Urban Water Problem in Asian Big Cities

Nepal

13th International Symposium

On National Land Development and Civil Engineering in Asia

(October 17,2004 - October 31, 2004)

Submitted to:

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Submitted by:

Bishnu Prasad Timilsina

Division Chief
Water Supply and Sanitation Division Office, Okhaldhunga
Department of Water Supply and Sewerage
Ministry of Physical Planning and Work
Nepal

August 2004

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 Acknowledgement

It is my great pleasure to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to JICA

under the technical cooperation programme of the Government of Japan for
providing me the opportunity to participate in the JICA Executives' Seminar on
Public Works and Management during October 17 to October 31, 2004 in Japan.

Also I would like to express my sincere thanks to Ms. Yoriko IIBA, Assistant Head,
International Research Division, Planning and Research Administration
Department, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of
Land Infrastructure and Transport, Japan for her kind cooperation and response
for the papers.

Special thanks are due to the staff of JICA, Nepal in Kathmandu for their kind
cooperation and help during the application processing.

I am indebted to the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS), HMG/N

for my nomination to participate in the Seminar.

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 Bishnu Prasad Timilsina
Civil/Environmental Engineer
cried@hons.com.np
bptimilsina@hotmail.com
bishnutimilsina@yahoo.com

Abstract
The historical development of urban water system in developed countries showed a step-
by-step approach taken up by the authorities with an increasing demand as of population
growth, a progressive understanding of the environmental problems, rapid development of
technology and increasing public awareness. The cities in the developed world enjoyed a
long development period to establish the components of urban water system. However, it
may not be possible for the emerging urban water systems in developing countries to have
a long time frame as in developed countries. Therefore it is mandatory for the authorities
to visualize the problems in aggregate and bulk solutions related to the various disciplines
in a very short span of time.

When taking the case of Kathmandu Metropolitan city it is a small intra mountain valley
situated at an altitude of about 1300 m above the mean sea level having a basin area of
585 Sq. Km. It is haphazardly urbanized and has a population of 1.5 million. Water supply
meets only 64 % of total demand of 175 MLD, in spite of tapping all major sources within
its surrounding. The majority of urban areas do not have access to sewerage networks
except three cities of Kathmandu Valley. Most of the domestic wastewater generated from
these cities is discharged into the local rivers without any treatment. Out of the total urban
population only 76 % have access to toilets while the remaining use open spaces,
riverbanks for defecation.

Urban water supply and sewerage systems face a number of problems in the country.
Existing water supply systems are becoming antiquated while urban growth has rapidly
increased the number of people requiring new services. In most cases, sewer and sewage
treatment systems are lacking not functioning, or operating at far below the capacity and
standards required for municipalities. In addition, many towns of the country are unable to
operate schemes in a financially viable manner while providing the quality of service
necessary to satisfy customers' expectations.

In order to have sustainable and efficient water system following should be the guiding
principles
o Community management
o Cost-effective and appropriate technology
o Partnership (Public-Private)
o Integrated approach of water environment management

The urban water environment in the country should be managed in holistic approach
rather than the conventional one. Holistic approach puts emphasis on sets of relations
considering a system to be product of various components. But reductionist approach
basically treats the system in isolation by breaking down the linkages.
Holistic analysis offers new and sustainable solutions, which could otherwise be
overlooked if the urban water problems are only dealt with conventional reductionist
approach. Based on the principles of complexity of science and sustainability, it is
desirable to look at the interactions and interrelationships among various elements of
urban water system. Technologies that are flexible and based on adaptive management
must be explored and applied.

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1. Background

The historical development of urban water system in developed countries showed

a step-by-step approach taken up by the authorities with an increasing demand as
of population growth, a progressive understanding of the environmental problems,
rapid development of technology and increasing public awareness. For example
the installed capacity of infrastructures in Tokyo was doubled during the period of
1965-1975 in order to meet the rapidly increasing demand. The concerns were
raised on the issues of domestic and industrial wastewater following this
development. The solutions dealing with nutrient removal and hazardous wastes
were sought only when serious concerns on these aspects emerged mainly during
eighties and nineties. The cities in the developed world enjoyed a long
development period to establish the components of urban water system. However,
it may not be possible for the emerging urban water systems in developing
countries to have a long time frame as in developed countries. Therefore it is
mandatory for the authorities to visualize the problems in aggregate and bulk
solutions related to the various disciplines in a very short span of time.

