SERVICE TIME
PERCENT
CUMULATIVE
PERCENT
VALID 1-8 23 46.0 62.2 62.2
8-15 11 22.0 29.7 91.9
15-24 3 6.0 8.1 100.0
TOTAL 37 74.0 100.0
MISSING SYSTEM 13 26.0
TOTAL 50 100.0
Figure 4.4: Service Time
Source: Data compiled by author, 2014.
1-8 HOURS 8-15 HOURS 15-24HOURS
62.20%
29%
8.1%
SERVICE TIME

2014
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Page 44
4.4.3 WATER QUALITY
In answering one of the research questions which was ‘Are there any Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) used in the treatment and distribution of water?’ it was found out that
water quality is one of the KPIs. Personnel from the department of Maintenance and
Operations believed that the quality of the commodity (water) which they supplied was
good. Actually, this was a same case with the customers. In the table below, it is shown that
the percentage of respondents who said that the quality of the water received was good is
greater, representing 44% (22 household), 10% very good, 32% poor and 14% commented
that is was very poor.
Table 4.7: Quality of Water
WATER QUALITY
PERCENT
CUMULATIVE
PERCENT
VALID GOOD 22 44.0 44.0 44.0
VERY
GOOD
5 10.0 10.0 54.0
POOR 16 32.0 32.0 86.0
VERY
POOR
7 14.0 14.0 100.0
TOTAL 50 100.0 100.0

2014
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Page 45
Figure 4.5: Water Quality
4.4.4 PIPE MAINTENANCE
When customers were asked if the utility company carries out preventive maintenance on
the pipe line system, the responses in the table below shows the results. 88 percent of the
households said that no preventive maintenance on the pipe line system is carried out and
only 10 percent said that maintenance on the pipeline is carried out.
Table 4.8: Pipe Maintenance
PIPE MAINTENANCE
PERCENT
CUMULATIVE
PERCENT
VALID NO 44 88.0 89.8 89.8
YES 5 10.0 10.2 100.0
TOTAL 49 98.0 100.0
MISSING SYSTEM 1 2.0
TOTAL 50 100.0
GOOD VERY GOOD POOR VERY POOR
44%
10%
32%
14%
WATER QUALITY

2014
BY CHAPA CHIBEKA
Page 46
Figure 4.6: Pipe Maintenance
To continue with the analysis of maintenance on the customers’ premises, the frequency of
maintenance shows how many times (per year) the maintenance team of the utility company
caries out maintenance. With reference to the table, it is revealed that out of the 10 percent
who responded ‘YES’, 40 percent said that maintenance is carried once per year, 20 percent
said twice per year and 40 percent three times and above.
NO YES MSSING
88%
10%
2%
PIPE MAINTENANCE

2014
BY CHAPA CHIBEKA
Page 47
Table 4.9: Maintenance Frequency
MAINTENANCE FREQUENCY
PERCENT
CUMULATIVE
PERCENT
VALID ONCE 2 4.0 40.0 40.0
TWICE 1 2.0 20.0 60.0
THREE TMES &
ABOVE
2 4.0 40.0 100.0
TOTAL 5 10.0 100.0
MISSIN
G
SYSTEM 45 90.0
TOTAL 50 100.0
ONCE TWICE 3 TIMES & ABOVE
40%
20%
40%
MAINTENANCE FREQUENCY

2014
BY CHAPA CHIBEKA
Page 48
Figure 4.7: Maintenance frequency Source: Data compiled by author,
2014.
4.4.5 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Of keen interest to the researcher was finding out if at all customers were satisfied with the
overall services offered by the utility company and if they would recommend its services
and or product(s). The table reveals that 2 percent of households said they were very
satisfied, 10 percent said they were quite satisfied, 66 percent were not very satisfied and
22 percent said they were not at all satisfied. This information is well interpreted in the bar
chart below.
Table 4.10: Customer Satisfaction
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
PERCENT
CUMULATIVE
PERCENT
VALID YES,VERY
SATISFIED
1 2.0 2.0 2.0
YES,QUITE
SATISFIED
5 10.0 10.0 12.0
NOT VERY
SATISFIED
33 66.0 66.0 78.0
NOT
SATISFIED
11 22.0 22.0 100.0
TOTAL 50 100.0 100.0

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Figure 4.8: Customer Satisfaction
YES, VERY
SATISFIED
YES,QUITE
SATISFIED
NOT VERY
SATISFIED
NOT SATIFIED
2%
10%
66%
22%
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

