“There’s a feeling that there should be sufficient water,” he said. Manandhar’s household, like most of the neighborhoods in Kathmandu, receives piped water only once a week, for approximately an hour, from Nepal Drinking Water Corporation’s supply lines.[break]
But Manandhar doesn’t seem much concerned since his reservoir is filled from his water well, which is replenished by rainwater. At a time when buckets and containers are lined up in front of dried municipal taps, water tankers ferry water to households. When water woes have become an endless part of the present narratives, Manandhar said rainwater harvesting is a good option.
“Rainwater can be used as a source of water for drinking and household purposes,” Manandhar, who is also the program director of the NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, said. “And the excess water can be used for groundwater recharge as the reserve itself is decreasing in subterranean Kathmandu.”
Due to the emerging water crises in the capital, many households have started using underground water as one of their reserve sources. And for private water suppliers, it has been a boom in their business as they draw underground water for their commercial purposes.
To combat the depleting underground water resources and curb the number of private water suppliers who get their water from the underground, the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board is gearing up. The Board is in the process of setting restrictions and licensing procedures for such commercial water suppliers, informed Hari Prasad Dhakal, executive director of the Board.
However, until there is a law, proper utilization of rainwater can help to stabilize the natural groundwater resource, said Guheswari Tuladhar KC, technical officer at the Urban Environment Management Society (UEMS).
UEMS has been conducting a research in Patan for the past year to monitor the level of underground water resources. The organization has established pits around 25 wells in Patan wherein the rainwater from roofs is collected, the excess of which is sent to the ground rather than wasting into drainage.
“The outcome has been positive,” KC said, citing the ongoing research that will conclude next year.
Comparing the underground water level during the same time last year, KC said the groundwater level “though hasn’t increased, the depleting rate has decreased, signifying that water is being recharged.”
However, rainwater is not only the source to recharge groundwater; it can also be used, as said above, for daily household needs and drinking purposes.
Santosh Basnet, manager at the technical development division of Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH), said rainwater can be an effective way to solve water problems – if not completely, then at least partially.
“Rainwater can be used as an alternative source but is not a 100 percent solution,” he said.
NEWAH has been working in villages in Kaski, Parbat, Baitadi, and Dhankuta districts, promoting the effectiveness of rainwater harvesting. People in those areas use it for their domestic needs, sanitation, livestock and gardens, and also for recharging the groundwater deposit.
A report by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, “Status of Rainwater Harvesting in Nepal”, published in May 2009, also states the progress and success of rainwater harvesting. It estimates that about 11,000 systems for rainwater harvesting are used in the hilly districts, and a survey done by the Ministry along with World Health Organization-Nepal shows 78% of people as satisfied users.
The report also states that some 47,000 people are getting satisfactory results from rainwater harvesting.
However, though rainwater can be used for domestic needs, people also use it for consumption. Basnet said, however, that the only concern about such water is contamination.
Though rainwater is considerably clean, its contact with the roof surface and the particles in the environment can make it harmful.
Therefore, the organization trains people on proper hygiene and utilization of rainwater, and treating it well before drinking.
Manandhar of NGO Forum said that he uses rainwater for drinking purpose in his house after it is chlorinated and filtered.
“During water shortage periods, rainwater becomes important and a complementary source,” he said.
But it is the costs that people consider before the benefits.
Though the costs could be higher, the gains substitute it. The major components for rainwater harvesting are: 1) a catchment, which is the roof; 2) a channel, which is a pipeline, or gutter, through which water flows; and 3) storage, which is the tank. Manandhar said while already completed houses may have to invest some in the storage pit (a tanker), the installation cost for new houses being built would be negligible.
And to promote rainwater harvesting, the government is also taking a lead.
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) provides a 10% deduction on the building permit fee. However, according to the Department of Urban Development at KMC, it has not received any blueprint of the houses or buildings showing rainwater harvesting system due to the lack of effective awareness.
Anjali Sherpa, water and sanitation coordinator at UN HABITAT, said this might be due to lack of promotional initiatives and information dissemination and monitoring mechanisms of the government. And to formulate proper guidelines for rainwater harvesting, UN HABITAT is advocating on a policy level.
“Rainwater harvesting is a supplementary water source,” Sherpa said. “Therefore, this should be addressed in some sort of a government policy.” Siddhi Ratna Shakya, engineer at the Department of Urban Planning and Building Construction under the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, said further plans can provide other tax reimbursement incentives to owners of new buildings that will have a system for rainwater harvesting. He also informed about awareness programs wherein pamphlets will be distributed with each officially approved blueprint for construction. In the coming fiscal year, rainwater harvesting system will be implemented in government offices also and expanded to 25 districts outside Kathmandu.
On a personal level, Shakya said the idea is “feasible in Kathmandu” and it can contribute to solve the present water problems.
Dhakal of the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board also agreed, adding that the Board is working to provide manpower and technology to assist in a better management of rainwater harvesting and promote it for household usage.
Referring to Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited’s (KUKL) data, Dhakal said the Valley needs 320 million liters of water for daily consumption, and KUKL only supplies about 160 million liters. Thus, alternative sources of water, like rainwater harvesting, can be of some assistance.
And to make the practice easier, the Board is in the process of opening a store in Lalitpur that will provide technical assistance to households for installing rainwater harvesting appropriate technology.
Also to promote rainwater harvesting, various demonstration sites have been set up in Kathmandu by various organizations. NGO Forum has positioned its demo versions in schools, like Vishwo Niketan in Tripureshwor, Tri-Chandra College, and Durbar High School, the latter collects rainwater for use in sanitation and at other times to replenish the nearby Rani Pokhari.
Manandhar said it is very important to understand the importance of rainwater, which is the most natural form of water resource. He said people should be aware and make proper utilization of it for their personal benefits, and on a larger scale, too.
“Now, rainwater is drained away to sewage; but what we should do is divert it to the storage,” he said.
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