2. Current Situation and Problem

When taking the case of Kathmandu Metropolitan city it is a small intra mountain
valley situated at an altitude of about 1300 m above the mean sea level having a
basin area of 585 Sq. Km. It is haphazardly urbanized and has a population of 1.5
million. Water supply meets only 64 % of total demand of 175 MLD, in spite of
tapping all major sources within its surrounding. The majority of urban areas do not
have access to sewerage networks except three cities of Kathmandu Valley. The
domestic wastewater generated from these cities is discharged into the local rivers
without any treatment. Out of the total urban population only 76 % have access to
toilets while the remaining use open spaces, riverbanks for defecation.

The present sewerage network in Kathmandu and Lalitpur consists of about 200
Km of sewer lines. Most of sewage except Patan area is supposed to flow by
gravity to the sump well at Sundarighat, from where it is to be pumped to the
wastewater treatment plant at Dhobighat. This pump is provided with 2 anaerobic
ponds and 1 facultative pond; having design capacity 15.4 MLD. The plant is not in
operation due to non-functioning of pumping station and breakage of pumping
main laid across the bed of Bagmati River. Wastewater facilities development and
management is poor.

The treatment plant at Balkumari 1.1 MLD capacity is partial in operation. It

receives sewage by gravity from eastern part of Patan. The plant is provided with
two anaerobic ponds, one facultative and one maturation pond. The sewage
treatment at Bhaktapur, 2 MLD capacity is not in operation due to failure in
pumping station and farmers tapped the wastewater to irrigate their cropland.

The Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS) has started to construct
a sewage system of about 6 Km. of sewer line and a treatment plant (lagoon type)
on 20.54 hectors to serve design population of 53000 in Thimi. The newly
constructed WWTP 17.3 MLD at Guheshwori by BASP is the only plant operational
in the Valley.

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Urban water supply and sewerage systems face a number of problems in the
country. Existing water supply systems are becoming antiquated while urban
growth has rapidly increased the number of people requiring new services. In most
cases, sewer and sewage treatment systems are lacking not functioning, or
operating at far below the capacity and standards required for municipalities. In
addition, many towns of the country are unable to operate schemes in a financially
viable manner while providing the quality of service necessary to satisfy customers'
expectations.

The increasing trend of construction of sewers by municipal authorities without

considering treatment facilities is posing serious threats to the environment. All
industrial wastewater in most cases are directly discharged into local water bodies
without any treatment. So far rivers and Streams in the Kathmandu valley receive
raw domestic sewage and untreated industrial waste.

When Melamchi water started to supply, that brings more water to Kathmandu,
and as a result there will be more wastewater as well. The present sewage system
in the valley would be behind the capacity to receive all wastewater.

Major common issues in urban water can be summarized as below:

Environmental Issues

• Water pollution is a serious problem near urban areas. The problem is

expected to increase due to the rapid pace of urban growth, unless
measures are taken to control and treat effluents.
• Groundwater depletion in certain valleys (e.g. Kathmandu Valley) is a
concern but it is not well understood due to lack of data and systematic
monitoring.
• Environmental assessment legislation and procedures have made good
advances in Nepal, but the proposed mitigation is not always implemented
due to the lack of capacity and / or regulatory monitoring and follow up.
• Aquatic habitat has been adversely affected by some water resource
development projects. It may deteriorate further unless water resources are
developed in an environmentally sustainable (or beneficial) manner.
• Natural environmental processes cause a significant amount of damage due
to the sensitive geological conditions of Nepal (e.g. soil erosion, landslides,
sediment transport and deposition, floods) and these processes need to be
fully understood. Water environment management decisions need to reflect
this understanding so as to avoid adverse impacts, improve conditions and
or reduce the negative effects where feasible.

