drinking water management

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to subscribe online: www.readtheboss.com 15 Nov - 14 Dec 2010 the boss 39

By Sagar Tamrakar

In search of solut ions and sources…

a no-brainer that water being an indispensable source of energy constituting around 80percent of the human body mass, is crucial for the survival of the human race and has no

substitute. But because of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, it has become difficult toaccess safe drinking water, especially in the cities.

In the case of Kathmandu valley, there’s indeed an acute shortage of drinking water—the valley isable to supply only one-third of the demand during the wet season, while in the dry season, it is able tosupply only one-fourth. Adding to the scarcity is the fact that as much as 20 percent of water gets lost

due to leakage.

It’s

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DRINKINGDRINKING

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40 the boss 15 Nov - 14 Dec 2010

DRINKING WATER

MANAGEMENT

KUKL has the mandate to upgrade the water

network of the valley and also to tap alternative

sources of drinking water until the much-

delayed MWSP becomes operational. But

KUKL has come a cropper, not only in its

attempts to tap alternative water sources, but

also in managing the existing water supply

network, leading to a severe crisis, as also to

controversies.

That said, the formation of KUKL is viewedas a major breakthrough in the area of Private-

Public Partnership models—with the private

players enjoying a say in the formulation of

its policies and bylaws. Formally, KUKL is a

public company registered under the Nepal

Government’s Company Act 2063; it is in

charge of managing the water supply and

sanitation systems of the valley operated by the Nepal Water Supply Corporation, and is

mandated to provide quantitative, qualitative

and reliable service to the consumer at

affordable prices. KUKL runs these services

under a 30-year license and lease agreement

with the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply

Management Board (KVWSMB); it is

responsible for the maintenance of all assets

received on lease from KVWSMB. The

shareholders of KUKL and their respective

initial shares are: the government (30

percent), the valley’s municipalities (50

percent), business management

organisations (15 percent)—inclusive of

THE KUKL STORYIn the valley’s quest to find a solution to

the serious problem of drinking water

shortage, the government-owned Nepal

Drinking Water Corporation was scrapped,

and an autonomous authority called

Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani (KUKL) was

established according to the Company Act

2063—as per the recommendation of the

Asian Development Bank, the major donor tothe Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP).

Total Consumer and Production of water

SN Branch Government Private Government Private Stand post TotalConnection Connection Connection Connection

Metered Metered Non-metered Non-metered

1 Tripureshwor 187 16,426 2398 137 19,256

2 Chhetrapati 42 11,445 9 1464 180 13,140

3 Maharajgunj 50 23,953 51 2026 173 26,253

4 Mahankal Chaur 73 20,736 45 4832 137 25,823

5 Baneshwor 135 22,026 21 1180 32 23,394

6 Kamaladi 145 5366 30 221 20 5782

7 Lalitpur 29,192 32 3984 314 33,522

8 Bhaktapur 34 7755 11 466 203 8469

9 Madhyapur Thimi 18 5396 6 5420

10 Kirtipur 10 5536 81 5627

Total 694 147,831 313 16,652 1196 166,686

Region wise distribution of the number of customers of KUKL in the FY 2008/09which is 6285 more than that of the FY 2007/08

SN Place Capacity

1 Mahankal Water Purifying Centre 26.5 MLD

2 Bansbari Water Purifying Centre 22 MLD

3 Bode Manahara Water Purifying Centre 20.6 MLD

4 Balaju Water Purifying Centre 10 MLD

5 Sundarijal Water Purifying Centere 21 MLD

Capacity of five major water purifying centres of KUKL.

Its total capacity is 117 MLD from 14 other small scale purifying centres.

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“THE MOREDELAYS THEREARE WITHMWSP, THEMORESCARCITY WEWILL FACE—

THE THREE-FOUR DAYS’ DISTRIBUTIONINTERVAL WILL INCREASE TOSEVEN-EIGHT DAYS.”

Suresh Acharyaspokesperson, KUKL




FNCCI (3 percent), Lalitpur Chamber of

Commerce (1.5 percent), Nepal Chamber of

Commerce (9 percent) and Bhaktapur

Chamber of Commerce (1.5 percent)—and

employee trust (five percent, to be paid by

the government).But for all its mandate, KUKL’s stance is

that it can be a success only if the Melamchi

Water Supply Project delivers. “In the quest

for a solution to the drinking water problem

of Kathmandu valley, there exists no

substitute for the Melamchi Water Supply

Project,” says an emphatic Suresh Acharya,

the spokesperson of KUKL. “The more delays

there are with MWSP, the more scarcity we

will face—the three-four days’ distribution

interval will increase to seven-eight days.”

