This research is conducted on Household Water Consumption in Gondar Town which is the Administrative Town of North Gondar Zone, Amhara Region, North Western part of Ethiopia. The whole town is physically divided in to two parts. The Northern part or the core Gondar Town is the seat of the Zone Government and major socio-economic as well as historical and cultural center. The second part of the town, the satellite town, is Azezo which is about 12km away from the down town Gondar. The study focuses on the main Gondar town of the 18 kebeles which is physically classified in to relatively high land and low land kebeles. The researcher has randomly selected 10% each (totally 345 households) of the two kebeles namely kebele 03 and kebele 17 from higher and lower kebeles respectively. The study is intended to assess the sources, distribution and challenges of household water consumption in Gondar town. The researcher has employed primary and secondary sources of data collection techniques in order to assess such challenges. The primary data is collected by structured questionnaire and personal observation of the researcher while secondary sources of data includes Statistical abstracts of CSA, books, existing maps, annual reports, relevant literatures, materials from the internet, etc. The researcher has also chosen quantitative research design. In order to assess the challenges of household water consumption in the town, the researcher has discussed ten socio- economic independent variables in comparison with the dependent variable < Household Water Consumption in Gondar Town >. The independent variables are household size, household income, water cost, water supply, elevation, Inadequate water supply (water source) , unfair distribution of pipe water, lack of skilled man power and finance, water supply interruption and population growth. The study has proved that, Gondar Town has been experiencing the problem of potable water consumption due to that there has been insufficient, unfair, unsustainable and unreliable water distribution. Even if modern water supply system was installed since 1930's and expanded its service by drilling a number of boreholes in different times and building the Angereb Dam, still the demand is not satisfied. This is inferred from that, currently, 30% of the population has been afforded potable water while the remaining 70% consumes water by purchasing from vendors and public stand pipes in a limited extent. So as to solve such challenges of household water consumption, the researcher has recommended the following such as family planning, establishing additional water sources, making people aware about water use, conservation and recycling, removing silt and sediments from the dam, resettling the population around the dam and afforestation, building additional public pipes and lengthening the service time, engaging all stakeholders in all aspects concerning water, having sufficient budget and modern managerial structure, alternative power, immediate maintenance service and distributing private and public pipes fairly. In doing so, the authority and other stakeholders may achieve the water resource management policy and strategy as well as contribute for the success of the Millennium Development Goal of Ethiopia.

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts in Geography