The provision of adequate and good water quality in developing country is a major concern due to urbanization and rapid population growth. The study town Chuko is facing the problem of inadequate water supply and poor quality. The study was conducted with the objective to assess the information gap on the water supply and demand. To see the gap between supply and demand, basically population growth estimation and water demand projection were made after collecting the relevant data source such as population growth rate and water user categories. The input data for evaluation of the water distribution systems were collected using GPS and EPANET 2 simulating software was used to evaluate the pressure in the pipe line. Water quality sample were taken following the WHO procedure and analyzed using SPSS. A total of 126 households were targeted to inspect the perception of household water consumption and accessibility. The result revealed that, the projected total water demand of the town would be increased by nearly 906 m3/day. This was due to the rapid population growth and continuous urban expansion. All pressure value in the distribution systems were within the Ethiopian guideline criteria. Some of the water quality analysis results were not within the WHO guideline. The field survey data showed that average per capita water consumption is 9.54 l/c/d, which is less than half of the minimum basic standard of 20 l/c/d. The regression model showed positive correlation between household monthly income and water consumption. To sum up, great gap between projected demand and supply was maintained, with more than 26% of water loss in the distribution systems and frequent interruption found to have aggravated the water crisis of the town. Therefore, immediate action such as increasing/improving water source, reducing water loss, pressure zoning and appropriate chlorination to assure the save and quality water supply should be done.

Keywords: Water demand forecasting, water supply, water distribution system, and water quality.