2014
BY CHAPA CHIBEKA
Page 50
4.4.6 SERVICE RECOMMENDATION
When customers were asked if they would recommend the services and or product(s) of the
utility firm, the following results in the table shows responses: 80 percent of households
said no and only 20 percent said yes. The results are also shown in the bar chart below.
Table 4.11 Service Recommendation
SERVICE RECOMMENDATION
PERCENT
CUMULATIVE
PERCENT
VALID NO 40 80.0 80.0 80.0
YES 10 20.0 20.0 100.0
TOTAL 50 100.0 100.0

2014
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Page 51
Figure 4.9: Service Recommendation
Source: Data compiled by author, 2014.
NO YES
80%
20%
SERVICE RECOMMENDATION

2014
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Page 52
5.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents a summary of the major findings of the study; provide
recommendations and areas for further research.
5.1 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
The general overall conclusion is that there is rampant increase in demand for an adequate
water supply of the right quality and quantity due to the increase in population over the past
decade. Kitwe was reported the most populated city on the Copperbelt province with a total
population share of 522,092 out of 1,958,623 people. In 2000, the population of Kitwe was
376,124. Therefore, the average annual population growth rate from 2000 to 2010 was 3.3
(Census of Population and Housing, Preliminary report-2010).
Despite having almost a constant production and high pump availability, the design
capacities of the treatment plant and its distribution centers are proved to be over stressed.
Kitwe North has undergone growth in terms of new residential settlements in areas such as
Riverside Extension, Kwacha and Chimwemwe. Most households in these new settlements
have no service connections. Furthermore, increase in industrial activities have also added
to the increase in demand for the precious commodity which has no substitutes. This is
because the Kitwe industrial area is located in Kitwe North. Thus lower supply than demand.
Considering the collected data, it is worth mentioning here that the utility firm has a
maintenance team but its strategy is highly centred on breakdown maintenance. The
frequency of machine or equipment breakdown is very high owing to the fact that most of
the equipment is of old age with the average age of about 35 years old. Sometimes, a

2014
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Page 53
maintenance team may be available but non-availability of the correct tools, spare parts and
replacement hinders them from executing their duties efficiently and effectively.
Being one of the Key Performance Indicators, Pump availability (low) is one major factor
of non-availability of water supply. New pumps of great efficiency had recently been
installed at the treatment plant. However, the distribution centers still operate on old pumps.
On the same hand, the technology used in the treatment process and distribution is old with
little or no automation.

2014
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5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
Having assessed the factors that affect non-availability of water supply at Nkana Water and
Sewerage Company, and the way in which operations are run, the author hereby makes the
following recommendations:
1. In line with what has been analysed and found, there is need on a long term basis for
the Top Management of Nkana Water and Sewerage Company to work hand in hand
with the Kitwe City Council (KCC) so as to establish a capacity plan to match with
the rate of increase of demand for an adequate sanitation and water supply. If
possible, every residential area or township should have its own treatment plant and
at least one distribution center. One good strategy is to adopt or embark on what
other countries such as South Africa do. Residential plots are sold or given out only
after they are serviced with a full sewer-line system. This is one way of avoiding
having residential area that are not fully serviced. A case which is now common in
most rural and urban areas in the country.
2. The company should consider restructuring its maintenance department. There is
need to develop a highly motivated maintenance team that is both preventive and
breakdown based. Reactive or preventive based is essential in case of accidents as
well as where the plant is aging. The need to install a Computer Maintenance
Management System (CMMS) that can produce inspection lists to support
inspection and lubrication routes can never be overlooked. However, this can only
be done after installing an automated treatment and distribution system.

2014
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3. In the design and construction of community water systems, economics are
extremely important. This dictates that the source of supply should be selected so
that little maintenance for the operational factors will be required to furnish an
adequate supply of water to the community.
4. Government should give high priority in terms of funding the water utility
companies as it is proved that, to some extent, they operate at a loss due to poor
operations and maintenance; and high levels of unaccounted-for water. This lack of
funds hampers the operating and maintaining of the company’s water supply
facilities as money is not available to buy spare parts, invest in capacity-expansion
projects, train and provide competitive salaries to attract high calibre personnel.
5. Apart from government’s support, customers are the major source of income for the
utility company. Mostly, customers are willing to pay for a reliable, adequate supply
of clean water but unwilling to be charged for an unreliable and unsatisfactory
service. Hence customers need to be satisfied with the quality service at the lowest
possible cost. It is also evident that a satisfied customer is a very good advertising
agent. On the other hand, customers can contribute to negatively when they do not
settle their service bills, when they engage in vandalism and theft of equipment. One
way to curb this, is by sensitising the public of the need to be responsible and
concerned clients.
6. To reduce losses as a result of unaccounted-for water (UFW) through leakages, old
pipes in the distribution system needs to be changed and replaced by good quality
pipes and valves. This should be with appropriate technical requirements. To detect
leaks, it may be necessary to install temporally meters to measure flows at various
stages of operations.

