Water Harvesting - Analysis of global technologies and their appropriateness for Nepal

Water Harvesting as an Appropriate Technology:

The Global and Local Perspective

Bachelor in Science (B.Sc.) Thesis (Shortened version, minus the ACCESS database printouts and some other portions)

By: Gyami Shrestha*

Kathmandu University Dhulikhel, Nepal

June 2001 *Currently at the University of California, Merced. Acknowledgments: Gopal Nakarami, JoergMerz, PARDYP ICIMOD, Nepal; Kathmandu University.

©Gyami Shrestha (gyami.shrestha.at.gmail.com)

Shrestha, G. 2001. Water Harvesting In Nepal As An Appropriate Technology: The Global And Local Perspective On The Realities And Potential For

Sustainable Rural Community Livelihood. B.Sc. Thesis. Kathmandu University.

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Table of Contents 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 3

1.2. Terrain ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Climate and Precipitation.......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.5. Population and Water for Life .................................................................................................................................. 5

2. Rainwater Harvesting........................................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Study areas .................................................................................................................................. 13 The Jhiku Khola Watershed............................................................................................................... 13

The ICIMOD-Godawari Trial and Demonstration Site ................................................................................................. 13 2.3.3.The local perspective on water harvesting............................................................................................................ 14

Study approach....................................................................................................................................... 16 3.1.Methodology................................................................................................................................ 16

3.1.2. Secondary data Collection ................................................................................................................................... 16 3.1.2. Primary data collection ....................................................................................................................................... 16 3.1.3. Analysis and report preparation ........................................................................................................................... 17

4.2. Initiatives taken by various organizations in Nepal.................................................................... 19 4.2. Initiatives taken by various organizations in Nepal.................................................................... 20

4.2.1.ICIMOD................................................................................................................................................................ 20 4.2.2. Water and Energy Commission ( WECS)................................................................................................. 22 4.2.3. International Development Enterprise (IDE)...................................................................................................... 24 4.2.3. International Development Enterprise (IDE)....................................................................................................... 25 4.2.4. Department of Water Supply and Sewerage ........................................................................................................ 29 4.2.5. Peace Corps/Nepal............................................................................................................................................... 30 4.2.6. Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management .......................................................................... 32 4.2.7. Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) ..................................................................................................................... 33 4.1.8. Melamchi Water Supply Development Board ..................................................................................................... 34 4.1.9. Center for Rural Technology ( CRT)................................................................................................................... 36 4. 1.10. Agricultural Development Bank ( ADB) .......................................................................................................... 37

4.3. Jhiku Khola RWHS..................................................................................................................... 38 4.3.1. Underground tank ................................................................................................................................................ 38 4.3.2. The Ferrocement jars ........................................................................................................................................... 39 4.3.2. Estimation of the appropriate tank size for domestic uses ................................................................................... 50

4.4. The ICIMOD-Godawari Trial and Demonstration site............................................................... 63 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 64

The Jhiku Khola RWHS .................................................................................................................... 64 The organizations............................................................................................................................... 65 The database....................................................................................................................................... 66

Recommendations.................................................................................................................................. 68 Chapter 8 References ............................................................................................................................. 73

Internet websites ................................................................................................................................ 73 Books and others................................................................................................................................ 77




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List of table Table 1Drinking water services in Nepal................................................................................................. 6 Table 2 Quantitative analysis results of rainwater harvested in the rainwater jars of Jhiku Khola....... 49 Table 3 Two-year rainfall data of Kuhbinde.......................................................................................... 52 Table 4 Capacity of rain jars needed to store the runoff from various sized roofs in Kubhinde........... 53 Table 5 Surplus runoff from 5 roof areas............................................................................................... 54 Table 6 Percentage of demand met by runoff form variously sized roofs............................................. 54 Table 7 Best technologies based on criteria of cost, raw materials and advantage ............................... 67 List of figures Figure 1 Factors affecting the quality of harvested rainwater ............................................................... 11 Figure 2Conceptual Methodological Schema........................................................................................ 19 Figure 3Mud mortar and stone tank by WECS...................................................................................... 24 Figure 4A typical RHWS with ferrocement jar in the Jhiku Khola Watershed..................................... 46 Figure 5 Basic steps to calculate storage size of a RWH tank............................................................... 51 Figure 6 Runoff from roofs of various sizes.......................................................................................... 57 Figure 7 The cumulative demand in comparison with the cumulative runoff from three roof areas .... 59 Figure 8 Surplus runoff from three roof areas for each month of the year............................................ 60 Figure 9 Average rainfall in Kubhinde VDC......................................................................................... 61 Figure 10 Rainfall variation in 1998 and 1999 in Kubhinde ................................................................. 62 Figure 11. The success of private RWHS in Jhiku Khola ..................................................................... 64 Figure 12 The fate of public RWHS in JhikuKhola .............................................................................. 65 Figure 13 A typical Development flowchart ......................................................................................... 69




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1. Introduction 1. 1. Nepal

Besides being mountainous in 77% of its area of 147,181 sq.m. or 54,400 sq.miles (which is

equivalent to the combined area of Switzerland and Austria), what many people don’t know is that

Nepal has three distinct climatic and altitudinal zones which are as follows:

i. The inner Terai (300-1000 m), which is a stretch of very fertile flatlands and is adjoining to

the Indian border

ii. The mid-hills (1000m to 4000m), including the nation’s capital, Kathmandu (which is at

1300m ~ 4264 ft) and

iii. The mountainous areas (>4000 m), including the Himalayan range and adjoining China.

Only 17% of the total land is arable. 65 % of the cultivated areas is is rain-fed.

The total population is 22,736,934, with an average household size of 5.45 and a population density of

154.48 individuals per sq. km. 80% of the population is involved in agriculture and forestry and 85%

live in the rural parts (2001 census).

1.2. Terrain

About 60 % of Nepal’s terrain can be graded as steep to very steep, i.e. as mountainous. About 7.5 %

and 4.2 % of the population lives in the mountain & hill regions respectively

1.3. Climate and Precipitation

Nepal’s varied topography gives it a widely varied climatic condition. It is situated in the subtropical

monsoon climatic system. The topographical orientation as well as vertical extension of this country

creates diverse spatial and temporal variations in rainfall. The average rainfall of Nepal is

approximately 1700mm. The problem in the hills and mountains is that excessive rain in the monsoon

causes catastrophic soil erosions whereas water scarcity is faced in the non-monsoon periods.

Throughout Nepal, 80% of the rainfalls in the summer monsoon period from late June to September.




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1.4. Nepal’s Water Resources

• ~3% of area: water

• ~6000 rivers

- total average annual runoff rate 222 billion m3

• 1700 mm avg. annual rain: 80% monsoonal from June-Sept

-70 to 80%: monsoon

• Water storage potential: 88 billion cu.m.

• 4 main rivers: Gange’s River system flow (40% total & 70% to low flow when dry)

• Hydro power potential : 83,290 MW

- Technical Feasibility: 43,442 M

- 586 MW generated (NEA, 2002)

• Harsh terrain, inaccessibility, environment, economics

1.5. Population and Water for Life

The hills of Nepal suffer from alternating cycles of excess and scarcity of water shortages that are

acute in the communities dwelling on the mountain/hilltops (Thanju, 1998). An MHPP report (1996)

stated the percentage of people having access to safe drinking water as 42 %. World Bank Report

(1996), Social Indicators of Development (1996), Trends in Developing Economies (1996) and

Human Development report (1996), on the other hand gave the total percentage of people with access

to safe water in Nepal as 45 % with 90 % in the urban areas and only 43 % in the rural areas.

The services provided by various water sources to these people are shown in table 1.




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Table 1 Drinking water services in Nepal

Source of drinking water Percentage of people served

Piped water 31.5

Well water 7.1

Hand pump 31.9

Spring water ( kuwa) 18.9

River/stream 7.2

Others 3.4%

(MOH, 1996)

As has already been mentioned previously, water is a consequential natural resource, both globally and

nationally. It supports the livelihood the mountain farmers. In Nepal, rainfall is the major source of

water, which is uneven in spatial & temporal distributions. Three fourth of annual rainfalls occurs

during the four wet monsoon months (June-September). Increase in rainfall amount with altitude rise

is distinct. A substantial part of monsoon rainfall is wasted as surface runoff. Effective harvesting of

excess rainwater can be a viable solution to reduce water shortage on one hand and reduce the surface

erosion and downstream sedimentation on to other hand.

2. Rainwater Harvesting Rainwater harvesting refers to the capture, diversion and storage of rainwater for a wide array of

purposes including irrigation and domestic applications. It is common and extremely beneficial in arid

and semi-arid areas as well as places like Nepal with severe temporal variations in precipitation.

Harvesting of rainwater can provide water for regions where other sources are too distant or too costly,

or where wells are impractical because of unfavorable geology or excessive drilling costs ( National

Academy of Sciences, 1974). It is possible in areas which receive as little as 50-80 mm of rainfall.

A rainwater harvesting system comprises the following subsystems:

• Catchment area




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• Conveyance system

• Filtration

• Storage

• Distribution

In a country like Nepal, which has excessive summer monsoon rain that often goes wasted through

seepage into the ground, rainwater harvesting is not getting the attention that it really deserves. Some

simple practices like collecting rainwater in ponds, buckets & drums through crude ways in various

households exist but they are hardly enough to fulfill the intense water shortage faced in the dry

seasons. Some organizations are just beginning to gain momentum towards making water harvesting a

popular appropriate technology for rural areas.

Research & experience in several cases has proved that if properly implemented, rain water harvesting

in the monsoon season, & its proper storage can comfortably provide an adequate supply of clean

water for the rest of the year.

This dissertation project undertaken here focused on all these vital aspects related to water and water

harvesting, from the global and local perspective.

Rainwater harvesting system components

2.1.3.1.Catchment subsystem

As catchment, the roofs of houses are mostly used for domestic purposes. For non-drinking purposes,

any roofing material can be used whereas special selection of roofing should be done for drinking

purposes, avoiding lead and asbestos. Other catchment types are roads, landscape and polythene

sheets, to name a few.

2.1.3.1.1.Catchment for irrigation

Depending on the catchment, methods of water harvesting can be of two types for irrigation

purposes:

1. Within-field methods in which microcatchments, contour ridges, furrow dyking, strip planting,

stone bunds etc. are included. Transfer of water takes place only over a short distance under 50-

100 m usually by sheet flow.




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2. External catchment methods which includes terraced wadi system, hillside conduit systems,

dams used for recession planting etc. Runoff is collected from a catchment area at considerable

distance from the receiving area and is transferred by channel flow.

(Source: http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/m.d.b.young/whatsrwh.html)

Microcatchment water harvesting is the collection of surface runoff water from specially modified

surfaces having a flow distance of less than 100m. (Boers et al., 1986). It consists of two components,

a catchment area & infiltration basin or cropped area. The collected water is distributed over cropped

area & stored in the soil profile or reservoir tank.

