Poor management of fecal sludge (FSM) presents significant risks to public health and the environment. This study employed qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, along with the Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) data analyzing tool to investigate FSM patterns in Kombolcha town, Ethiopia. The findings indicate that 75.7% of housing unites in the town are shared toilets, with multiple households sharing a single facility. The primary toilet technologies used include cistern flush toilets (2.1%), pour/manual flush toilets (19.8%), ventilated improved pit latrines (11.1%), pit latrines with slabs (56.4%), and pit latrines without slabs (10.6%). However, 98.5% of these toilet types had either unlined or only partially lined containments. Furthermore, only 37% of households practice safe pit or sludge tank emptying. As a result, only 17% of fecal sludge goes through the sanitation value chain and is effectively treated, while 39% remains onsite and unemptied, and the remaining 44% is disposed of in a manner that poses risks to the environment and public health. The study highlights the significant public health and environmental risks associated with the high reliance on shared toilets, the prevalence of inadequately lined toilet types, and the low adoption of proper fecal sludge management practices. Addressing these challenges requires the implementation of sanitation bylaws and building code regulations that prioritize hygienic standards and promote improved toilet technologies.

As industrial and economic growth intensifies, greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, leading to a shift in global warming and climate change patterns. The Mille watershed faces significant challenges such as flooding, drought, irrigation, and water supply scarcity, as well as health issues stemming from climate change within the community. Thus, this study aims to assess the impact of climate change on hydrology in the Mille River, Awash River Basin, Ethiopia, utilizing multiple hydrological and climate models. The study examines three global circulation models (MIROC‐6, CMCC, and MRI) operating under two shared socioeconomic pathways emission scenarios (SSP2‐4.5 and SSP5‐8.5) for both mid‐term (near future) (2041–2070) and long‐term (far future) (2071–2100) periods. Precipitation and temperature scenarios data were obtained using the CMhyd Tool and then bias‐corrected using various methods based on the base time period (1985–2014). The projected annual rainfall is expected to increase by 8.91‐18.68% and 8.09‐18.65%, while the average temperature is projected to increase by 1.08–3.04°C and 1.59–4.05°C in the 2050s (2041–2070) and 2080s (2071–2100), respectively. The SWAT model shows daily responses with NSE (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency) values of 0.77 for calibration and 0.79 for validation, R2 (coefficient of determination) values of 0.80 for calibration and 0.81 for validation, and PBIAS (percent bias) values of −10.6 for calibration and −8.6 for validation. Similarly, the HBV model shows NSE values of 0.683 for calibration and 0.706 for validation, R2 values of 0.705 for calibration and 0.71 for validation, and PBIAS values of −4.25 for calibration and −6.669 for validation. The results indicate a decrease in average annual streamflow ranging from −5.95% to −39.29% for SWAT and from −12.28% to −35.04% for HBV in the near future (2050s) and Far future (2080s) compared to the base period (1985–2014). The significance of this study lies in its contribution to understanding climate‐hydrology interactions in a vulnerable region, providing actionable insights for adaptation planning, policy formulation, and sustainable resource management in the face of climate change. Extreme high and low changes in flow were used to quantify this impact. Therefore, based on the observed trends of decreased streamflow volume, recommendations for the study area include the development of water sources such as microdams, ponds, and water wells, implementation of water harvesting techniques, improvement of land use and land cover practices, proper utilization and management of available discharge, drought assessment, and environmental impact assessment. These measures are crucial for mitigating the adverse effects of climate change and ensuring the resilience of the region’s water resources.

Sustainable sanitation provision is challenging developing countries, especially sub-Saharan countries. Among those low-income sub-Saharan countries, Ethiopian towns and cities struggles with poor sanitation problems. The main objective of this research was to assess and select appropriate sanitation options for urban context of the town of Kombolcha, based on a comprehensive analysis of technical, environmental, social, economic, and institutional criteria. A multi-criteria decision analysis was used to assess and rank technology options to determine the most suitable solution for Kombolcha City. To gather information on the state of urban sanitation, a variety of methods has been employed, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, and document analysis. In this study, 243 households were approached which was a 97.94% response rate. Based on the result of our survey there were mostly five types of household toilets technologies in Kombolcha Town. These technologies included simple pit latrine with a slab which is 38.6%, cistern flush toilet (1.5%), pour/manual flush toilet (6.5%), VIP latrine (33.2%), and pit latrine without slab (20.2%). Similar ketenas or Kebeles (the smallest administrative unit within a town or city, typically functioning as a local government or community division) form were merged into groups. Consequently, 4 clusters of Kebeles were identified for the study with similar characteristics for sanitation technology option adaptation or intervention. The final weights of the selected criteria during pairwise comparison were environmental (37.3%), health (38.7%), technical (11.6%), economic (8.1%) and socio-culture (4.3%). Based on those main criteria the selected possible technology option for cluster 1 was “Pour Flush toilet connected to Twin Pits”, for cluster 2 “Pour flush toilet + sink and shower + watertight septic tank”, for cluster 3 “Flush toilet + sink and shower + simplified sewerage system” and for cluster 4 “Flush toilet + sink and shower + septic tank + solid free sewer system”. Moving forward, we recommend implementing pilot projects to test the selected sanitation technologies in the identified clusters. This will help evaluate their feasibility and effectiveness in improving urban sanitation. Collaboration with local government, sanitation experts, and community stakeholders will be crucial for successful implementation.

Poor fecal sludge management (FSM) results in significant public health and environmental risk exposures. To understand the FSM patterns and future scenarios of Kombolcha town, qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and the Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) data analyzing tool were used. The study showed that 75.7% of households rely on shared toilets with two and above households. Cistern flush toilets, pour/manual flush toilets, ventilated improved pit latrine, pit latrine with slab and pit latrine without slab are the main technologies practiced in the town as 2.1, 19.8, 11.1, 56.4 and 10.6 %, respectively. 98.5% of the toilet types were unlined or only partially lined. On the other hand, only 37% of households practice toilet pit or sludge tank filling up and emptying. It was also found that only 56% of fecal sludge was safely managed. The remaining 44% of excreta is disposed in a way that it poses environmental and public health risk. Thus, current fecal sludge management trend exposes the community’s health unless sanitation bye-laws and building code regulations are set to address the quality of toilet technologies that promote hygienic standards.