Social Issues

• Some communities have been able to work collectively to harness

and manage their water resources. Traditional mechanisms for water
allocation have been used to resolve conflicts, but these mechanisms
are coming under threat from new development pressures.

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 • Water problems create serious social concerns that must be resolved
either locally or with political intervention. Examples include flooding,
lack of drinking water and proper sanitation including municipal and
industrial wastewater management.

Legal Issues

• The lack of a comprehensive water policy has led to some

conflicting legislation and regulations in the water sector.
• Water rights have not been implemented according to Water
Resources Act (1992). Traditional rights are still applied in most
areas. There is no capacity or political commitment to implement
the legislation. This could lead to serious problems as water
demands and conflicts increase.
• After promulgation of the prevailing water sector legislation and
practical experience gained the time has come for revisions and
additions to improve the legislation.

Specific Urban Water Problems in Kathmandu

• Drinking water supply is inadequate and the quality supplied does not meet
the water quality standard for drinking purpose and furthermore, the treated
water whatever of quality is used for gardening, car washing and toilet
flushing. However the grey water after some sort of treatment can be
reused for other purposes as gardening and toilet flushing but not practiced
in massive way.
• The treatment facilities are limited only for the WW from core area of the city
and WW from other parts is directly discharged into water body even
without primary treatment and the treated WW does not satisfy the effluent
standards.
• The inner drainage system is very old and need rehabilitation.
• Clogging of sewer pipe due to the some left over garbage after collection is
a common problem in the city.
• Most of urban cities don't have WW management plan. In Kathmandu
Valley several studies have been made to develop plan but it has been not
adopted and implemented due to the lack of funds to undertake large-scale
construction.
• Several studies have been done to develop strategic plan and policies for
urban water environment in Kathmandu Valley but it has been not adopted
and implemented due to the lack of sufficient fund and political willingness
to undertake large-scale constructions. Wastewater (WW) management is
always neglected, and had least priority in the plan and polices.
• Overlapping of responsibilities among government agencies in WW
management.
• Inefficient regulations, standards, and weak regulatory system to control
pollution.
• Haphazard urbanization and the land use planning are not proper.

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 • Revenue generation as water tariff is insufficient to be self-sustaining and
not recover operation and maintenance cost of the facilities. However in
principle the capital cost recovery has been emphasized.
• Manpower: Sewage treatment plants are not equipped with qualified and
trained manpower to operate them efficiently.

2. Measures and Programs

The objectives of urban water management might be:

• The primary objective is to provide water essential for various purposes,

remove unwanted substances, prevent flooding and provide drainage.
• The second major objective is to maintain the ecological integrity by
protecting the natural watershed and sources including flora and fauna.
• The third objective is to meet sustainability.

The primary components include natural water resources such as surface water
sources, groundwater sources or rainwater; receiving water; inner water bodies
(canals, ponds, rivers and streams). Hardware for water supply systems include
intake, transmission main, treatment plant, service reservoir, distribution system
and household connections as household tanks. Similarly, for wastewater systems
the infrastructure hardware includes household appliances (washing basin,
washing machine, bathroom, toilet), onsite septic tank systems, sewerage network,
treatment plants, recycling facilities, and outfalls. The hardware for storm water
management include collection network, impounding reservoirs, treatment plants
and disposal units. On the software side the stakeholders include state or
administration, politicians, managing authority, engineering companies, consumers,
professional associations, people, farmers, fire service, city planner, media and
neighboring cities. Moreover, the guiding principles, which facilitate the
stakeholders, to make their strategy and carry out the actions include professional
ethics, scientific judgment, legislation, regulations, decision-making rules,
standards and technical norms.

The main feature of conventional urban water management is the centralized

system with collection, supply and treatment. There are two fundamental
drawbacks of such systems which are: The water supply system delivers drinkable
treated water for all purposes as cooking, washing and flushing. On the
wastewater management side, wastewater such as greywater, blackwater,
stormwater and industrial wastewater of different qualities are mixed together. The
former practice contradicts the engineering principle of optimization where as the
latter needed more cost and violets the principle of sustainability.