But he also expresses a vague sense of hope:

“If the MWSP’s Project Implementation

Directorate (PID) performs as per ourexpectations—but that depends to a large

extent on funds—we are hopeful of a better

water supply scenario in the coming days.”

But the PID Director Suman P Sharma

does not agree with Acharya’s contention that

MWSP is the only way out. He says,

“Melamchi is not the only solution, yes, it is

one such activity and a highly advanced one

at that; other efforts too are necessary. The

scale of demand sought by the exuberant

urban growth in Kathmandu is so high that

the Melamchi project alone will in no way

suffice.” This view finds some kind of backing

from Prakash Amatya, the managing directorof NGO Forum: “There are several options.

You have to look at several solutions

simultaneously. For example, the Melamchi

deal itself evolved out of 20 other options

that were explored; Melamchi was arrived at

because it was more certain to be completed

than the rest. If Melamchi gets delayed in

this manner, we can look at other options.

Ishwor Raj Onta of the Nepal Drinking Water

Project (NDWP) had said in his ‘Optimisation

of Water in Kathmandu Valley’ that Rain Water

Harvesting (RWH) in foothills by making check

dams so as to conserve water, which can meet

the water demand of the valley to a great degree.”

KUKL Spokesperson Acharya points out

to the issues affecting his company’s

effectiveness. “KUKL has not been able to

supply more than half of the demand because

water production and distribution to a

growing urban population is highly capital

intensive; also, the water sources have

shrunk.” He also doesn’t fail to point out the

financial beating that KUKL has taken. He says,

“KUKL has been bearing an annual operational

loss worth Rs 40-50 million, which we’ve been

asking the government to compensate. This

is because we have been charging a minimum

infrastructure development. We have also

been looking at increasing water production

by extracting from new tube wells; although we have been able to get three million litres

more water annually, this has been

insignificant in the context of the 12-15

percent growth in demand every year.” He

informs that the directives and policies of

urban water management are under the

purview of the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply

Management Board. Further, he says, “As a

part of financial empowerment, we have fitted

27,000 new meters. The old meters had worn

out.” KUKL distributes water through 10

places in the valley—Tripureshwor,

Mahankalchaur, Baneshwor, Kamaladi,

Chhetrapati, Maharajgunj, Kirtipur,Madhyapur, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur; the

amount of water that is supplied to these

places depends on the population density.

KUKL as a project is being implemented

by PID. About the progress of the project,

PID director Sharma says, “Those works that

need to be completed immediately, the PID

will do so within 2009-2013 (Phase I). This is

actually a ‘first-aid’ treatment to the areas

facing extreme water scarcity; we have been

sealing leakages, managing the pipelines and

improving the intake area—all as per priority.

PID also manages the funds to execute these

works.” Indeed, a lot of rehabilitationmeasures have to be undertaken in the valley

ahead of the completion of the Melamchi

project. There is a massive 400-km water

distribution network that has to be

maintained properly; if not, even Melamchi’s

arrival would not make any difference. Sharma

clarifies, “PID is engaged in rehabilitating the

major distribution chains by 2012. Other

infrastructure enhancement works will be

carried on till 2016. Then, we plan to enter

the long-term phase which will continue till

2025 to further enhance the network to the

new settlements.”

Addressing the issue of the messy watermanagement scenario, Sharma quips, “There

exists an immense problem in Kathmandu

which cannot be addressed in a short span of

time because the problems have accumulated

over a century’s span! The growth of the city

has taken place in a haphazard manner and so

has been its water supply system. We are

now engaged in simple ‘first-aid’ patch work.”

Meanwhile, PID has undertaken a

demonstration project at Baneshwor-Min

Bhawan area, where it has been discharging

water in continuous pressure, and taking

reports from the consumers as well as

comprehending how the system is coping.

rate as hiking the tariff is beyond KUKL’s

authority.”

But Amatya does not buy Acharya’sposition on KUKL’s finances. “Over the three

years that KUKL has been operating, it has

been able to generate revenue. But publicly,

it states it is under loss. It has spent

exorbitantly on purchasing vehicles and on

participating in trainings abroad.” Acharya

defends the training expenditure. He says,

“As a preliminary preparation for MWSP, a

capacity-building programme is underway at

KUKL under the guidance of a foreign experts’

team. Our employees are being trained as a

part of this capacity-building programme.”

