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Ms. Bandana K Pradhan PhD

Associate Professor

Environment Health

Institute of Medicine

Community Medicine and Family Health Department

E-mail: bandana@healthnet.org.np

Status of Water Quantity and Quality in Nepal

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Geographical Division of Nepal

(65- 1000)(1000-4000)

(4000-8848)

(Meter)

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Surface WaterOver 6,000 rivers,make up 54% of the total water coverage 660 Lakes with >1 ha Renewable Water 224 billion m3/Y

RainfallMean annual rainfall 1,700 mm, 75% of which occur during monsoon season

Mean Monsoon Rainfall

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Mean monthly flow and rainfall at Chatara, the Sapta-Kosi River, East Nepal

0

10002000

30004000

5000

Jan

Mar

May

July

Sept

Nov

Flow

(m3/

sec)

050100150200250300

Prec

ipita

tion

(mm

)

Discharge

Precipitation

General Rainfall and Discharge Pattern in Nepal

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STATE•Surface water•Groundwater•Water demand•Water supply•Water coverage•Water quality

Pressures

Resources

Information

Social responseInfor-

mation

Social response

PRESSUREQUANTITY•Population•Urbanisation•Industry•Land use change•Poor maintenanceQUALITY•Waste water•Solid waste•Agro-chemicals

RESPONSE•Policies •Programmes•Acts & Regulations•Implemented activities•Conventions & treaties•Resource allocation•Institution organisation

AnalysisPressure-State-Impact-Response (P-S-I-R) Analytical Framework

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• Rapid growth of population (2.3 % per year)

• Rapid urbanisation• Increment of

industries• Expansion of

agricultural infrastructure: irrigation

• Poor maintenance of water reserviours, irrigation canals, water pipelines, etc

Growth of Population in Nepal

0

5

10

15

20

25

1952 1961 1971 1981 1991 1999*Year

Popu

latio

n (m

illion

)

Total Population Urban Rural

Growth of Population in Nepal

0

5

10

15

20

25

1952 1961 1971 1981 1991 1999*Year

Popu

latio

n (m

illion

)

Total Population Urban Rural

Pressure

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Domestic WastewaterDomestic Wastewater

Solid WasteSolid Waste

Industrial WasteIndustrial Waste

Increase in use of Agro-chemicals

Increase in use of Agro-chemicals

Land Use Change

Land Use Change

Contamination of Water Bodies

Man-made Natural

Disasters

Man-made Natural

Disasters

Pressure for the Deterioration of Water Quality

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Status - Total Water Availability and Its Use in Nepal

96.5495.68Agriculture

0.260.34Industry

3.23.97Domestic

Sectoral withdrawal as % of total water withdrawal

0.730.71Per capita withdrawal (000m3/y)

17.112.95Total annual withdrawal (km3/y)

9.612.1Per capita surface water resource (000 m3/y)

224224Total annual surface water availability (km3/y)*

20011991Description

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• Almost All Major Rivers at Source have been tapped for Drinking Water Purpose

• Supply of Drinking Water 115 Million Liters/Day

• Estimated Daily Demand: 145 Million Liters (in 2000) Meeting 79% of the total Urban Population Demand

Status - Kathmandu Valley

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Kathmandu ValleyTotal Sustainable Withdrawal 26.3 MLD

Current Extraction 58.6 MLD

Over-Exploitation >60%

Tarai Region Owns 12 Billion Meters3 (km3)

Annual Potential Extraction 5.8 to 9.6 Billion Meters3

Current Withdrawal 0.52 Billion Meters3/Year

Status - Ground Water

MLD = million liter per day

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• Non-Existent of Sewerage Network System in all Towns Except Kathmandu Valley Towns

• Only 15% of the Total Houses in Kathmandu Valley Towns Accessed to Sewerage Facility

• All Domestic Wastewater and Sewers Discharged Directly into the Rivers without Treatment

• Recorded an Average of 20,846 Kg BOD/Day for the Bagmati River at the Outlet, Constituted 42% of the Total BOD Load Produced by the Valley’s People