To increase the amount of runoff by increasing soil impermeability, the soil catchment may need

modifications as follows:

2.1.3.1.1.1.Land alterations

Land alterations like cleaning away vegetation and rocks to increase runoff, compacting the soil,

placing rocks and ditches along hillside contours etc. may be done but these may cause soil erosion in

the long run if done excessively.

2.1.3.1.1.2.Chemical treatment

Chemical treatment making the soil water repellent or filling the pores with chemicals can be done.

Sodium salts, which are cheap, easily available and retard weed growth too, are used in clay soil as

they help to break up clay into tiny particles that block soil pores and this increase runoff. Stable soils

that do not swell with moisture can be treated with water repellants like silicon, latex, asphalt and wax.

Granulated paraffin wax has also been used as a soil- sealant. It spreads and melts on the ground,

flowing into the pores. Such plots yield an average of 90 % of the rainfall as runoff, compared to 30 %

from untreated plots (Fink et al., 1973). Asphalt has been used in the USA on hill slope catchments

after clearing away vegetation, smoothing and treating with a soil sterilant. Two coats of this

substance, one that fills the soil pores and the other that protects the soil against weathering. Such a

catchments lasts for 4-5 years (National Academy of Sciences, 1974). Reinforcement by plastic or

fiberglass and covering with gravel overcomes problems caused by germinating plants penetration,

oxidation and unstable soil conditions.

2.1.3.1.1.3.Soil covers




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Soil covers, which are waterproof, can be used on porous or unstable soils. Plastic sheets covered with

gravel which protects the underlying layer against wind and radiation, if properly maintained an

constructed, can have a projected life of more than 20 years (National Academy of Sciences, 1974).

Low-cost rainfall catchments like metal foils, butyl rubber and plastic sheet by themselves are easily

damaged by wind.

2.1.3.1.2. Catchment for domestic uses

If rainwater is intercepted before it reaches the ground, it may be collected without considerable

contaminants in terms of quantity and quality. The water will then also be generally appropriate for

domestic requirements.

While discussing the pros and cons of various roofing materials to use as catchment, it has to be said

that corrugated iron roofs are cheap durable, provided that they are not exposed to salt, which may

corrode them as in the coastal regions. When used with gutters, they can accumulate water with little

maintenance cost. Tile roofs, too, are very durable and need little maintenance. In comparison to

corrugated iron roofs, they make less noise when the rain hits them but a stronger frame support is

needed due to more collective weight. Thatched roofs are less durable than either of these two types of

roofs. With the use of gutters, a little water can be collected from them but collected water is also

easily contaminated, colored and unattractive but plastic sheeting to cover the catchment surface may

improve this. Again, it has to be argued that plastic covers aren’t durable and may hence require

frequent replacements. They are prone to algal growth and may easily be torn. Cement, bituminous

paper & sisal-reinforced material are in used as catchment in certain countries.

2.1.3.2.Conveyance subsystem

Gutters, downspouts and pipes comprise the conveyance system. They convey the roof runoff to the

storage system.

1. Gutters usually made of aluminum or galvanized iron are recommended for strength but for small

roof areas, plastic gutters are good too. There should be a slope of at least 1/16th inch per foot.

They should be protected with hardware cloth or wire if trees are present above or near them.

2. Downspouts should be so placed that there is one opening available for every 10 square feet of

area. Every 50 feet of gutter run should have a downspout.




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3. Pipes must be at least 4 inches in diameter, must have a slope of at least ¼ inch per foot, avoiding

sharp bends and incorporating cleanouts where horizontal runs exceed 100 m.

2.1.3.3.Filtration

For irrigation, prefiltering to keep out sediment buildup should be done. Sedimentation chambers

before the storage can be made. For domestic purposes, the first wash of water over the roof should be

rejected due to contamination from dirt, debris, leaves and other contaminants that accumulate on the

roof. ‘Roof washers’, which isolate and reject the first rain water and then direct it to wards the storage

can be used. 10 gallons of rainfall per thousand square feet of roof area is considered an acceptable

amount of roof washing (http://www.greenbuilder.com/soucebook/RainwaterGuide3.html). First flush

devices, which are actually extensions or parts of the conveyance system can be used to divert the first

rain water of the monsoon or the first ten minutes or so of rain away from the storage container after

it is collected by the catchment. These are actually simple connected pipes with removable cover that

has to be operated manually.

A simple net can be put at the inlet of the storage too.

2.1.3.4.Storage

Any material can be used to make storage vessels of any size. Cisterns, barrels, tanks or even drums

can be used. These can be recycled or reused containers. In short, any watertight big enough container

of non-toxic material is fine. The size should depend on the amount to rain water and catchment

available as well as the demand of water. Inlets and outlets should be so designed as to minimize any

disturbance to the sediments at the bottom of the tank. A manhole, an air hole, a cleanout sump and an

overflow pipe should be included. A cover to prevent mosquito breeding and algal growth by blocking

the sunlight should be placed. Tanks require covers to control evaporation, guard against

contamination, maintain child safety, exclude insect vectors, and impede algal growth (Thomas et al.,

1999).

2.1.3.5.Distribution

On a small household level, the collected drain can simply be taken from a tap in the storage.

Otherwise, it has to be distributed by a pressurized system of 1/3 or ½ horsepower pump with a

pressure tank. The outlet line from the storage, in this case, should be buried or be below the frost line.




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2.1.3.6. Rainwater quality

Rainwater quality depends on how close the polluting source is . The quality is generally good. Its

softeness is valued for cleaning abilities & benign effects on water using equipment. Its acidity is good

for high pH soils & best for plants.

Figure 1 Factors affecting the quality of harvested rainwater

Rainwater is generally of good quality. It is naturally slightly acidic, hence may corrode household

plumbing and metal tanks. Rainwater collected from clean roofs can be of better microbiological

quality than water collected from untreated household wells (WHO, 1997). However, if rain falls after

along dry period, it may wash debris and dirt from the roof into the storage. The first 5-10 minutes of

rain should therefore be discarded. Careful cleaning of roof and gutters before every rainy season, use

of mesh between gutter and downpipe to prevent debris entry, regular cleaning of this mesh, a fine

mesh in all openings to the tank and finally the covering of the tank with a well maintained and

Quality in tanks/cisterns

Quantity & quality of rainfall

Type & condition of roofing material

Type & condition of gutters

Type & location of storage containersMethod of

collection Usage Others




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properly fitting lid should be done to prevent the entry of external contaminants into the rainwater

storing tank and maintain its quality.

If water does not contain any organic materials and if it is stored in a clean container, it can stay fresh

for a long time. Adding little alum dissolved in half a bucket of water will bring down the solids and

clean the stored water. Adding a little bleached water and then mixing it with the stored rainwater will

kill the bacterial contaminants but chlorinating is not recommended

(http://www.inika.co/rainwaterclub/purificationofwater).

2.1.3.7. Advantages of rainwater harvesting

According to CRT (2000), RWH has the following advantages:

• No water source disputes

• Flood and soil erosion control

• Enhancement of the quality and yield of ground water

• Higher suitability of consumption without purification in comparison to other sources

• Saving of time and labor of rural women for water fetching

• Provision of water for cattle and kitchen gardens even where there is severe water shortage.

• Improvement in health and sanitation by use of safe water

• Upliftment of community by being able to have horticultural and vegetable crops

• Assuaging the stress on piped water supply

• For fire fighting

• Provision of water for biogas plants

• Creation of employment based on agriculture and lowering the need of people to immigrate for

work

• Reducing the dependence on large scale water supply schemes




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• Useful for places where the water table is very low, avoiding the high cost of having to dig tube

wells down to such depths.

2.2. Study areas

The Jhiku Khola Watershed

The Jhiku Khola watershed is situated in the middle mountains region of Nepal, in the

Kavrepalanchok district. It is about approximately 45 km east of the Kathmandu and it covers an area

of 111.4 sq. km. It lies along the Araniko Highway, a major highway of Nepal, which connects

Kathmandu with Tibet. It is located at 800 to 2200 m.a.s.l. It is a valley with a large flat valley base of

alluvial origin. Principal land use is irrigated agriculture. It is said to be one of the most intensively

used middle mountain regions of Nepal. This valley is enclosed on the south and northern side by

short and steep slopes. The whole watershed is made very heterogeneous by pouch-like valleys on the

lateral edges. The general aspect is southeast.The watershed is subjected to a monsoon climate with a

stretched dry period from October to May. 10 meteorological stations to measure climatological

parameters, esp. rainfall and temperature, have been established by ICIMOD in this watershed.

Measurements were started since 1992. Ordinary standard rain gauges of 8” in diameter are sued to

measure the rainfall totals daily. The rainfall intensity is measured by tipping bucket of 8’ too, making

it possible to crosscheck with the data of the rain gauge. Some stations record rainfall by events,

allowing any rainfall intensity to be calculated. Other stations record at two-minute intervals, allowing

only two-minute rainfall intensity to be measured.

The ICIMOD-Godawari Trial and Demonstration Site

A brief visit to the ICIMOD- Godawari Trial and Demonstration Site was done to inspect the water

harvesting activities there. This site occupies a total area of 30 ha. and is located in Godawari VDC,

Lalitpur, 15 km east of Kathmandu. Its elevation ranges between 1550 to 1780 m and it has a slope of

0 to 60 degrees. Its annual mean temperature is 16 degree Celsius, with a minimum of –1.7 degrees

and a maximum of 23.9 degrees. The mean rainfall is 2000 mm with the peak in July/ August and the

lowest in November/April. It comprises three main ecological zones: Natural forest on steep slopes,

Shrub land on Mixed slopes and Shrub land on Valley floor. Water harvesting had been proposed as

an intervention against degraded condition in the second ecological zone, the Shrub land on mixed

slope.




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2.3.3.The local perspective on water harvesting

Thus observing the immense potential of water harvesting in Nepal, several organizations and

agencies have been doing some amount of work in this direction but most of this work has been

experimental. No widespread water harvesting programs as has been seen in other countries as

mentioned previously has been, done yet. The number of RWHS recently constructed here is not high.

The use of rainwater and its storage for drinking purpose was not practiced in Nepal probably because

of the prevalent practice of regarding stored water as impure and flowing water as pure (Campbell,

1973). In the past, local systems, called panyalo, made of bamboo mat and clothes piece laid

horizontally on four bamboo supports to harvest rainwater for only livestock were used (Dixit, 1991).

The office complex in at Phulchowki Lek (2759m) at about 25 km southeast of Kathmandu shared by

the Department of Civil Aviation and Nepal Television Corporation has an established RWHS with

approximately 300 sq. m. asbestos sheet roof catchment and 45 cum stone masonry storage tank since

1970(Masina et al., 2000).

The mission Hospital in Palpa has been supplementing its fresh water requirements by a RWHS since

the last 25 years (Masina et al., 2000) with a 5023 sq. m. CGI sheet roof catchment and 225 cum

storage tank.

Peace Corps/ Nepal has made some RWHS in some parts of Nepal as part of its in-service training for

its volunteers in the late 19980s. Details have been given later in this report.