However, Amatya is convinced of KUKL’s

financial impropriety. He alleges, “There is abig question mark on KUKL’s legitimacy

because it has not audited its financial reports

and has not conducted its AGM for the last

two years. The KUKL regime under its MD

Rudra Gautam is in a state of blatant

malfunction.”

About the developments in KUKL,

Acharya clarifies, “KUKL sees the delay in

MWSP and the rising demand as a big

challenge, and has been working towards

water-network rehabilitation and

“THERE IS ABIG QUESTIONMARK ONKUKL’SLEGITIMACYBECAUSE ITHAS NOTAUDITED ITS

FINANCIAL REPORTS AND HASNOT CONDUCTED ITS AGM FORTHE LAST TWO YEARS.”

Prakash Amatyamanaging director, NGO Forum

“WE ARE VERYHOPEFULABOUTGETTING THEFUND AND AREZEALOUSLYINVOLVED INPREPARATORY

WORK SUCH ASDOCUMENTATION, FEASIBILITYSTUDIES AND DESIGN.”

Suman P Sharma

director, PID




DRINKING WATER

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Sharma points out, “The area was chosen

because it is a new settlement with relatively

well-planned settings and higher affordability.In addition, the area is still growing in terms

of the population density, which allows us to

measure the population and demand growth

patterns—this won’t be possible to practise

in oversaturated habitats. Plus, there is a new

reservoir built in the Min Bhawan area with

which the water supply has become efficient.”

Another task the PID is involved in is “cluster

removal” by widening the main pipeline and

distributing water via short connections from

it, which Sharma says, is in order to control

leakages (caused by “spaghetti connections”)

by reducing the number of joints. Cluster-

removal works are now going on in the Gokarnaarea. Another work that is underway is tube-

well rehabilitation. Besides, at Kusunti and

Kalopul, PID is conducting pipe network

testing, documentation and design-setting

procedures. Intake improvement and capacity

building to handle the wet season water

volume is also going on. Sharma says, “These

programmes are being carried out with an

annual expense of 10 million dollars. These

‘first-aid’ rehabilitation processes in selected

sites, which are being financed by the budget

residue of MWSP, will be accomplished by

2012 and then only will we be able to move

to the massive rehabilitation and capacity-

building processes in the Phase II programmes

throughout the valley—but that depends on

whether we get a loan of 100 million dollars.We are very hopeful about getting the fund

and are zealously involved in preparatory work

such as documentation, feasibility studies and

design.”

WAITING FOR MELAMCHIThe big question is: when Melamchi

finally arrives, are the systems in place to

absorb its water properly? Sharma comes up

with a qualified reply: “Yes, regarding the

network spread of 477 km, but regarding the

number of reservoirs, we are still not

prepared; we need more reservoirs in areas

like Bansbari, Balaju and Balkhu.” Amatyaobserves a big flaw in KUKL’s plans and argues,

“The Special Assistance for Project

Implementation (SAPI) II for KUKL saw the

requirement to construct seven reservoirs for

Kathmandu valley. KUKL’s estimated water

demand in Kathmandu is 32 crore litres (80 l

per capita for the population of 4 million), but

that demand has been found to be much higher

by a survey which stated that the per capita

use of water in a fully plumbed house getting

24X7 water supply is 94 l/day and that of

squatter settlements is 25 l/day. The figure of

40-percent leakage as arrived at by a World

Bank-assisted estimation is also erroneous

because it also included unpaid water supply

bills which is evident in Bhaktapur where all

stone spouts are supplied with pipe water.The Leakage Detection Unit in KUKL has

identified ‘mechanical leakage’ of only 20

percent which is normal for a city like

Kathmandu. These estimations reveal that

SAPI II and even Melamchi would not have

been necessary if we could manage the water

resources in the valley properly. Thus, the

Japanese donor agency cancelled the SAPI II

project then and there. Look, ninety-nine

percent of the taps are supplied water through

0.5 inch pipes, be it in multiplexes, industrial

estates or whatever; KUKL should classify the

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“DISPERSINGPOWER AMONGTHEPARTICIPANTSCAN BE DONEBYFORMALISINGWATER RIGHTSIN THE LOCAL DEMOCRATICINSTITUTIONS.”

