Assessment of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Addis Ababa: Operational Status, Challenges, and Technological Performance

Assessment of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Addis Ababa: Operational Status, Challenges, and Technological Performance | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Assessment of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Addis Ababa: Operational Status, Challenges, and Technological Performance Yidnekachew Abreham, Dessalew Berihun Adam This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6851231/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Wastewater management in Addis Ababa faces critical challenges driven by rapid urbanization and population growth, resulting in the discharge of untreated wastewater into local water bodies. This pollution poses severe threats to aquatic ecosystems, diminishes biodiversity, and disrupts ecological balance. To address these issues, this study conducts a comprehensive assessment of the city’s municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), with a focus on their operational status, factors influencing functionality, and the effectiveness of the employed treatment technologies. The research adopts a structured methodology, employing both random and purposive sampling techniques to select 110 participants from a total population of 320, encompassing 11 WWTPs. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, and analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Results are presented using descriptive statistics, tables, and charts. Preliminary findings reveal that out of the 11 WWTPs, only 10 are currently operational, while one remains non-functional. Key factors undermining technological efficiency include poor maintenance, limited budgets, outdated technologies, population pressures, frequent power outages, unavailability of spare parts, and low public awareness. Additional challenges involve odor control, insufficient staff training, sludge management difficulties, equipment failures, and inadequate safety measures. The treatment infrastructure consists of two Up flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactors (UASBRs) and nine Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs), all operating at below 50% of their designed capacity. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Wastewater Urbanization Public Health Wastewater Treatment Wastewater Treatment Plants Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 30 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 28 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 24 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Jun, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 18 Jun, 2025 Editor invited by journal 18 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 09 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6851231","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":473426856,"identity":"e093a8d5-138c-467a-98d4-e0ffa05ea4e1","order_by":0,"name":"Yidnekachew Abreham","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kotebe University of Education","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yidnekachew","middleName":"","lastName":"Abreham","suffix":""},{"id":473426857,"identity":"c10314d9-e103-419a-89cd-14a36dc1b7ef","order_by":1,"name":"Dessalew Berihun Adam","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Kotebe University of Education","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dessalew","middleName":"Berihun","lastName":"Adam","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-09 06:23:35","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6851231/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6851231/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-17945-8","type":"published","date":"2025-09-26T15:57:51+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":92431124,"identity":"670b4348-9a0e-4d0d-ac19-d6af86851e8d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-29 16:08:32","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":578369,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Revised3MSscientific.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6851231/v1_covered_7a6bf128-2702-416d-a326-aaa844035f25.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Assessment of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Addis Ababa: Operational Status, Challenges, and Technological Performance","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Wastewater, Urbanization, Public Health, Wastewater Treatment, Wastewater Treatment Plants","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6851231/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6851231/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWastewater management in Addis Ababa faces critical challenges driven by rapid urbanization and population growth, resulting in the discharge of untreated wastewater into local water bodies. This pollution poses severe threats to aquatic ecosystems, diminishes biodiversity, and disrupts ecological balance. To address these issues, this study conducts a comprehensive assessment of the city\u0026rsquo;s municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), with a focus on their operational status, factors influencing functionality, and the effectiveness of the employed treatment technologies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe research adopts a structured methodology, employing both random and purposive sampling techniques to select 110 participants from a total population of 320, encompassing 11 WWTPs. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, and analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Results are presented using descriptive statistics, tables, and charts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreliminary findings reveal that out of the 11 WWTPs, only 10 are currently operational, while one remains non-functional. 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