The District Water Supply Office (DWSO) has established RWHS in Manungkot, Tanahun and

Anamdevi, Syanja in 1994 and 1989 respectively (Masina et al., 2000). Manungkot has a 300 cum

stone lined storage tank with a 425sq.m. catchment of CGI roof and other roofs from neighboring

houses. At the demand of 6L/capita/day, it was designed for 267 people and cost US $ 9250. The

system is not functioning well because of storage in the tank (Masina et al., 2000). Anamdevi has a

RWHS with a 20 cum ferrocement tank with 53 sq. m. catchment and costing US$ 3000,80 % of

which was borne by HMG and the rest by the community. It serves 23 people with the same rate of

demand as above (Masina et al., 2000).

INSAN (Institute for Sustainable Agriculture) and SAPROS (Support Activities for the Poor

Producers of Nepal) established programs for small ponds of 25 to 30 cum in Gorkha, Lamjung,




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Chitwan and Dailekh through community participation and cost-s haring for small scale irrigation

schemes (Pradhan, 2000). They are promoting plastic lined tanks for irrigation.

RWSSP (Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project has made and tested 45 two cum ferrocement jars,

15 in each ward of Daudha VD, Gulmi in 1996. By October 1999, more than 4000 such jars were

made to provide water for 14,000people (Pradhan, 2000). Water quality testing of 44 of those jars was

done by ENPHO in 1996. 18 of them were found to be unpolluted.

GARDP is another organization that has been working to promote water harvesting in the hill districts

Gulmi and Arghankhanchi.

The DWSO of Gulmi has also constructed four ferrocement tanks, each of 20 cum in Daungha VDC,

Gulmi in 1994-1995. More than 300 students and 250 other individuals were benefited from this

project (UNEP, 2000).

NEWAH has built two double layered continuous plastic sheet barrels to line brick lined underground

tanks of 2.5 cum which collect rain from the roof for irrigation and drinking in Kathmandu. Further

details of NEWAH’s work have been given later in this report.

ICIMOD, WECS and IDE are other organizations, which have been undertaking water harvesting in

Nepal since the last decade. Details about their work have been given later in this report.

On an individual basis, some rainwater harvesting has been done in a small scale. People have been

collecting rain from their roof into simple tin containers, metal drums and metallic as well as plastic

vessels since a long time back but the water is not used for drinking usually. There is a 40 cu.m.

underground WH tank built at the cost of Rs 65000 in Kalanki, Kathmandu, in a private household.

Some other such tanks of 8 to 10 cum capacity have been built in the same area at the cost of Rs

15000to 20000.

On October 6, 1999, the National Workshop on Low Cost Water Harvesting Systems (LWHS) for

Mountain Households was held in Kathmandu, Nepal by ICIMOD and CRT to establish dialogues

among key institutions and experts in implementing policies, programs and development activities in

local water harvesting, provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences and to establish a

national working group on LWHS (CRT, 1999). A list of various organizations and agencies which

were directly or indirectly involved or were planning to be involved in WH in Nepal was prepared on

the basis of information granted by respondents of the workshop. The major output of the workshop




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was the formation of a national working group on water harvesting of which CRT became the

coordinator. A few meetings have taken place since then.

Study approach

3.1.Methodology

According to the initial methodology listed in the project proposal, the following activities were

carried out:

3.1.2. Secondary data Collection

1. Intensive literature survey of existing national and international water harvesting techniques

currently in practice was done in the following way:

a. Internet website search

The main search engines used were Google.com, dogpile.com and sify.com.

b. Survey of library materials available in ICIMOD, WECS, Peace Corps, TU & KU was done.

c. Collection of published/unpublished reports from concerned agencies.

2. A database of existing WH technologies found from the literature review was prepared using MS

ACCESS and MS EXCEL.

3.1.2. Primary data collection

1. In order to find and document the national initiative towards WH,

• A database of the various organizations involved in WH was prepared.

• a questionnaire was prepared

• Information from the relevant people in NGOs, INGOs and other agencies was taken. For this

three types of approaches were taken. In the first one, interviews were taken directly from the

concerned individual at his office. In the second one, the questionnaire was e-mailed and the

response was elicited via the same medium. In the third one, the questionnaire was filled up by the

respondent and then returned directly.




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2. In order to find out about the RWH initiative of ICIMOD in the Jhiku Khola watershed, the

following steps were taken along with Ms. Monika Schaffner, an MSc student from the University

of Berne in Switzerland, who is doing her thesis on the water quality in the Jhiku Khola watershed.

• A questionnaire to find out the condition of the RWH tanks and the water in them as well as the

users’ views on their RWHS was prepared.

• A two day field visit to the Jhiku Khola Watershed was organized in February, 2000.

Sampling of the rainwater collected in 9 out of 13 rainwater jars was done. Sampling for heavy metal

analysis was also done in ½ L bottles filled with 2ml of 10% conc. HCl as buffer. DO and

temperatures were measured on the spot.

The users were asked questions from the questionnaire. Visual analysis of the RWH site was done.

• Chemical analysis of the water samples was done in the lab in ICIMOD’s Dhulihhel field office.

Microbiological analysis was done exclusively by Ms. Schaffner.

• Analysis of the heavy metals lead and zinc was done in the Enpho lab in Kathmandu by the lab’s

own technicians through Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS).

• As second filed visit to the Jhiku Khola watershed was undertaken in May to return the reports of

the quality of the rainwater tested in February and to take samples for the pre-monsoon period.

Further questions from a semi structured questionnaire were asked to the users to find out how

they had been handling the water and what they had done to the first few showers of rain after

winter. The quantitative analysis was done entirely by Ms. Schaffner.

4. A field visit to Kubhinde, Jhiku Khola was done to inspect the underground tank there.

5. A field visit to ICIMOD”S Godawari demonstration site was done to inspect the water harvesting

technologies there. Visual analysis was done.

3.1.3. Analysis and report preparation

1. Mathematical modeling of the rainfall data of Kubhinde VDC in the Jhiku Khola watershed was

done to find the right size of RWH tank.




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2. Analysis of the primary and secondary information collected, scanning of relevant photographs,

preparation of charts, diagrams, slides, and overhead projector’s transparencies for final report

and as well as for thesis was done.

3. A draft report was prepared. A final report was prepared and submitted in the end.




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Figure 2Conceptual Methodological Schema

Questionnaire preparation

Secondary data collection

Literature review

Web search

books publications

Organization reports

Questionnaire for organizations Questionnaire for Jhiku

Khola water jars

Assessment of status of WH in Nepal

Assessment of global WH technologies

Database of global technologies

Database of organizations Revision

Interviews/e-mails to organizations Field visits, visual

documentation, sampling Analysis

Draft report

Final report

Rainfall data of Kubhinde

Presentation

Distribution of jar




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4.2. Initiatives taken by various organizations in Nepal

Note: The following accounts have been compiled from whatever information has been divulged from

the respondents of the corresponding agencies who kindly responded to my questionnaire. Each of

those respondents (whose names I have enlisted in the annex) holds the right and responsibility to

whatever is written here.

4.2.1.ICIMOD

The project responsible for water harvesting research in ICIMOD, an INGO, which has been working

in the Hindu-Kush Himalaya region for a multitude of years, is the People Resource and Dynamics

Project (PARDYP).

WH in the Jhuku Khola Watershed

• The initiatives that ICIMOD has been undertaking in the field of water harvesting in the Jhiku

Khola Watershed can be briefly summarized as:

i. Roof water harvesting for household consumption and

ii. Surface runoff collection for irrigation.

• For domestic use, ferrocement tanks have been employed in Jhiku Khola whereas for irrigation,

stone in cement masonry has been employed in Kavrepalanchok.

• One publication in respect to ICIMOD’s initiative in WH is

Nakarmi, G.; NEupane, P.R. 2000: An Attempt to harvesting Rainwater at Kubhinde, Kavrepalanchik

District, Nepal. Allen, R; Schreier, H: Brown, S; Shah, P.B. (Eds.) PARDYP- Research for

development in the HKH- the First Three years (1996- 1999). ICIMOD. Kathmandu.

• Among the technologies used, rainwater collection in ferrocement jars for drinking and for

household purpose has proved the most successful and effective. It was initiated in three VDCs of

Hokse, Sathighar, Kharelthok of Kavrepalanchok district. The beneficiaries were private

households, farmers, local authorities (VDCs, DDCs etc) and community establishments like

schools and temple. The harvested water is used for drinking and cleaning at the domestic level

and also to irrigated cash crops, mainly cauliflower’s.




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• For domestic purpose, 13 above ground ferrocement jars of 2000 liters capacity have been built

with roof catchments. Each cost NRs 6500. 2-5 villages, including 13 households/families were

benefited. The DDC provided the logistic support, the project provided 50 % of the total cast

whereas the individual families provided unskilled labor and the other half of the cost. The factors

affecting the selection of technology were the local climate, drinking water shortage, social factors

and economic factors in decreasing order of priority. The most important stakeholders were the

elected community leaders, the local individuals and ICIMOD.

• For irrigation purpose, one underground stone masonry tank (1:6,1:4) of 10,000-L capacity has

been built with landscape catchment. It cost NRs. 24,000. It was entirely supported by the project.

The family didn’t provide any of the cost, either in cash or kind. Another similar tank of 30, 000-L

capacity is currently under construction, but using a participatory approach with a local farmer,

something quite innovative for this project. One farmer from one village, Kubhinde was benefited.

The factors governing the selection of technology were geologic, climatological, the need of water

for cash crops production and the availability of the raw materials for the technology. The

stakeholders were the elected community leaders and ICIMOD.

WH in the Godawari Trial and Demonstration site

• WH is also being tested in Godawari VDC, Lalitpur district, where ICIMOD has 30 ha. of land.

It has an altitude ranging from 1550m to 1800m. The slope varies is from 5 to 60 degrees. The

average annual rainfall is 2000mm. This Trial and Demonstration site is working on technologies

and methodologies that would benefit the mountain farmers.

• The following WH activities are being used and demonstrated in this site:

i. Spring water harvesting for domestic purposes

ii. Two Roof Top Water Harvesting with above ground ferrocement jars for domestic purposes

which cost NRs 5000/unit.

iii. One HD polythene Panel for Irrigation which collects water in situ and cost NRs 65000.

iv. Clay Water Pond in Swampy Area for irrigation




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• Natural Spring water harvesting for Drinking Purpose in Godawari Training Center and the HDPE

lined Water Collection Reservoir for irrigation requirement a little higher were found to be the

most successful technologies employed.

• The beneficiary is the ICIMOD-Godawari T & D site itself.

• The stakeholder of this initiative is also the ICIMOD- Godawari T & D site and all the cost was

borne by ICIMOD.

• The WH technologies are used for Drinking, livestock and for cash crops irrigation.

• The chief factor affecting the selection of WH technology was climatic.

The WH project of ICIMOD is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC),

the International Development Research Center (IDRC- Canada), and the International Center for

Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

4.2.2. Water and Energy Commission ( WECS)

With a local NGO, WECS has been undertaking a pilot project on water harvesting in the Tansen

Municipality, which is mainly concerned with raising the public’s awareness about WH.