Ganga Chaulagainfocal person, PPPUE- Hetauda Municipality




users and charge tariff accordingly.”

The water source schemes identified in

Kathmandu are: Tri Bhim Dhara Scheme that

looks at water from sources in places like Bode,

Bhandare, Chhahare, Panchmane and Alle; Bir

Dhara Scheme that looks at sources likeShivapuri Water Intake and Bishnumati Water

Intake; Sundarijal Scheme; Bhaktapur Scheme

where Mahadev Khola is the source; Pharping

Scheme where Shesh Narayan, Kutori Mul,

Satmul, Hitidol and Dallu Spring are the

sources; and Chapagaon Scheme where

Charghare, Basuki I/II, Nallu, and Muldol are

the water sources. Sharma points out, “Some

of these sources have worn out, delivering less

volume of water; therefore, PID plans to

rehabilitate them by building new reservoirs,

repairing the old ones and making the diameter

of the pipes larger. In this regard, we have

placed Bhandare and Chhahare sources of theTri Bhim Dhara Scheme as well as Sundarijal in

the category of Immediate Improvement I.”

Similarly, the Bhaktapur and Chapagaun

schemes have been placed in the category

“Immediate Improvement II”, while the

sources in the inner valley like Kalimati,

Balkumari and Katunje have been kept in

“Immediate Improvement I/II” categories.

Meanwhile, new tube wells in places like

Gongabu, Vice President’s Office (Kantipath),

Mahankalchaur and Tigini have also been

installed to meet the water demand at the

community level in the valley.

Sharma says, “KUKL has adopted a visionthat sustains Kathmandu’s water supply

system till 2025, and PID has been given the

deadline of 17 April 2016 to accomplish the

assignments. There exists a lot of challenges

regarding the rehabilitation of the water-

network system such as narrow lanes and high

traffic that forbids us from unearthing the

lanes; then there’s the problem of lack of

data on ducts (telephone, electricity or even

water ducts) laid underground.”

Indeed, the challenges are plenty, but

whether these would be met in a timely and

proper manner is perhaps the biggest

challenge. As far as adequate water supply tothe valley is concerned, there’s no time to

wait—Melamchi or no Melamchi.

Water supply systems operated under

PPPUE and consumers’ committee

Public-Private Partnerships for Urban

Environment (PPPUE) is a nationally executed

UNDP project implemented by the Ministry

of Local Development. The project started its

operation in March 2002. The revised second

phase of the project commenced in January

2010 and will conclude by December 2012.

The objective of the PPPUE project is: to

increase the access of the urban poor to basic

services; contribute to the creation of a

healthy environment; and to improve the

living conditions in urban and peri-urban areas

of Nepal—all this by promoting partnerships

between public and private sectors.

Ganga Chaulagain, focal person, PPPUE,

Hetauda municipality, says, “Thesepartnerships became inevitable with the rise

in settlements and because the state-run

Drinking Water Corporation could not reach

out to every nook and corner. Also for the

squatters, there’s no other means of water

supply than through these arrangements.”

Chaulagain has been involved in organising

awareness campaigns for the squatters and

working out the policies required for such

approaches to water supply. She points out,

“The consumers’ inactivity or poor

participation in the maintenance work as and

and cannot afford to deliver time/resources

for the water supply system. Therefore, to

overcome this circumstance, she givesincome-generating training to the participants

for their sustenance.

PPPUE-FUNDED NEURENIDRINKING WATER SUPPLY(NDWS)

Neureni area is situated in Ward 10 of

Hetauda municipality east of the Rapti River.

About 165 very poor squatter households

have been living in the area for the past 20

years. Nepal Water Supply Corporation

(NWSC) has been extracting groundwater

from the area within the settlement and

supplying water to the city. The NWSC hadinstalled one public tap, but the water was

not sufficient for the whole community. In

the wake of the unavailability of safe water or

easy access to water, the community was

unable to maintain a healthy environment.

Therefore, with financial support from

Hetauda municipality and PPPUE, the Neureni

Drinking Water Project (NDWP) was initiated

to provide safe drinking water to the poor

community under the PPP arrangement.

Neureni Drinking Water Users’ Committee

(NDWUC) was formulated to oversee the

construction of the tank, pump house and

distribution system, and to operate andmanage the project. The community also

made cash and labour contribution during the

construction.

NDWS started its operation eight months

back and has distributed 25 taps till now. “We

have a target of distributing 100 pipelines by

Dashain,” says Phurba Lama, advisor,

NDWUC. The capacity of the tank is 30,000

litres which gets filled by pumping straight

from the persistent surface and groundwater.