• Total Industrial BOD Load Discharged Directly into the River: 3,151 Kg/Day

Domestic Waste

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Industrial pollution Load in Nepal and the Kathmandu Valley

9.591.41TSS ( 000 tonnes)

5.741.15BOD (000 tonnes)

8.562.1Waste water

volume (million m3)

CountryKathmandu Valley Pollution indicators/year

BOD = Biological oxygen demand, TSS = total

suspended solid

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Major Industrial Sectors Responsible for BOD Load in Nepal (Total BOD: 5741 Tons)

Distillery 22%

Textile 7 %

Dairy 3%

Sugar 12%

Others 6%

Beer 4%

Veg. Oil 24 %

Leather 16%

Carpet 6%

Major Industrial BOD load going into the surface water

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• Average Use Of Chemical Fertilizers (NPK)/Hectare Increased from 7.6 Kg in 1975 to 26.6 Kg in 2000

• Use of Fertilisers Estimated to be 420 Kg/Ha in Chitwan District

• Altogether 250 Types of Pesticides Used

• Average Pesticide Used 0.17 Kg/Hectare in 1986

• Pesticide at the Range of 34–100 ppb in the Samples Detected in the Fish Flesh and Plankton in Three Lakes of the Pokhara Valley, West Nepal

Increase in Use of Agro-Chemicals

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• Agricultural Land Increased from 1592,000 to 2968,000 Ha between 1975 and 2000

• Forest Area Declined from 5617,000 to 4269, 000 Ha between 1977 and 2000

• Urban Built-Up Area in Kathmandu Valley Increased From 26% to 46.2% between 1978 and 2000

• Rural Built-Up Areas Increased From 11.2% to 24%

Change in Land Use Pattern

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• Total Available Surface 224 Billions m3

• Groundwater Potentials 8.8 Billions m3

• Total Water Demand (Domestic, Industry & Commerce) Estimated To Be 1239.7 Million Litres Per Day For 2000

STATETotal Water Quantity Available in Nepal

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Water supply and coverage in urban area of Nepal Before 1992 End of the year 2000

Particulars

Kathmandu Valley towns

Outside the Valley towns

Kathmandu Valley town

Outside the Valley town

Population (000) 780 640 1097 878 Population Served (%) 68 56 87 57 Total Produced (mld) 87 55 107 63 Unaccounted water (%) 40 40 40 40 Per capita consumption (LCD) 98 92 67 76

Source: Nepal Water Supply Corporation (2000)

Water supply and coverage in urban area of Nepal Before 1992 End of the year 2000

Particulars

Kathmandu Valley towns

Outside the Valley towns

Kathmandu Valley town

Outside the Valley town

Population (000) 780 640 1097 878 Population Served (%) 68 56 87 57 Total Produced (mld) 87 55 107 63 Unaccounted water (%) 40 40 40 40 Per capita consumption (LCD) 98 92 67 76

Source: Nepal Water Supply Corporation (2000)

Status - Urban Water Supply

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The poorest quality in the valley basin where population density is the highest

State

The Water Quality Classification of the Bagmati River –Example of Anthropogenic intervention

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Bagmati River in the Kathmandu Valley Near Holy Temple Pashupati Nath

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Sites (District)

Iron mg/L

Manganese mg/L

Coliform cfu/100ml

Panchgacachi (Jhapa) 6.0 0.8 11.1

Baijnathpur (Morang) 4.5 0.5 15.9

Bayarban (Morang) 6.0 0.6 0.5

Takuwa (Morang) 10.4 0.4 45.9

Shreepur Jabdi (Sunsari) 8.0 0.6 25.5

Bandipur (Siraha) 0.4 0.4 1.0

Naktiraipur (Saptari) 12.0 1.3 16.0

WHO Standard 3.0 0.5 nil

Status - Ground Water Quality of Tarai Region

Most of the water samples from tube wells are contaminated with coliform bacteria.