• A low cost mud-mortar tank with plastic lining has been made in Tansen for domestic

purposes. Other similar tanks are being made. It’s been one year from construction and it has

proven quite successful. A local users group was made and they were given financial assistance to

conduct training concerning maintenance of the tank, money management etc. An idea is being

formulated concerning harvesting water from roadside depressions and impounding it.

• The beneficiaries were the farmers. The water is used for all domestic purposes and also irrigating

kitchen gardens and cash crops like potatoes.

• The tank is semi-underground and 20*35*5.5 cu.m. approximately. The cost was estimated at

Nrs. 6 lakh for the pond and NRs. 10.12 lakh for the whole project. Three other smaller tanks were

constructed with unit cot as NRs. 50, 000, including construction, labor and training.

• The type of catchment used is tile and thatched roof and also landscape.




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• The tank is of mud mortar and stone with locally available black polythene lining. A bamboo lid

covers it.

• There is a plan to make the tank with cement, instead of mud mortar, as part of a pilot project in

Nagarkot for the year 2002. Plastic will still be lined. Ash cement will be used. This will be for

domestic uses. For irrigation, modification of traditional pond will be done in the Terai in the

following year. This will be o very high cost and very big.

• The water is drunk only during emergencies but after treatment.

• The no. of beneficiaries is 25 families.

• The factors influencing the selection of technology were mainly social (acceptance by villagers)

and local. Attention was given to lower the cost and avoid seepage. (Seepage intensity is high in

hills due to the height.)

• The most important stakeholders were WECS, Tansen Municipality and CEDA (Canadian Energy

Development Agency). WECS and CEDA provided the financial support while the individual

families provided labor.

• WECS is mainly being involved in making a specific national policy for water harvesting. It has

conducted workshops in various places from which it has gathered recommendations, which it

analyses to make those policies. It adopts a highly participatory approach in this process. It gives

recommendations to the government. Awareness generation through demonstration is also one of

its main programs.




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Figure 3Mud mortar and stone tank by WECS

tap

Bamboo lid

Mud mortar and stone

Plastic lining

Ground

Rainwater from roofs




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4.2.3. International Development Enterprise (IDE)

Under the Hill Agriculture Research Project (HARP), which is funded by DFID, IDE has been

working on designing ‘low cost water storage tanks for irrigation of horticultural crops in the dry

season.’, developing them and exposing them to field testing since September 1999. This is a three

year long ‘action research’ project. IDE has already designed 7 such tanks of capacities ranging from

1000 to 14,000 L. The source of water for these tanks is not only rainwater but also other upland

sources like springs and taps. The use of this water is for irrigation of high value off-season

horticultural crops (vegetables, fruit, spices) using micro irrigation which includes drip irrigation and

micro sprinklers.

A majority of the WH tanks is used for irrigation. Only small proportion of them uses the water for

domestic purposes.

• WH tanks have been built in three locations:

Site 1: Anbukhaireni VDC (Tanahun)

Site 2: Bel Bhanjyang, Bhanu (Tanahun)

Site 3: Kaun VDC ( Kaski)

In each site, six pairs of six different capacities from 1200 to 14000L of tanks were built in the winter

of 2000 They are all of various designs, which were adopted from international as well as other

national designs. Participatory approach was adopted, with farmer contributing to 15 to 35 % of the

total cost.

• The designs and technologies were adopted according to the following factors:

1. making the design as simple as possible

2. making use of locally available materials as far as possible

3. lowering the cost as far as possible

4. making the tank structurally more efficient by partly burying the tank

5. making use of unskilled labor

6. Roofing material had to be cheap and simple.

7. Making the tank leak-proof and safe.




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• The following type of tanks were made:

1. Modified Thai Jar of 1000L

2. Circular ferrocement Basket of 2500L

3. Plastic cum ferrocement tank of 6000 L

4. Bamboo cum ferrocement tank of 3500 L

5. Stone cum bitumen soil tank of 8000 L

6. Stone cum ferrocement tanks of 14,000 L.

61 tanks have been built till now. Last year, none of them leaked. Cracks appeared in two of them., a

soil bituminous plaster tank and a 6000 l rectangular tank.

Out of the six tank types made in phase I of the project in 1999, four designs proved the most

successful. They have been developed and tested in some sites in phase II of the project this year, after

some modifications and refinements. They are as follows:

1. Modified Thai jar

It is of 1500 to 3000 L and semi-underground. The catchment used is roofs. The cot per unit is Rs.

3000 for a 1500-L jar.

It was found to be the most successful because

• It can be constructed within a very short period of 3-4 days

• It is comparatively cheap because of its thin wall. It is thus affordable to poor farmers.

• It doesn’t take up a lot of space due to its oval shape.

• The cost is cut down mainly by not using expensive chicken mesh and heavy reinforcement.

Binding wires of iron (gabion wire) has been used. So, far test results have proved successful and

there has been no leaking.

• Very little amount o raw materials is needed- cement, sand and wire.




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2. Stone wall in mortar with ferrocement tank

It is from 6000 to 10000 L, with mortar ratio 1:2 and 1:3. The catchment is the roof. The cost is 15000

for a 10000-L tank and Rs. 10000 for a 9000-L tank.

It was successful because

• Big tanks can be made with this technology.

• There is maximum use of locally available materials like stones and the framers don’t have to pay

for that.

• No special training is required for the construction of stone wall

• The combination of stone wall lined with ferrocement is perfect for water holding without leakage

and for structural soundness.

• Use of stone with mud drastically reduces the cost of construction, which is NRs 15000 for a

15000-L tank.

Another technologies employed, the plastic lined tanks were tested too but the results were not that

good because rodents and insects ate up the plastic sheet. The Bitumen /soil plastered tank failed in the

leakage test. The Rectangular stone cum ferrocement tank of 6000 L leaked in the corner in year I.

The beneficiaries throughout this project were all farmers. 61 farmers from 10 villages have been

benefited till now.

The factors influencing the selection of technology were economic, social, availability of raw

materials, geologic and climatic, in decreasing order of importance. The need to make affordable

designs was the crucial factor. Nice income from sales of vegetables in dry seasons a can be done

from even a small piece of land.

The most important stakeholders of the initiative were the local individuals and IDE itself.

25 % of the cost was contributed by the beneficiaries while 75 % was provide by the donors. This is

only for the research period. The beneficiary share is increasing yearly.

The capacities of the tank size has been determined according to the ‘water gap’, referring to the

interval of time in which there is absence of water supply from rain as well as other sources for

irrigation. It may be hourly/daily, weekly or monthly. If the water gap is less than 15 days, a 1000-L




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tank is considered enough. It is assumed that a 4- ana system requires 250 L/day of water. Thus, 15

days would require 3750 L at the most. Half a ropani is assumed to need 400 L daily. That would be

around 12000 L per month, which would make it necessary to make a tank of at least 10000-L. it is

also assumed that there is at least one shower of rain in each month of the year except Push and Magh.

The IDE tanks can all be briefly described as follows:

The 1.4 cum stone cum ferrocement tank is circular with a 60-cm high thin ferrocement wall above

a stone wall in mud mortar. Ferrocement lining is done over cement bas plaster and plastic over a

galvanized wire mesh is used to cover the tank.

The 8 cum stone cum bitumen soil tank a stone in mud wall first lined with soil cement material

over the interior. Two layer of mixed mortar of bitumen, decomposed soil and organic waste is

applied. Corrugated tin sheet is used as roofing.

The 6 cum stone cum ferrocement tank has a wall made of stones joined with mud and covered with

ferrocement layer. Light material like plastic is laid over GI wire mesh.

The 3.5 cum bamboo cum ferrocement tank has a cylindrically shaped woven bamboo mat structure

with steel reinforcement and cement plaster.

The 2.5 cum ferrocement basket has plastic sheet as roofing material and is rectangular for faster

and simpler construction comparison to round shaped tanks.

The modified Thai jar is cylindrical ferrocement tank which has steel reinforcements in the base

plate and lid of ferrocement too. A jute bag filled with rice husks and straw is used as mould.

The 4-9 cum plastic lined soil cement (PSC) tank has a trapezium shaped cavity with one coat of

cement on which aplactic sheet is laid and around which a low stone wall is built. It is covered by a

plastic sheet laid over a net of GY wires.

• Manual and Automatic first flush sytems are being designed and testes. Commercial plastics

funnel and perforated GI sheets are being used as junction boxes. Grade II HDPE pipes are used

for conveyance. For guttering, the same pipes but half sliced and GI sheets with rectangular or

trapezium cross sections are used.




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• The main objective of this DFID/ HARP program is the testing and designing of the above-

described tanks.

• There are no formal publications related to this project of IDE’s yet because it is still undergoing.

• It is IDE’s view that the selective designs at the end of the project should be disseminated in the

hills for which the government and the donors should take initiatives. IDE would also be willing to

coordinate activities that would help the farmers get low-interest loans with the help of the local

authorities and donors for bigger sized tanks. Programs should be given to the local and public

bodies.

• IDE will do some further testing of water harvesting technologies and come up with a model

pathway for the dissemination of technology. It is also going to make a manual of the tested

technologies.

4.2.4. Department of Water Supply and Sewerage

The project that is undertaking water harvesting in the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage is

the Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project. Rainwater harvesting is one of the

several programs of this department. It is being implemented in some communities in order to

supplement the daily water demand for a variety of purposes. Presently, it is being done in 15 hill

districts and will be continued in the coming fiscal year as well.

• The technologies employed and the corresponding locations are as follows:

1. roof catchment with reservoir system in Tanahun

2. “ “ “ “ “ in Gulmi

3. “ “ “ “ “ in Khotang

4. “ “ “ “ “ in Kavre, Machhe

5. open catchment water impoundment under construction in Palpa, Srinagar

• All systems are focused at the community level. The beneficiaries are private households and

community establishments.




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• The water is used for domestic purposes.

• Tank technology used is on/in ground ferrocement tank with 1:4 mortar ratio. The size is 6-10

cum. Roof catchments are normally used but landscape is used in some cases too. The geographic

scale of the initiative is more than 15.

• The factors influencing the selection of technology were economic, social, availability of raw

materials, climatic and geologic in decreasing order of importance.

• The stakeholders were the local individuals.

• About 80% of the cost is borne by the government, DDC VDC while the rest is contributed by

communities in the form of labor and material.

• The most successful technology is the one employing a roof catchment of CGI sheet or other hard

materials (RCC), ferrocement reservoir and gutters but it is the view of the project that rainwater

harvesting alone can not meet the demand of water in the country due to the rainfall pattern.

• There is one report, which has been prepared to describe these activities. It focuses on the users’

acceptability and willingness level for rainwater harvesting.

• It is the project’s view that the community contribution should go up and water quality issues

should be addressed.

• The project would also be willing to coordinate activities between local authorities, donors and the

people on an individual basis for the provision of low interest loans to install water-harvesting

facilities.

4.2.5. Peace Corps/Nepal

In 1987, after the Third International Conference on Rainwater Cistern Systems (RWCS) held in Khon

Kaen, Thailand, an agreement to initiate and manage RWCS on-job training for HMG staff and Peace

Corps volunteers by HMG/N and Peace Corps/N was made.