But there’s a problem—Phulmaya Gurung,

secretary, NDWUC, points it out: “The majority

of dwellers cannot afford the service, and thus

rely on a public tap owned by the BhutandeviCommunity Forest Consumers Committee.

Two families own private wells and eight

families own tube wells here. Taking into

consideration health and hygiene issues, we

have been convincing everyone to install pipe

lines. But the dwellers prefer tube-well water

over pipe water saying that the former is

cooler than the latter.”

WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMOverhead water tank, a pump house and

pipeline distribution system was constructed

under the supervision of the users’

committee. Water from the well is pumped

“THE MAJORITYOF DWELLERSCANNOTAFFORD THESERVICE, ANDTHUS RELY ONA PUBLIC TAPOWNED BY THEBHUTANDEVI COMMUNITYFOREST CONSUMERSCOMMITTEE.”

Phulmaya Gurung

secretary, NDWUC

when required may lead to malfunctioning of

the water supply system. Even if a committee

is formed through an election, there are

chances of a faction in the community showing

poor output in the system. In order that these

situations do not persist in the system, we

conduct coordination workshops at the

community level.” Chaulagain lays a deal of

emphasis on collective action. She says,

“Dispersing power among the participants can

be done by formalising water rights in the

local democratic institutions. This would havethe effect of increasing the sense of collective

benefit from collective action. The goal of

increasing equity could be built into the

systems of water rights from their inception.”

This often requires not only formal democratic

procedures, but also strong political

commitment towards the rights and

entitlements of the less-advantaged water

users. A challenge that Chaulagain faces while

working at the grassroot level is that the

community lacks the time and/or resources

to indulge in public purposes because the

majority of the beneficiaries under the PPPUE

scheme are people who survive on daily wages




“RELEVANTPOLICIES,LEGISLATIONSANDDIRECTIVESFOR DRIVINGTHE PROJECTARE STILL TOBE FORMULATED, THE LACK OFWHICH HAS CREATEDPROBLEMS IN THE OPERATIONOF THE PROJECT.”

Phurba Lama

advisor, NDWUC

to the newly constructed overhead water tank

and distributed through a pipe line andindividual water tap in 150 households. The

water in the well has been tested and certified

safe for drinking. The users’ committee is

responsible for the operation and

management of this drinking water project.

UNDP also provided training on maintenance

and purification. Sanitation maintenance of

the intake area and the tank is being

undertaken by Urban Institutional

Development Programme (UIDP).

TARIFFThe installation charge amounts to Rs

5,000, which includes piping and tap fitting.

The minimum monthly charge is Rs 100, which accounts for up to 10,000 litres, and

beyond that it costs Rs 15 per 1000 litres.

SUSTAINABILITY A minimum user’s fee is collected for

maintenance and long-term sustainability, and

the users’ committee is responsible for the

fee collection. The Hetauda municipality is

monitoring and supervising the project to

ensure its smooth functioning. But Lama says,

“Relevant policies, legislations and directives

for driving the project are still to be

formulated, the lack of which has created

problems in the operation of the project.Besides, the consumers need to be activated

in terms of the importance of clean drinking

water supply.” Water-borne diseases like

jaundice and diarrhoea are prevalent in the

region.

DAMAI KHOLSI DWUC,MARTYR’S MEMORIAL PARK,HETAU

According to Devi Lal Acharya,

chairperson, DKDWUC, “Altogether 35 taps

have been installed in all the households along

the park. The tank capacity is 85,000 litres,

which is filled directly from the rivulet (kholsi);

DRINKING WATER

MANAGEMENT

the piping was done by the municipality and

external sources.” But this supply could only

run well for the first 12 months, following

which the area was hit by water scarcity,

especially during the dry seasons between

the Nepali months of Falgun and Baisakh, says

Acharya. The tariff is Rs 10 per month per

household, and Rs 1500 per month for a nearby

community to which, too, the DKDWUC has

been supplying water. Acharya says, “The park

authorities have been making timely financial

contributions and have also been conducting

awareness programmes. Every three months,

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“THE ONESERIOUSPROBLEM IS OFPUMPINGWATER UPHILLTO THE TANKFROM THEKHOLSI DURING

LOAD-SHEDDING HOURS”

Devi Lal Acharyachairperson, DKDWUC

drinking water management

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