KATHMANDU, Nov 15: Only 47.5 percent of Nepalis get safe and adequate drinking water supply despite the government’s statistics of expanding access to drinking water to 90 percent population.
According to a report unveiled by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Friday, a large portion of the country’s total population have not been getting drinking water free from E-coli bacteria, while they do not get sufficient water supply at the time they need. Previously, a research conducted by UN Habitat also showed a similar figure of Nepali regarding access to safely managed drinking water services. “Water quality remains a concern, with E. coli detected in 61.2 percent of household drinking water samples,” reads the UN Habitat report.
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The NSO report also reveals the pathetic condition of Nepalis having access to sanitation services. “Although 92.8 percent of the population are available with improved toilets, the access to safely managed sanitation services is only 39.9 percent.”
Such issues have been observed regarding water from tubewells used in the Terai region. While the prevalence of E. coli at the tubewell source is 26.6 percent, this figure rises to 59 percent by the time the water is used within households. This indicates that focusing solely on the water source is insufficient; improvements are also required in household storage practices and the hygiene surrounding water usage.
Another serious water-related risk in the Terai is arsenic. Reports indicate that 7.4 percent of the population in the Terai consumes groundwater containing arsenic levels that exceed the permissible limits established by the World Health Organization. In contrast, these figures are 0.4 percent for the Himalayan region and 0.5 percent for the Hill region. Given that long-term consumption of arsenic-contaminated water can lead to severe health consequences, the regular testing of drinking water sources in the Terai, along with the provision of safe alternatives, remains a significant challenge.
Overall, 78.3 percent of the population has access to sufficient water when needed, while 53.9 percent have drinking water sources free from E. coli. Only 47.5 percent of the population meets all three criteria: having a water source on their own premises, access to a sufficient quantity of water, and water that is free from bacteria.
