Evaluation of the sustainability of existing rainwater harvesting ponds: A case study of Lay Gayint District, South Gondar zone, Ethiopia

In most of the water-scarce areas, rainwater harvesting (RWH) ponds are essential for meeting the stress of water for various purposes. Besides the performance and sustainability of those rainwater harvesting ponds were not evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the sustainability of existing rainwater harvesting ponds in Lay Gayint District, Ethiopia. The specific objectives of this study were; (1) to assess the perception of farmers on the potential of RWH ponds, and (2) to identify factors influencing the sustainability of RWH ponds. The demographic characteristics of farm households; farmers' perception about RWH ponds; and the socio-economic conditions of households were collected using household surveys and focused group discussions. The collected data was analyzed through quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods. The results of this study revealed that almost all farmers did not have good perceptions of ponds and had not gained enough awareness of the advantages of ponds. The utilization of the ponds was surrounded by constraints like poor quality and short lifetime of the constructed ponds; low involvement of farmers within the construction of ponds; and wrong-site selection. The incidence of local disputes among the farmers was the most important impact that un-utilized ponds have exerted on the community. About 78 % of the ponds were found in a failed state and 75 % of the ponds have no fences. The construction of RWH ponds in rural districts was based on a quota system which resulted in low sustainability. About 72.2 % of the respondents have not participated in the construction of RWH ponds, on the other hand, 81.5 % didn't get any training about RWH. The majority of the respondents replied that they have no money for constructing and maintaining their ponds. Due to the different factors most of the RWH ponds didn't store and serve for the designed service period which failed to satisfy the water demand. The government shall give attention to the sustainability of ponds by facilitating the involvement of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in capacity building, technical and financial support.