There is still immense amount of work to be done in urban water environment

sector. Needs range from the rehabilitation of existing facilities to construction of
major new facilities. Regulatory expansion and institutional reform are greatly
needed. Public involvement, publicity and a demonstration of some progress
needed. Funds are desperately needed.

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The prioritized plan for improvements includes three areas of improvement:
Institutional, Constructional and Baseline Engineering. The institutional
improvements include expansion of by law, rule and regulations, water tariff reform
and setting, and institutional management overhaul. The construction program is
extensive and has been prioritized and spread over 20 years. There are needs
related to baseline engineering, both immediate and longer term. Immediate action
is recommended to initiate implementation of the Updated Master Plan.
In order to solve the problems of water and wastewater in Kathmandu the following
strategy will be adapted:

• Promote the participatory model for urban/semi-urban areas;

• Encourage private sector managements;
• Secure financing to commence new investment projects;
• Provide infrastructure to satisfy sewerage and effluent standards; and
• Restructure the agencies and organizations responsible for WW
management.

The following guiding principles are needed to have sustainable and efficient water
system for urban setting.

• Community management: working with people who wish to help

themselves through community management, in order to achieve a
sense of ownership, avoid dependency and encourage sustainability

• Cost-effective and appropriate technology: promoting

technologies that are low-cost and can be managed and maintained
within the resources of the community

• Partnership: working with partner organizations (e.g. community

groups, non-governmental organizations, private sector, and local
and regional government)

• Integration: all work includes domestic water supply, sanitation,

hygiene promotion and community management as a properly
integrated whole

In order to achieve the above mentioned guided principles the following measures
are essential.
• "Polluter should pay" Policy: This principle should form the basis of overall
policy in the wastewater management area. Those who pollute should pay
for the adverse impact they are having on the environment.
• Discharges regulations should be developed that specify the minimum
quality required before a discharge is allowed. These regulations should
also specify fees and charges depending on the flow and quality of the
discharge.
• HMGN needs to established the priority for wastewater management and
delegate overall authority for wastewater planning, management and
regulations enforcement.

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 • Discharges should be licensed- whether they are discharges into the
collection system or discharges directly to a surface water body. For high
strength discharges, pre treatment should be required.
• And, finally the HMG/N agency responsible for enforcement should work
with the community and industry to improve the quality and reduce the
quantity of discharges.

Programs and activities

1. Sanitation, Public health and Environment

Sanitation, at this point in time can be described as a very serious concern. Public
health is probably impacted by poor sanitation. The lack of proper wastewater
management is not just deteriorating the local environment but may also be
responsible for high rates of waterborne disease. Adequate public toilets, proper
septic tank cleaning and Septage treatment, and construction of interceptor sewers
are immediately necessary to improve sanitation and reduce the deterioration of
surface and ground water quality.

2. Local Involvement (Public Participation)

Lack of local involvement is one reason that wastewater management is failing in

the Valley. First, there has been no effective advocacy to raise public awareness of
the severity of the situation and potential for improvement. Second, the people
being served may not feel that they can have influence and coordinate effectively
with wastewater facilities management.

3. Regulatory and Institutional Reforms

The regulatory system is incomplete and overlapping. Additional regulations need

to drafted to regulate the areas of discharge limitations (to surface or ground
water), permitting, resource utilization (surface and ground water), fee assessment
and enforcement, Decision-makers are not being held responsible to the directly
affected population for their implementation of wastewater programs. The
management organization does not permit input from the people being served so
that they con influence the operation and development of the system.

4. Wastewater Facilities

A significant amount of additional wastewater facilities is needed. This begins with

public toilets and Septage hauling vehicles, and includes interceptor sewers, local
sewers, Septage treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants. Immediate
needs are great. Yet it is unrealistic to expect all needs to be met in a short time. A
phase wise development program need to be implemented that will provide some
immediate improvement, while raising local interest and generating outside funding
support for the long term capital investments that are required.