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More than 90% people consume water from ground water in the Tarai Region

The degree of Arsenic contamination varies in Tarai region but the whole region is at risk zone

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Water Use and Waste Water Discharged into near by River by Carpet Industry

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Disturbance of river ecology due to sand quarrying activity in the Manohara river, Kathmandu Valley

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Water Quality Deterioration due to Relative Volume of Waste Water Discharged

into near by River

Domestic waste

Industrial waste

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River Water (Polluted ) Collected for Drinking Purpose

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Effluent Contribution of Domestic and Industrial Sectors in Kathmandu Valley

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Industrial sector

Waste w ater 7%BOD 7%TSS 5%

Solid w aste 0.5%

Waste water (million m3) 30 2.1

BOD (000 Ton) 16.4 1.15

TSS (000 Ton) 25.5 1.41

Solid waste (000 Ton) 25 0.14

Domestic Industry

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BOD5 and DO and Water Quality Changethe Bagmati River, Kathmandu Valley

0

10

20

30

40

50

1988 1989 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1999

BOD5

(mg/

l)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

O2

(mg/

l)

Sundarighat BOD5 Sundarijal BOD5 Sundarighat DO Sundarijal DO

The trend of water quality deterioration in the Bagmati River of the Kathmandu valley

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Bacteriological Water Quality of Different Sources, Kathmandu valley Value as % of Sample Units of 15 Faecal

coliform / 100 ml

Dug well

Shallow well*

Deep well

Spring

Stone spout

Pond

River

Pipe water

WHO Guideline

value 0 0 60 80 40 20 0 0 60 0 1-100 40 30 15 30 40 0 0 20 - 101-1000 30 5 5 30 40 0 100 20 - >1000 30 5 0 0 0 100 0 0 -

Source: Pradhan (2000); NWSC (2000). *Number Samples = 16.

All the water sources of Kathmandu valley are faecally contaminated in different degree

Water Quality Status from Different Sources in Kathmandu

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Impact

The so called potable water is not safe, Incidence of diarrhoeal disease does not show any relationship with the increment of access of water supply

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Water Quality and Diarrhoeal Disease

Water Related Disease by Region, 2000

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Mountain (645992) Hill (3230701) Tarai (3239288)

OPD

vis

it %

OPD visit as % of total population Water washed disease as % of total OPD visit Water borne disease as % of total OPD visit

Impact

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Diarrhoeal Disease Pattern, Nepal

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1996 1997 1998

Patie

nts'

visit (

000)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Tot

al d

eath

(00)

Total patient visit Total death

Impact (contd.)

For the prevention of diarrhoeal disease curative aspect is only given priority

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Responses

Most of the industries directly discharge their effluent into river.

Few industries have treatment plants with primary treatment system as shown in table below

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Wastewater Management Efforts in Kathmandu

Responses (Contd..)

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• Solid Waste Act 1987

• Solid Waste Regulations1989

• Industrial Enterprises Act 1992

• Electricity Act 1992

• Water Resources Act 1992

• Water Resources Regulations 1993

• National Policy on Sanitation - 1994,

• Environmental Protection Act 1996

• National Water Supply Sector Policy -1998

• The Bagmati Sector Sewerage Construction/Improvement Project

Response - Acts and Regulation

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• A wide gap of data on water quality and quantity for all parts of the country

• Inadequacy in regular monitoring of water quality

• No lead agency to take on water quality management and coordination among the water organizations at national level

• Lack of central data bank on water quality

• No water quality standard for all types of industrial effluents

• Lack of commitment in implementing the water quality control measures.

• Lack of effective awareness programmes at local level about the conservation of water sources.

GAPS

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Urgently require efforts for maintaining drinking water pipeline & controlling open defecation

Provision of potable water to mass general people Urgently set up a lead agency for coordinating

water-related organisations Initiate water quality monitoring program at

national level Harvesting of rainwater in major urban areas Effective awareness activities towards conserving

water quality &quantity Recycling of domestic wastewater (Grey water) Minimise leakage of piped drinking water More action oriented research activities on water

quality and quantity

Recommendation

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