• Three RainWater Catchment Ferrocement Tank Construction trainings were conducted between

June 1988 and December 1989 as part of the Peace Corps in-service training for volunteers

(engineers and engineer overseers).




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• The first training was organized in Bhandark VDC, Kaski. A tank was constructed in the Jana

Prakash Primary School there. A manual on how to build water-harvesting tanks was then

produced.

• Pre-service training was continued in Lampatan, Kaski and Tansen Municipality complex, Palpa.

• Consecutively one private households’ rainwater harvesting tank and one School, the Ramnagar

Secondary School tanks were built in Ramngar, Bharatpur, Chitwan district as result of the third

training.

• The technology employed everywhere was ferrocement. The tank capacity and units built in each

case was as follows:

Pokhara: 12 cum *2

Lampatan: 5 cum*1

Palpa: 10 cum*1

Bharatpur: 4 cum *1 and 10 cum *1

• In one tank, woven wire mesh was used instead of the chicken wire mesh used in the other three

tanks. This was done to evaluate and compare the cost effectiveness.

• Formwork of HDP pipes coils or bamboo mats were used inside the tank for plastering the walls.

Human hands were used for plastering on both sides of the wall.

• CGI sheets were bent into rectangular shaped gutters clamped to the roof by hooks or gutter

brackets.

• The roofs were all of CGI sheets and of the following area:

60 sq.m. for the school building

40 sq.m. for the private building

30.24 sq.m. for the second school building .

• The runoff from those roofs supplied more than the local water demand of 5 L/capita/day.

• The water was utilized for drinking purpose during the dry seasons but there was some reluctance

as it was considered polluted due to traditional beliefs.




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• Chemical tests later found no bacteria but some mold in the rainwater collected in Ramnagar.

Some minor cracks were seen in the family owned tanks.

All the above activities mentioned above had some degree of community participation and this proved

to be the main reason behind the program’s success. The availability of raw materials was another

reason.

• 80 % of the cost was provided by the Peace Corps training budget while 20 % was contributed by

the local people in cash and kind. This was done according to a previous agreement between the

PC/N staff and the local district line agencies to ensure the community’s input and participation

and consider their needs.

• The stakeholders were HMG/N and Peace Corps/N.

• The beneficiaries were 17 volunteer engineers, 11 HMG/N field level technicians and

approximately 1010 students, teachers and one family.

• RS. 1000/cu.m was spent in making each tank (US $35/cum) (1989 AD).

• One of the major aims of the program was to demonstrate effective training methods/designs for

community participation and NGO-GO participation and to promote the rainwater harvesting

concept which was rather new in that time for Nepal.

Currently, Peace Corps doesn’t do any water harvesting work.

4.2.6. Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management

All District Soil Conservation Offices (DSCOs) in Nepal in 55 districts have undertaken a variety of

water harvesting programs. These chiefly include conservation ponds and the use of bioengineering

practices to collect runoff. The main focus is in the Mahottari and Siraha of the Siwalik- Bhawar

zone where the ground infiltration is low while the runoff is high. The harvested water is used for

multiple purposes like for cattle and the normal domestic uses and irrigation. The DSCOs focus on

local technologies and participatory approaches to water harvesting. The beneficiaries are private

households, farmers, local authorities, community establishments and user groups.




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• On/in ground tanks of all types, including ferrocement tanks, stone masonry, simple dugouts,

polythene lined tanks and harvesting check dams have been made.

• The users group first makes the plans with mid-level technicians before starting any program. The

most important factor in the selection of technology is the social factor. Then, the availability of

raw materials and economic factors along with others are considered.

• The stakeholders are HMG/DSCWM, the users group, grass level farmers and INGOs like

Care/Nepal, UNDP and FAO.

• The government provides external materials, skilled manpower and manpower wage. The local

authorities sometime support the financial costs. The benefiting individuals provide labor and local

materials. The DSCO provides cash and skilled manpower.

• The department has an integrative approach towards its programs, integrating agroforestry,

bioengineering and similar activities to increase the water yield through soil and water

conservation

• The department already coordinates activities between the local VDCs, DDCs and local people for

low interest loans to implement programs like water harvesting.

4.2.7. Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH)

NEWAH has been implementing three community rainwater-harvesting projects since the last three

years in western Nepal.

• A 2.4 cum tank is to be constructed in a school using the school’s roof as catchment. The villagers

will use the water in a rationed way during dry seasons when other nearby water sources dry up.

• NEWAH and CECI Canada have also been collaborating to research fog water collection

technology. This project is under way. The initial findings show that there are possibilities for this

technology in the high hills of Nepal.

Fog water collectors are being used in the eastern hills to see their potential for water supply.

Rainwater collection technology is being used in the western hills (Pokhara).




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• The most successful technology till now that they have employed has been the gravity flow

technology where the water source is higher up and the user communities are downhill. Water is

supplied through pipes.

• In the Terai, the installation of tubewells has proved to be the most successful and low cost as well.

In locations where both the above technologies are not feasible, it is the view of NEWAH that

rainwater and fog water technology is appropriate.

• The beneficiaries are poor communities and schools.

• The WH technology has been used for domestic and kitchen gardens.

• On/in ground ferrocement tanks of 1-10 cum. have been used with tin roof catchment for RWH,

polypropylene net for fog harvesting and natural catchment for spring and stream source.

• NEWAH ahs implemented 450 water supply projects in the last 13 years.

• 50-100 households per projects have been included as beneficiaries.

• The most important stakeholders of the initiatives are local or national NGOs, DDCs and VDCs.

• The VDCs bear 5-10 % of the capital cost. The beneficiaries /individual families bear 30 % in kind

and the NEWAH bears 90-95 % of the capital cost.

• For gravity flow system, NEWAH is constantly improving the technology as part of their regular

work.

• For rainwater harvesting, one component needs to be added to keep the first rain from entering the

tank.

• Fog water harvesting is still under research.

4.1.8. Melamchi Water Supply Development Board

The Melamchi Water supply project is working to harvest water through gravity flow from the

Melamchi river in Helambu VDC in Sindhupalchok by inter basin conversion. It is at the final stage

of design.




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• The beneficiaries are the residents of the urban areas of the Kathmandu valley and the water will

be used for drinking.

• The tank technology can be described as on/in ground with RCC. The catchment type is insitu

and landscape.

• A feasibility study was carried out in 1992 and it was found out that the Melamchi project is

feasible from the social, technical, environmental and economical point of view.

• They stakeholders are HMG/N, ADB, WB, NORAD (Norway), JBIC ( Japan) and SIDA

(Sweden). ADB is the chief one. 20% of the cost is provided HMG/N and 80 % by the donors. The

total cost has been estimated as 462 million US$.

• The Melamchi water supplied is designed to divert 510 mld of water to the Kathmandu valley from

the Melamchi, Yangri and Larke rivers. It has three phases: in Phase I, 170 mld will be diverted

from Melamchi alone; in phase II and phase III, 170 mld will be taken from Yangri and Larke each

respectively.

• In the first has, a tunnel will deliver the Melamchi water into a treatment plant. The phase

includes:

i. construction of access road

ii. transmission line for the supply of construction power

iii. construction of diversion weir on the Melamchi river at Ribarma

iv. Constructions of a 26.5 long tunnel from Ribarma to Sundarijal

• The intake location will be Ribarma, which is at an altitude of 1445 m. the water will tyhen be

treated in the intake plant in Sundarija, at 1410 m.

• Conventional gravity water treatment plant will treat the water according to WHO standards by

chemical flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and chlorination.

• After treatment, the water will be transferred to the present distribution network in the form of a

bulk peripheral distribution system into reservoirs in the following locations at higher altitudes

around the valley (with corresponding capacities):

Swayambhu- 8000cum




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Balaju- 4000 cum

Bansbari- NA

Gokarna- NA

Mahankal Chaur- 12 cum

Bode- 1000cum

Bhaktapur- 1000cum

Harisddhi- 8000cum

Khumaltar-8000cum

Tinthana- 16000cum

These will provide for a water demand equivalent to an 8 hour demand.

• The existing distribution network will be rehabilitated for distribution of the Melamchi water.

• The project has also undertaken another task of a slightly different nature. Water form the

Manohara river in Mulapanu VDC has been diverted from a nearby dugwell through a 400m long

tunnel into a treatment plant with a pressure filter which then pushes it into a 200 m deep

groundwater recharge well. This is done at the rate of 10 L/s. Monitoring of observation wells

nearby is done to see the how the water table rises and the cost of recharge.

• The project has identified that along with the interbasin transfer of water from Melamchi valley to

the Kathmandu valley, the surface and groundwater of the Kathmandu valley should also be

utilized from the perspective of better water resource management.

4.1.9. Center for Rural Technology ( CRT)

The Center for Rural Technology (CRT) has chiefly been involved in documenting WH in Nepal. No

implementation of WHS has been done yet but they have a plan of doing do in the future through

community participation. As has already been mentioned in the literature review, CRT organized a

National Workshop on LWHS for Mountain Households on October 6, 1999with the assistance of

ICIMOD. 13 organizations participated in this workshop. CRT was selected as the focal point for the

national working group for WH whose headquarter is in the CRT itself, in Tripureswor.




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A manual of WH technologies being practiced in Nepal as well as other countries like Thailand is

being prepared and documentation is being done through direct borrowal from the information

sources. This manual is named ‘Local Water Harvesting Practices and Techniques for Field Based

Technicians and Progressive Farmers’.

The ultimate aim of CRT is to create a global WH National Secretariat, to disseminate WH

information and to update the research center.

The involvement of CRT in WH can be summarized as follows:

• Coordination of the various organizations involved in WH and provide forum for exchange of

ideas and cooperation.

• Provision of necessary suggestions for the creation of specific policies on and implementation of

local water harvesting.

• Strengthening of the managerial and institutional aspects of rural communities for WH.

• Improvement of local indigenous knowledge and traditional skills and practices.

• Practical research on low cost appropriate technologies.

• Establishment of a resource center for the collection and preservation of related documents for the

use of the concerned agencies.

(CRT, 2000)

4. 1.10. Agricultural Development Bank ( ADB)

The Agricultural Development Bank has implemented 12000 surface water harvesting schemes for

irrigation all over Nepal at the community level by making users’ groups. Intake structures have

been built in perennial water sources like rivers along with channels to divert water for this purpose

but no storage or reservoirs have been made. Ground water exploitation has also been done. None of

ADB’s project’s ever included drinking water supply.

The bank has no specific policy on WH but it has a specified policy to grant loans for ‘any kind of

irrigation activity’, in which WH for irrigation can also be included. However, no loan has been




38

precisely granted in the name of WH structures. The annual interest rate of loans is 15 %. If monthly

interest is paid, there is a 10 % subsidy in this create and the rate is then 13.5 %.

