Eng. Muluken Wondirad Mengistu

Professional Summary

Eng. Muluken Wondirad Mengistu is an Ethiopian Civil and Water Engineer with more than 16 years of strong professional experience in WASH infrastructure, water supply and sanitation engineering, utility management, hydraulic engineering, climate-resilient WASH, institutional strengthening, and water-sector capacity development. He has served in senior engineering, utility leadership, advisory, consultancy, and training roles across Ethiopia, including at the Ethiopian Water Technology Institute, Debre Tabor Town Water Utility, Fogera Woreda Water and Energy Office, South Gondar Zone Water and Energy Department, and international consulting assignments involving WaterAid Ethiopia, NIRAS International Consulting, CCRDA, and other development partners. His technical work covers rural and urban water-supply systems, sewerage networks, wastewater treatment plants, dams, diversion weirs, reservoirs, boreholes, pipelines, solar-powered water supply, construction supervision, O&M manuals, GIS-based system mapping, digital WASH data systems, water-loss reduction, utility business planning, tariff systems, WASH governance, climate-risk analysis, vulnerability mapping, and professional training for water-sector practitioners. His profile combines engineering design, field implementation, institutional leadership, training, and evidence-based WASH system improvement.

Key Expertise

Major Projects and Contributions

• Senior Water Supply and Sewerage Engineering Training and Consulting – Ethiopian Water Technology Institute
  Serves as Water Supply and Sewerage Engineering Technology Training and Consulting Senior Expert III at the Ethiopian Water Technology Institute, delivering practice-oriented and technology-supported training for water-sector professionals, developing and revising curricula, preparing TTLM materials, and providing advisory services for reservoirs, dams, diversion weirs, sewerage networks, wastewater treatment plants, water-loss detection, conventional treatment systems, plumbing systems, construction supervision, O&M manuals, MS Project and Primavera-based project planning, and applied research.
• Climate Hazard Costing and Climate-Resilient WASH Analysis – WaterAid Ethiopia Assignment
  Worked as Infrastructure and Climate Hazard Costing Specialist, conducting climate-risk analysis using the How Tough is WASH framework, developing GIS-based vulnerability maps, integrating hydrological and socio-economic datasets, estimating hazard impacts and economic vulnerabilities affecting rural water supply systems, and leading digital WASH data collection and analysis using mWater and Kobo Toolbox.
• Urban WASH Infrastructure and Governance Assessment
  Supported urban water governance and WASH infrastructure assessments in Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Hawassa, and Adama, analyzing institutional arrangements, regulatory gaps, citizen accountability mechanisms, governance challenges, and preparing inception reports, analytical assessments, advocacy briefs, and evidence-based presentations for WASH sector stakeholders and development partners.
• WASH Institutional Strengthening and Utility Performance Improvement – NIRAS / SCRS WASH
  Developed 9 utility business plans and 5 GIS-based water-system maps, trained and supported 18 WASH professionals on utility performance systems, assisted 8 utilities to achieve 25% non-revenue-water reduction through structured improvement plans, introduced utility maturity and governance tools, and strengthened institutional performance under international WASH consulting assignments.
• Regional WASH Technical Advisory and Rural Water Supply Rehabilitation
  Established 5 legally operating WASH enterprises, trained 56 operators, supervised rehabilitation works reaching approximately 120,000 beneficiaries, provided contractor and artisan quality assurance, and supported tariff setting, spare-part systems, inclusive WASH services, and sustainable operation and maintenance systems.
• Debre Tabor Town Water Utility Leadership and NRW Reduction
  Managed Debre Tabor Town Water Utility, reduced non-revenue water from 39% to 18% within three years, digitized billing, human-resource and asset management systems, managed 22 water schemes, expanded water-supply coverage by 40%, constructed an electromechanical workshop that improved O&M efficiency, and managed an ETB 150 million solar-powered water-supply expansion project.
• Water Supply Design, BoQ Preparation, Construction Supervision and CR-WASH Implementation
  Designed and supervised boreholes, hand-dug wells, pipelines, communal latrines and solid-waste facilities; prepared BoQs, CAD-based technical drawings, tender documents and construction documentation; mapped Debre Tabor and Woldiya distribution networks using ArcGIS; and administered CR-WASH projects valued at more than ETB 6 million.
• Fogera Woreda Water and Energy Office Leadership
  Served as Office Head for the Water and Energy Office in Fogera Woreda, reducing non-functional water points from 29% to 14%, constructing 13 institutional latrines, training 67 artisans, strengthening WASHCO management, and improving tariff and community-based water-management systems.
• Community-Managed Water Supply and Sanitation Coordination – South Gondar Zone
  Coordinated community-managed water-supply schemes under CoWASH / RWSEP, reaching approximately 150,000 beneficiaries, designing 6 small-town water-supply systems, supervising sanitation facilities, delivering gender-sensitive WASH training, and strengthening community operation and maintenance systems.
• Advanced Water Engineering Tools, Professional Training and Digital WASH Systems
  Applies and teaches professional water-sector tools and systems including ArcGIS, AutoCAD, WaterGEMS, EPANET, SewerGEMS, mWater, Kobo Toolbox, MIS tools, MS Project, Primavera, and Python for Water Resources, supporting evidence-based planning, hydraulic analysis, digital data management, project scheduling, and modern WASH infrastructure implementation.