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5. Regulations

The government has the responsibility for setting and enforcing regulations for
environmental and natural resources protection. The government has a
complement of applicable regulations; however some are conflicting and
overlapping. Also regulations are lacking that would protect ground water and
surface water quality by setting discharge criteria on treated or untreated
wastewater and Septage. In addition regulatory control over ground water use
citing of polluting facilities, and permitting of major wastewater discharge is lacking.

6. Revenue Generation

Current levels of tariff collection are inadequate to build and operate wastewater
facilities to serve the community. There is no broad based program for assessing
fees to industrial, commercial or other large wastewater dischargers who stress the
system. And finally, there are indications that there are wastewater system users
who never pay anything either because they have their own water sources or
because they have illegal connected. These aspects augur for reform in the ways
in which users are charged for the wastewater services they receive now and for
the services that will be needed in the future to protect the common environment.

Recommendation
The planning and policymaking procedures should be started on a very broad
scale. There should be a mechanism to define the boundaries based on
operational criteria rather than initial criteria. The problems are looked with a global
perspective but the solutions are pursued at the local levels. For example, dealing
with wastes as close to the location of production as possible reduces the
problems associated with the mixing and increases the reuse potential.
The urban water environment in the country should be managed in holistic
approach rather than the conventional one. Holistic approach puts emphasis on
sets of relations considering a system to be product of various components. But
reductionist approach basically treats the system in isolation by breaking down the
linkages.

Holistic analysis offers new and sustainable solutions, which could otherwise be
overlooked if the urban water problems are only dealt with conventional
reductionist approach. Based on the principles of complexity of science and
sustainability, it is desirable to look at the interactions and interrelationships among
various elements of urban water system. Technologies that are flexible and based
on adaptive management must be explored and applied.

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Table 1 Wastewater Treatment Plants

Plant Reported Status Remarks

Capacity MLD
NWSC Facilities
Dhobighat 15.4 Not Operational Needs Rehabilitation
Kodku 1.1 Partial Operational Needs Rehabilitation
Sallaghari 2.0 Partial Operational Needs Rehabilitation
Hanumanghat 0.5 Under Construction Needs Rehabilitation
Guheshwori 17.3 In operation
KMC Facilities
Teku Operating Treats Septage
Paropakar Operating Just placed in operation

Table 2 Surface Water Quality- Dry Season

Location Total Coliform BOD mg/l Dissolved Remarks

MPN/100ml Oxygen mg/l
Standard 5000 10 5.0
Weak Sewage TNTC 100 1.5
Station 1 TNTC 34 4.5 Hanumante
Khola
Station 2 TNTC 22 5.8 Manohara
Khola
Station 9 TNTC 82 1.6 Dhobi Khola
Station 11 TNTC 63 1.6 Tukucha Khola
Station 14 TNTC 63 2.3 Bishnumati
Khola
Station 16 12000 12 5.6 Nakhu Khola
Station 4 TNTC 30 4.7 Bagmati River
Station 5 TNTC 28 4.7 Bagmati River
Station 6 TNTC 105 2.2 Bagmati River
Station 7 TNTC 108 1.3 Bagmati River
Station 8 TNTC 48 1.5 Bagmati River
Station 10 TNTC 58 1.7 Bagmati River
Station 12 TNTC 82 1.5 Bagmati River
Station 17 TNTC 105 1.7 Bagmati River

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References:

1. HMG/N, Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, "Water Resources

Strategy Nepal". 2002.
2. Timilsina, B. P. "Country Report on Management of Urban Water
Environment in Nepal". JICA Executives' Seminar on Public Works and
Management, (October 17-October 31,2004) Tsukuba, Japan.
3. Timilsina, B.P. "Prospect of Solid Waste Reuse and Recycling in
Kathmandu Valley", MSc. Environmental Engineering Thesis (054/EE 06),
IOE , TU, Kathmandu. 1999.
4. Timilsina, B.P.; Reuse and recycling: Options for Waste Diversion from land
filling. A case analysis in Kathmandu Valley. Environment, vol. 5, No. 6, His
Majesty's' Government of Nepal, Ministry of population and Environment,
Kathmandu. Pp 1-34. 2000.

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