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5.3 AREAS OF FURTHER RESEARCH
This research was solely set to assess the factors that affect non-availability of water supply
in Kitwe North. Other areas open for research in the provision of a reliable water supply,
which were not addressed in this study due to streamlined focus in approaching this study
are as follows:
1. Implementation of total productive maintenance (TPM) in water utility companies.
2. Effect of automation in the treatment and distribution of water.
3. Investigating the impact of unreliable water supply on national development.

2014
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Page 57
REFERENCES
1. Central Statistical Office (CSO) , 2000. Census of Population and Housing
Population Proportions Report. Lusaka, Zambia
2. Fry, A.(2006) world Business Concil for Sustainable Development(WBCSD)-
water stress.
3. Harry E. Hickey, P ( 2008) Water Supply Systems and Evaluation methods-
Volume 1: Water Supply System Concepts.
4. Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target (2004), A mid-term
assessment of progress” UNICEF & WHO.
5. National Water Supply and Sanitation Council, (2007) Inspectorate, Lusaka,
Zambia.
6. National Water Supply and Supply council, (2007) Inspectorate procedures,
Lusaka, Zambia.
7. National Water Supply and Sanitation Council, (2005/6) '' Strategic Plan''.
8. National Water Supply and Supply council (2006),'' Water Sector Report''
Lusaka
9. Prof. Imasiku A. Nyambe and Ms Miriam Feilberg, D. W. P.(2008). Zambia –
National Water Resources Report for WWDR3.
10. Tembo, R (2014) Up-close with NWASCO. Issue- Poor sanitation.
11. The WHO/UNICEF (2004) joint monitoringp progrmme.
12. The Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessmen (2000).
13. The Central Statistics Office (2010) Census Of Population and Housing-
Preriminary Report.
14. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2003), World
Urbanization Prospects: Revision.
15. World population to reach 9.1 billion in 2050, UN projects (2005) UN News
service, 24 February.
16. Zambia Water Partnership (2008)- Availabilty of Water, Lusaka,Zambia.

2014
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Page 58
17. http//:www.What is water?Accessed-27/o7/14.
18. http//:www.Availability of Water Supply. Accessed-01/09/14.
19. http//:www.Water Stress. Accessed-12/08/14.

2014
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Page 59
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1. CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
THE COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
DEPARTMENT OF PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE
NAME OF RESEARCHER : CHAPA CHIBEKA
YEAR OF STUDY : 4 - FINAL YEAR
PROGRAMME : BSc. PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
TOPIC : ASSESSMENT OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING
Dear respondent,
This questionnaire is typically for academic purposes. Any information given will be treated with
confidentiality and will not be used anywhere else apart from this research. Therefore, your
assistance in answering these questions in good faith will be appreciated.

2014
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 Name of respondent…………………………………………………
 Contact number of respondent………………………………………
 Address of the respondent…………………………………………...
The following is a customer service assessment questionnaire for the customers of
Nkana Water and Sewerage Company. Please answer all of the following given
questions. Tick, where applicable.
1. Do you have a constant water supply?
a) Yes b) No
2. If No, How many hours in a day do you receive water? ..................
3. How is the quality of the water received?
a) Good c) Poor
b) Very good d)Very poor
4. Does the utility company carry out maintenance of the pipeline system at your
house?
a) Yes b) No
5. If yes, how many times in year? ……………….
6. If there is a burst pipe, how long does it take for the utility company to fix it?
a) Within a day (c) After some weeks
b) Within a week (d) Over a month
7. Do you have any leaking pipes at your house?
a) Yes b) No

2014
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8. If yes, have you reported the case?
a) Yes b) No
9. Would you say that you are satisfied with the overall customer services offered by
the utility company?
a) Yes, very satisfied c) Not very satisfied
b) Yes, quite satisfied d) Not at all satisfied
10. Would you recommend the services and products of this company?
a) Yes b) No
THE END, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!!!!

CHAPA'S FINAL

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