In the beginning of ADB’s history, the ADB had a Small Farmers’ Development Program. Poverty

alleviation activities like micro irrigation were identified in the 2030s (BS). The Bank then made

policy to provide loans to agriculture related projects to alleviate poverty and provided training to

water users. The bank carried out the whole package of activities from the identification of the users to

the maintenance of the irrigation structures. The Ford Foundation had provided a grant of Rs 1 crore

for this project. 5-6000 schemes were carried out by the bank with involvement ranging from the only

the supply of loans to direct participation.

Presently, the bank’s priority has shifted. The Asian Development Bank of Manila, a major donor of

the bank, has imposed conditions limiting direct credit supply. Surface irrigation and shallow tube

well construction as re still in ADB’s program but not being implemented by the bank like before. The

Small Farmers’ Development Project is now a part of the bank as a discarded project with no activities

to implement like before.

The claim of ADB is that the water harvesting structures it built for irrigation were of low cost but

though old, they are still functioning well.

(Note: Though ADB is not particularly involved in water harvesting under the same name, its

contribution in the past is worth mentioning and it is also a potential source of loan for future WH

structures.)

4.3. Jhiku Khola RWHS 4.3.1. Underground tank

One 10 cum underground stone and mortar tank for irrigation was built by ICIMOD in Kubhinde VDC

in 1999.

As shown in the picture, this RWHS comprises two sedimentation chambers just before the actual

collection tank, which has an overflow pipe at the top in the side. The tank is so located as to be able

to collect runoff from as much wide a catchment as possible. It is within an area of degraded

forestland which is presently being rehabilitated. Approximately 1500 sq.m. of catchment surface area

runoff passes through five siltation ditches. It is reported to have been filled in one storm event on July




39

21, 1999. The cost of the tank was Rs 25000. The water is used for irrigating cash crops like

cauliflowers.

At the time of the field visit, which was in February, the tank was almost empty. It is the local

people’s belief that there was leakage from the tank due to the mortar ratio not being right. This tank

was built entirely buy ICIMOD as part of its research in RWHSs.

Another similar underground tank but of higher capacity is being built in Hokse VDC in Jhiku Khola

itself. It is planned to be of 30 cum and the water will be used for irrigation. ICIMOD is using a

participatory approach in building this tank. The entire cost of construction, which will account to

approximately Rs 50000, is being borne a local farmer on whose land the tank is being built. ICIMOD

is only providing supervision and experts. Photographs of the tank planning and discussion as well as

site selection along with catchment are shown.

4.3.2. The Ferrocement jars

There are 13 two cum above ground ferrocement jars in three VDCS of the Jhiku Khola watershed.

They were built in July 2000, in a period of two weeks, by trained masons with input from the local

people in the form of labor. Financial assistance was provided by ICIMOD.

These are all located in altitudes ranging from approximately 1300 m to 1400m, along ridges, where

there is obvious water shortage as shown in the picture in the annex.

4.3.2.1. Visual observation and findings from questionnaire

The first field visit to the rainwater jars was done in February 2001, when almost no rain, less than

0.05 m, had fallen had fallen in the last three months. The water stored was that of the previous

monsoon, after the jars’ construction had been completed in Shrawan, 2056 BS, which fell around July

2000 AD. The second field visit was undertaken in May 2001, when after a long dry spell, a couple of

heavy rainfalls had occurred.

Brief descriptions of some salient features relating to each jar as observed during the two field visits is

given here:

Jar 1




40

Satthighar

Owner: Ram Bd. Bhetwal

The first jar, located in Bhetwalthok, Sathighar VDC, wasn’t inspected in the first filed visit in

February, because it was heard from local people that natural spring water was being put in it and it

was no longer filled with rain water since October as it was all used up during Dashain (inOctober)

and a family wedding. On the second field visit in the pre-monsoon period, it was found out from the

owner that spring water was being mixed with the water from the first few showers of rain that had

just fallen. The owner defended the reason behind filing the rainwater jar with tap water by saying that

he did it to prevent the jar from cracking and also because rainwater is quickly consumed. The tank

was made by trainees in the course of the training provided in the area. The water is used for drinking.

One point of interest is the fact that the guttering, as shown in the photo, is incomplete. In spite of the

roof being very large, only half of it has been guttered. When asked for the reason for that, the couple

replied that only half the gutters had been provided during the training.

The roof is of CGI sheets.

Jar 2

Satthighar

Owner: Krishan Bd. Kunwar

This jar in Sathighar VDC belong to a very enthusiastic local schoolteacher who plans to add one

more jar every year till he has six of them. According to his calculations, that many jars are enough to

fulfill his family’s demand. The arrangements made for the tap there are of particular interest. The

excess water is allowed to flow into the kitchen garden while the tap is opened.

His view was that a bigger sized jar would require a different mould and hence would not be easy to

build.

According to him, 150 gagris fill one 2 cum jar and this is enough to fulfil the monthly demand with 5

gagris per day.

The roof is of CGI sheets and has logs, which may harm the quality of the collected rainwater.




41

Jar 3

Satthighar

Owner: Ram Krishna Charmakar

The jar no. 3 is located in the same area as jar 1, but slightly further down. The roof is of CGI sheets.

A unique highlight is the pipe, which has been joined to the outlet of the tank and extended about two

meters away to a site where it is easier to collect water from the tap. Rocks have been put around the

pipe to protect it from children. The water is used for drinking and tap water is mixed too.

Jar 3 is filled by water from a natural spring nearby too.

Jar 4 and Jar 5

Kharelthok

Owners: Pushpa Shrestha and Suresh Shrestha

The fourth and fifth jars are in Kharelthok VDC and belong to two brothers living in adjacent houses.

They both had CGI roof catchments.

Suresh Shrestha’s roof area was less, hence, less rain could be collected in a given time. On the

second visit, it was found from questioning that the new rainwater had been mixed with the previous

monsoon’s rain.

What is of particular interest is the presence of a rice mill in the same compound, adjoining to the

house from which the rain for the ferrocement tank is collected. This rice mill is operated with the

help of rainwater collected from another CGI roof above it, which conveys the rain via bamboo

gutters and pipes to a very simple tin drum. This is the only example of modern water harvesting

technologies being done along with traditional techniques that was seen among the 13 jar users.

Rainwater is being used there for both domestic and commercial purposes. This is fairly laudable.

Jar no. 6

Kharelthok

Owner: Hira Lal Shrestha




42

The roof catchment here is fairly big, probably the largest seen in the survey. The area surrounding the

house and the tank is also rather expansive and open. The addition of more rainwater jars would

apparently be no problem in spatial terms.

On the first visit in February, a pile of manure was being placed adjacent to the jar. The owner told us

that due to that pile, manure insects had crawled into the tank and eaten up the filtering cloth at the

tank’s opening and fallen into the collected water. Consequentially, the family had ceased drinking the

water since October 2000 and had been using it only for non-potable uses. The pile had been removed

on the second visit in May. The tank had been cleaned and only new rainwater had been filled in it.

Stones and logs were found on the top of the roof.

The owner was in disfavor of underground tanks saying that they might need motors to pump the

water out.

This was the only jar in the water of which lead was detected in an amount near the WHO guideline

value. The house is located by the roadside but this road doesn’t suffer heavy traffic at all.

Jar no. 7

Kharelthok

Owner: Chandra Bd. Shivabhakti

The roof there is CGI too and has logs and bamboo on it. On the first visit, it was nearly full. On the

second visit, more than half of it was full. The jar was very well maintained and protected against

insects with a piece of cloth wrapped around the lid. The owner hadn’t cleaned the jar yet in May and

the rationale given was that it hadn’t been one year since the jar had been built, that was in Shrawan 6,

2056 BS (July 2000). He was strictly following the guidelines given during the jar construction

training. His family is using the water for drinking as well as other purposes. Before the rains, the roof

was cleaned and the first flush as diverted into a metal drum for 15 minutes before sending the

rainwater to the jar. The tap is facing a manure pit so that the excess water flows into it.

We were informed that the Kharelthok VDC had granted a Rs 5000/tank loan to build similar 2000 L

jars in 5 school in a meeting held on 28 Chaitra, 2056. 4 schools are going to use the money to actually

build jars. One is going to use the money for building construction.




43

Jar 8

Kharelthok

Owner: Basanta Shrestha

This is the only jar which has a cement tile roof catchment among all the ferrocement jars. There are

no longs and bamboos on this roof. On our first visit, the water was full. The family expressed the

desire to have a bigger tank instead of another of the same size, saying that the tank would take more

space. There obviously was a scarcity of space neat the house. As the chemical analysis results

showed, this was the jar with the best quality of stored rainwater. On the second visit, we were told

that the new rainwater wasn’t put in the jar because dirty water kept flowing from the roof.

The family was not in favor of underground tanks because they were of the opinion that the water

would not be fit for drinking.

Jar 9

Kharelthok

Owner: Shanker Thapaliya

This jar’s catchment is a CGI roof. The water is not being used for drinking by the family. We were

told that two gagris/day of water are enough for drinking and this much they fetch daily from a nearby

tap. The rainwater is fed to cattle. We were informed that one full jar is enough to feed the cattle for

10 days only. The new rain had been mixed with the previous rain.

Jar 10

Hokse




44

Owner: Purna Chandra Dhungana

The catchment is a CGI house roof and balcony roof of the same material. No logs or bamboo were

seen on the roof. The water was giving a slight smell. A toilet was being built in front of the jar on our

second visit. We were told of a problem on our first visit there. The family was still facing the same

problem as before on our second visit. They were unable to open the outlet from which the jar is

cleaned - they didn’t have the right wrench and they were looking for one.

Jar 11

Satthighar

Owner: Palanchok Bhagwati Temple

Rainwater is collected here from CGI roofs on a building called the Girda or the Girija surrounding

the temple. These roofs are made dirty from pigeon droppings all the time. It was half full on our first

visit. The jar tap itself is kept locked all the time and a local family guards the key. The local people

don’t drink the water. Sometimes, when picnickers ask them for water, they open the tap lock and

allow them to drink the water, which is murky and malodorous. The local people had no plans to build

any more such jars.

Jar 12

Satthighar

Owner: Kalikasthan Temple

In this location, a ferrocement jar has been built but construction has been left incomplete. No

guttering and piping had been done yet. On our first visit, a building was being built near it. Its roof

was supposed to serve as catchment for it. Meanwhile, ordinary tap water was being stored in the jar.

Jar 13

Satthighar




45

Owner: Palanchok Bhagwati High School

On our first visit there, the jar was found in a very desolate state. The most prominent indicator of this

state was the tap which should have been there but wasn’t. The outlet from which water was supposed

to be drunk was fixed with some plastic material. We were informed that the school was waiting for

the DDC to place a tap on it. The placement of the jar was the most inappropriate- near two toilets for

the school children. The surrounding was very unhygienic. The jar water wasn’t being used for

drinking but it was used sometimes for toilet flushing. Apparently, the school had obtained a piped

water supply system, which uses an electric pump and the jar was just of no use to them. It was one of

the teachers’ claim that there was no reason in drinking the rainwater since it has no minerals in it. On

our second visit, we were told that the jar’s condition hadn’t changed at all.

Overall impression

During the field visit, a special zeal was exhibited from the local inhabitants including the non-jar

owners in addition to the jar owners. They all were very well acquainted with rain water harvesting

and its obvious prospects.

Jar owners

Those with jars expressed desires to have more constructed. Some could afford it but most couldn’t

and expressed a desire to get low interest loans for construction.

Non-owners

Those without them kept asking if there would be further training programs on how to make

ferrocement jars. They were also asking if low interest loans could be arranged.




46

Figure 4 A typical RHWS with ferrocement jar in the Jhiku Khola Watershed

(Arrows indicate the direction of the rainwater)

Metal drum for first rain

tap

Roof

Rainfall

Gutters

Ferrocement tank

Out-let

Li

First flush system




47

4.3.2.2.Quantitative analysis of the stored rainwater (winter)

• The rainwater in the jars had been collected since the previous year’s June-July, i.e. approximately

six months from the sampling date.

• The quality of the rainwater in all the sampled ferrocement jars was found to be generally good,

except one, the jar built in Palanchok Bhagwati (Jar no. 11). Phosphate and Ammonia were far

above the acceptable level while the alkalinity and pH were slightly more. The DO was low too.

The reason for high ammonia concentration, indicators of organic pollution, could be the effect of

bird droppings on the temple roof, which serves as catchment for the RWHS. The high phosphate

value may also be due to the same reason.

• The pH value was found higher than the guideline in all but one jar. This was a surprising due the

ususl assumption of rain being slightly acidic. This could be due to insufficiently cured cement

mortar or due to the jars being newly constructed. This also indicates a low amount of dissolved

carbon dioxide. The highest pH, 11.4 and 11.5, were found in jars no. 7 and 10. Extreme pH values

can result from accidental spills, treatment breakdowns, and insufficiently cured cement mortar

pipe linings (WHO 1996).

• The DO was found higher in all but two jars. The high value of DO is good. This is an indicator of

low Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and hence low organic matter in the water. Thus, there is

low eutrophication. The low value of DO in jar 11, the jar in Palanchok Bhagawati, was found to

be low due to the higher organic content from bird droppings being washed directly into the tank

from the roof. Depletion of oxygen may create odor problems by encouraging the reduction of

nitrate to nitrite and sulfate to sulfide. However, DO has no effect on the drinking water quality for

health.

• Lead was found in two jars, jars no. 4 and 6. Jar 6 had slightly high lead content approaching

WHO guideline. There is no satisfying reason to be given for that. The sampling area is not

polluted by fuel using vehicles. Lead compounds may leach from PVC piping. It may also dissolve

in to water from pipes, solders and fittings in lead containing plumbing. There is possibility of

contamination from lead containing vessels and objects (like batteries) brought in contact with the

water by the user. Contamination might have occurred during sampling.

• Sulfate was totally absent in jars no. 2,4,5,7,9 and 10. There was very little found in the rest.




48

• Jar no. 8 was found to be soft water with a total hardness of 67 mg/L. Jars no. 2,4,5,6,9,10 and

11were found to contain moderately hard water. Jar no. 7 had hard water with 178 mg/L as the

total hardness. Total hardness of 0-75 mg/L denotes soft water, 75-150 mg/L denotes moderately

hard water and 150- 300-mg/L hard water (APHA, AWWA, WPCF, 1995). Depending on pH and

alkalinity, hardness of above about 200 mg/L can result in scale deposition, particularly on heating

and soft waters with hardness of less than about 100 mg/L have low buffering capacity and may be

more corrosive to water pipes (WHO, 1993). Thus, jar no. 7 may be corrosive to pipes. None of

the jars’ water would cause scale deposition.




49

Table 2 Quantitative analysis results of rainwater harvested in the rainwater jars of Jhiku

Khola

Date of sampling: i) 15/2/2001 and

ii) 16/2/2001

Jar numbers parameters units WHO (drinking water)

guideline

2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

temperature 0C 15.00 18.00 15.00 14.00 17.00 20.00 20.00 15.00 13.00

turbidity NTU 25.00 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5

pH _ 5.5-8.5 9.00 8.90 9.50 9.30 11.40 8.50 9.30 11.50 8.90

Conductivity μs/cm 1250.00 140.00 368.00 123.00 164.00 753.00 159.00 125.00 866.00 309.00

Ammonia N-

Mg/L

1.50 0.41 0.08 0.08 0.06 0.59 0.00 1.04 0.25 6.37

Nitrate N-

mg/L

50.00 0.44 6.60 7.48 20.24 29.04 7.48 0.88 0.44 1.76

Phosphate P-mg/L 1.2-0.4 0.54 0.19 0.13 0.08 0.31 0.05 0.31 0.03 1.29

Sulfate Mg/L 500.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.00 0.00 11.00 0.00 0.00 10.00

Total Hardness Mg/L 500.00 109.00 135.00 87.00 91.00 178.00 67.00 93.00 91.00 119.00

Ca- Hardness Mg/L - 135.00 137.00 53.00 61.00 75.00 182.00 149.00 214.00 131.00

Total Alkalinity Mg/l - 111.00 131.00 52.00 63.00 204.00 61.00 91.00 224.00 95.00

DO Mg/L 5.00 5.80 3.10 6.00 5.70 5.90 5.60 5.60 6.00 2.60

total iron Mg/L 2-.03 0.04 0.02 0.09 0.03 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

lead Mg/L 0.010 0.000 0.003 0.000 0.005 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

zinc Mg/L 3.000 0.000 0.630 0.100 0.360 0.460 0.130 0.210 0.200 0.750

(WHO guidelines of 1993 are used here.)

(As previously mentioned, this analytical part of the project was carried out along with Ms. Schaffner,

whose report is still in press.)




50

4.3.2. Estimation of the appropriate tank size for domestic uses

The storage size of harvested rain can be determined by the following factors:

• Available data on the local amount and pattern of rainfall

• The water demand rate

• The use of the water

• The catchment area available

• The runoff coefficient, which depends on the roof material and slope

• The number of users ( per household using the RWHS)

• The style of the RWHS.

There are three methods that can be employed to determine the storage:

• The demand side approach for rough estimates

• The supply side approach for low or unevenly distributed rainfall areas

• The computer model, which needs 15 years of monthly rainfall data of an area.

The method used in this study to estimate the storage size for Kubhinde VDC is the second one, the

supply side approach, due to the local temporal variation of rainfall as well as the unavailability of

monthly rainfall data of more than a couple of years. The following parameters were considered for

this area-

Individuals per household: 7

Daily demand per individual: 20 L

Demand per month: 7*20*30/1000= 4.2 cum

A runoff loss due to leakage in gutters, evaporation & other reasons : 0.002




51

Owing to the roof slope, the roof’s surface area is much greater than the actual catchment area of

the house, which is the house’s footprint or area. The slope of the roof doesn’t influence the

amount of rain catched.

Three possible roof areas, 14, 35 and 56 sq.m. were firstly taken. (Note - 1 bundle of CGI sheets is

72 feet long 2.5 ft wide. This is equal to an area of 16.7 sq. m. but due to overlapping & projection,

an effective area of 14 sq. m. is taken as A1, for a small house. For a medium house with two

rooms & double this area, as 24' * 14', two bundles will be needed, giving 28 sq. m. effective

catchment. 35 sq.m would correspond to 2 and ½ bundle while 56 sq.m. would be 4 bundles.)

Runoff coefficient: 0.8

Calculations:

For each month, the roof runoff ( Ro) was calculated using the formula

The rainfall R for each month was calculated by spreadsheet for each area A separately.

The cumulative demand and the cumulative runoff from each roof area were calculated. The

difference then as used to determine the tank size required.

Figure 5 Basic steps to calculate storage size of a RWH tank

The following table displays the available two-year rainfall data of Kubhinde and the average used in

calculations.

Ro = ((0.8*(R))-0.002)*A

Cumulative runoff minus cumulative Surplus

Storage size




52

Table 3 Two-year rainfall data of Kuhbinde

M 1998(m)

1999(m)

R

jun 0.15 0.33 0.24

jul 0.32 0.34 0.33

aug 0.29 0.34 0.32

sept 0.15 0.17 0.16

oct 0.03 0.20 0.11

nov 0.01 0.00 0.01

dec 0.00 0.00 0.00

jan 0.00 0.01 0.00

feb 0.02 0.00 0.01

mar 0.08 0.00 0.04

apr 0.05 0.01 0.03

may 0.19 0.09 0.14

The annual rainfall average from the obtained data is found to be 1.39 m i.e.1390mm.

The ensuing tables in the next page shows the results of the calculations followed by explanations.

The storage size required can also be found from the graph of the cumulative demand and cumulative

runoff as shown subsequently.


Shrestha, G. 2001. Water Harvesting In Nepal As An Appropriate Technology: The Global And Local Perspective On The Realities And Potential

For Sustainable Rural Community Livelihood. B.Sc. Thesis. Kathmandu University.

53

Table 4 Capacity of rain jars needed to store the runoff from various sized roofs in Kubhinde

M R c A1 A2 A3 d cd ro1 cr1 Diff1 ro2 cr2 diff2 d2m cd2m Diff2m ro3 cr3 diff3 d3m cd3m diff3m

jun 0.24 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 4.20 2.68 2.68 -1.52 6.71 6.71 2.51 4.20 4.20 2.51 10.74 10.74 6.54 5.00 5.00 5.74

jul 0.33 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 8.40 3.62 6.30 -2.10 9.05 15.76 7.36 4.20 8.40 7.36 14.48 25.22 16.82 5.00 10.00 15.22

aug 0.32 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 12.60 3.53 9.83 -2.77 8.82 24.58 11.98 4.20 12.60 11.98 14.11 39.33 26.73 5.00 15.00 24.33

sept 0.16 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 16.80 1.78 11.61 -5.19 4.45 29.03 12.23 4.20 16.80 12.23 7.12 46.45 29.65 5.00 20.00 26.45

oct 0.11 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 21.00 1.22 12.83 -8.17 3.04 32.07 11.07 1.80 18.60 13.47 4.86 51.31 30.31 4.20 24.20 27.11

nov 0.01 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 25.20 0.05 12.88 -

12.32

0.13 32.20 7.00 1.80 20.40 11.80 0.21 51.52 26.32 4.20 28.40 23.12

dec 0.00 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 29.40 -

0.01

12.87 -

16.53

-

0.03

32.17 2.77 1.80 22.20 9.97 -0.05 51.46 22.06 4.20 32.60 18.86

jan 0.00 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 33.60 0.01 12.87 -

20.73

0.02 32.18 -1.42 1.80 24.00 8.18 0.03 51.49 17.89 4.20 36.80 14.69

feb 0.01 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 37.80 0.10 12.97 -

24.83

0.24 32.43 -5.37 1.80 25.80 6.63 0.39 51.88 14.08 4.90 41.70 10.18

mar 0.04 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 42.00 0.44 13.41 -

28.59

1.10 33.52 -8.48 2.10 27.90 5.62 1.76 53.64 11.64 4.90 46.60 7.04

apr 0.03 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 46.20 0.29 13.70 -

32.50

0.72 34.24 -

11.96

4.20 32.10 2.14 1.15 54.79 8.59 4.90 51.50 3.29

may 0.14 0.80 14.00 35.00 56.00 4.20 50.40 1.50 15.19 -

35.21

3.74 37.98 -

12.42

4.20 36.30 1.68 5.98 60.77 10.37 4.90 56.40 4.37

M denotes the month

A* is the projected roof area, as 14, 35 and 56 sq.m corresponding to A1, A2, and A3.

R is the average rainfall in m

C is the runoff coefficient,

D* is the average monthly demand, cd* is the cumulative demand,

Ro* is the monthly runoff from the roof, cr* is the cumulative runoff,

Diff* is the difference between the cumulative runoff and the cumulative demand

Dm* is the modified demand when demand is also met by other alternative sources of water like

springs recharged after the monsoon rains, cd*m is the corresponding cumulative demand and

diff*m is the corresponding difference with the cumulative runoff.

(Note: ‘*’ denotes 1,2 or 3.)




54

Undertaking similar calculations as previously, surplus runoff from other roof areas of 28, 42 and

49 sq. m were taken to give the following results in together with the previous roof areas, except

for the 14 sq.m. area.

Table 5 Surplus runoff from 5 roof areas

Surplus runoff (cum) from 5 Roof sizes month R 28sq.m. 35sq.m. 35sq.m. (modified

demand) 42sq.m. 49sq.m. 56sq.m. 56sq.m.

(modified demand)

jun 0.24 -0.81 2.51 2.51 0.88 1.72 6.54 5.74 jul 0.33 2.00 7.36 7.36 7.20 9.80 16.82 15.22 aug 0.32 4.27 11.98 11.98 12.70 16.92 26.73 24.33 sept 0.16 3.37 12.23 12.23 13.45 18.49 29.65 26.45 oct 0.11 -0.30 11.07 13.47 10.05 15.23 30.31 27.11 nov 0.01 -4.28 7.00 11.80 6.19 11.42 26.32 23.12 dec 0.00 -8.50 2.77 9.97 1.95 7.18 22.06 18.86 jan 0.00 -12.75 -1.42 8.18 -2.33 2.88 17.89 14.69 feb 0.01 -16.51 -5.37 6.63 -5.86 -0.54 14.08 10.18 mar 0.04 -18.91 -8.48 5.62 -7.36 -1.59 11.64 7.04 apr 0.03 -22.05 -11.96 2.14 -9.98 -3.95 8.59 3.29 may 0.14 -22.14 -12.42 1.68 -8.01 -0.95 10.37 4.37

The table below presents the percentage of demand met by runoff from the roof sizes mentioned

previously.

Table 6 Percentage of demand met by runoff form variously sized roofs

Roof area (sq.m.) 14 28 35mod 35 42 49 56mod 56

Cumulative runoff (cum.) 15.19 28.3 37.98 37.98 42.4 49.5 60.76 60.76

Gross annual demand (cum.) 50.00 50.00 36.30 50.00 50.00 50.00 46.40 50.00

Percentage of demand met ( %) 30.14 57 105 75.36 85 99 131 121




55

4.3.2.1. Analysis of 6 cases

Case Scenario 1

For 14 sq.m., a storage of 11.6 cu.m after the monsoon, could be made to supply water for the rest

of the year, provided no rain water is used during these 4 months, & alternative sources are

used It is clear that the demand is always more than the runoff from 14sq.m in the first year. 35

% of the following year’s demand is met by the total runoff from the roof, provided that none is

used during the ongoing year.

Case Scenario2

For 28-sq. m., which would amount to two CGI bundles, a maximum storage capacity of 4.2 cu.m

would be needed to collect the runoff. The total runoff would then meet 57 % of the annual

demand of water.

Case Scenario 3

For a catchment of 35 sq.m., a maximum storage capacity of 14 cum. could be considered to store

runoff, as 12 cu.m. is the approximate maximum runoff collected in the year, with the equal

demand per month. The total runoff collected is 75 % of the annual demand.

With modified demand, according to more rainwater consumption during monsoon and pre-

monsoon but less during post monsoon with use of alternative sources like the recharged springs,

the, maximum runoff collected would be approximately 14 cu.m. Then, 105 % of the modified

demand, which is 36.3 cum, would be met.

Case Scenario 4

For an area of 42-sq. m., that is equivalent to 3 CGI bundles, a maximum storage of 14 cu.m.

would be appropriate, as that is the maximum monthly runoff that can be collected. 85 % of the

total demand can be met by the total runoff.




56

Case Scenario 5

For an area of 49 sq.m., a maximum storage capacity of 19 cum would be sufficient to store the

annual runoff. This tank size and roof size would produce a total runoff of 49.5 cum, which meets

99% of the annual demand, which is 50 cum.

Case Scenario 6

For area of 56 cum., a maximum runoff of approximately 30 cum. can be collected. This should

thus be the tank size. A cumulative runoff of approximately 61 cum. is collected, which is 121 %

of the total demand.

It is seen that if even if we increase the consumption to 5 cum. in the monsoon 4 months, decrease

to 4.2 cum for the following 4 months & then increase to 4.9 cum., there still is enough water in

the tank to meet the demand in the following June, in case the monsoon is late. The total modified

annual demand would then become 46.4 cum and the total runoff would them meet 131 % of that

demand.

4.3.2.2. Judging the right size

It thus seems that for Kubhinde VDC, a roof catchment of 49sq.m. with a storage of 19 cum would

be an ideal situation for water harvesting as it would meet 99 % of the annual demand. This would

mean the need to use 49/14= 3 ½ bundles of CGI sheets to cover a house of 49sq.m., which would

be more than three times the usual small farmer’s house. At least 9 two cum ferrocement jars of

the kind presently used in other parts of the Jhiku Khola watershed would be necessary.

Financially, this is beyond the poor farmers’ capability.

More practically, a storage size of 14 cum for a roof catchment of 35sq.m. with modified demand

would be good, as it would satisfy 105 % of the year’s water demand. This would mean the

construction of 7 two cum ferrocement jars and the use of 2½ CGI bundles on a relatively big

house.




57

4.3.2.3.Graphical representation

For the sake of clarity, only three roof areas, 14, 35 and 56 sq.m. have been illustrated graphically.

Roof runoff is minimum between November and December and continues to be low till

January for all roof sizes, as seen from fig. 11. Then as February approaches, the runoff begins

to rise slowly. The maximum is reached between July and August.

The graphical representation of the cumulative demand and the cumulative runoffs in Fig. 12

shows that for the 14 sq.m. roof area’s runoff curve is always below the cumulative demand.

This thereby shows perennial deficit. For the 35 sq.m. line, a deficit is seen towards the end of

December, when the curve crosses the demand line and plunges in slowly down till February-

March when it slowly begins to rise up again. The 54 sq.m. curve is always above the demand

curve. There is thus no deficit at all throughout the year and a year long surplus of water is

seen to occur.

In fig. 13, the surplus runoff from the three roof areas is shown, taking the usual constant

demand as well as the demand modified and made uneven according to the availability of rain

water in addition to other alternatives like recharged springs after the monsoon season. It is

seen that the surplus runoff (diff1) for 14 sq.m. is always below the 0 line and is hence non-

existent. There is a deficit, which keeps on increasing s the months proceed. The usual surplus

runoff (diff2) as well as the modified surplus runoff (diff2m) for 35 sq.m. is the same till

September. In October, while all the other roof areas except the 14 sq.m. area see a rise in

surplus runoff, diff2 i.e. the roof area of 35 sq.m. begins to decline till the runoff becomes a

deficit in January. The maximum surplus runoff is reached in October for all except the two

mentioned previously. In November, the surplus runoff amount begins fall for all roof areas

and corresponding demands. April is the month when the minima are reached. From there, the

surplus begins to rise except for the 14sq.m. roof area.

In fig.14 and fig.15, we see that the rainfall increases in June till the maximum is reached in

July. The minimum is reached in December, after which a slight but gradual rise is observed.

Figure 6 Runoff from roofs of various sizes




58

-2.00

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

jun jul aug sept oct nov dec jan feb mar apr may

months

volu

me

( cum

)

runoff from 14 sq.m. runoff from 35 sq.m. runoff from 56 sq.m.


Shrestha, G. 2001. Water Harvesting In Nepal As An Appropriate Technology: The Global And Local Perspective On The Realities And Potential For Sustainable Rural Community Livelihood. B.Sc.

Thesis. Kathmandu University.

59

Figure 7 The cumulative demand in comparison with the cumulative runoff from three roof areas

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00


months

amou

nt o

f rai

n ( c

um)

cumlative demand cumulative runoff from 14sq.m.

cumulative runoff from 35sq.m. cumulative runoff from 56sq.m.




60

Figure 8 Surplus runoff from three roof areas for each month of the year

- 4 0 .0 0

- 3 0 .0 0

- 2 0 .0 0

- 1 0 .0 0

0 .0 0

1 0 .0 0

2 0 .0 0

3 0 .0 0

4 0 .0 0

surp

lus r

unof

f (st

orag

e re

quire

d) fo

r diff

eren

t roo

f are

as a

nd d

eman

d (c

um

d i f f3 m 5 .7 4 1 5 .2 2 2 4 .3 3 2 6 .4 5 2 7 .1 1 2 3 .1 2 1 8 .8 6 1 4 .6 9 1 0 .1 8 7 .0 4 3 .2 9 4 .3 7

d i ff3 6 .5 4 1 6 .8 2 2 6 .7 3 2 9 .6 5 3 0 .3 1 2 6 .3 2 2 2 .0 6 1 7 .8 9 1 4 .0 8 1 1 .6 4 8 .5 9 1 0 .3 7

d i ff2 m 2 .5 1 7 .3 6 1 1 .9 8 1 2 .2 3 1 3 .4 7 1 1 .8 0 9 .9 7 8 .1 8 6 .6 3 5 .6 2 2 .1 4 1 .6 8

d i ff2 2 .5 1 7 .3 6 1 1 .9 8 1 2 .2 3 1 1 .0 7 7 .0 0 2 .7 7 - 1 .4 2 - 5 .3 7 - 8 .4 8 - 1 1 .9 6 - 1 2 .4 2

d i ff1 - 1 .5 2 - 2 .1 0 - 2 .7 7 - 5 .1 9 - 8 .1 7 - 1 2 .3 2 - 1 6 .5 3 - 2 0 .7 3 - 2 4 .8 3 - 2 8 .5 9 - 3 2 .5 0 - 3 5 .2 1

ju n ju l a u g s e p t o c t n o v d e c ja n fe b m a r a p r m a y




61

Figure 9 Average rainfall in Kubhinde VDC

0.000

0.050

0.100

0.150

0.200

0.250

0.300

0.350


months

aver

age

rain

fall

( m)




62

Figure 10 Rainfall variation in 1998 and 1999 in Kubhinde

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

rainfall ( m)


months

rainfall 1998 rainfall 1999




63

4.4. The ICIMOD-Godawari Trial and Demonstration site

Among the various WH technologies already described previously in another section, the spring water

harvesting through brick and concrete a spring box at the base of a hill was the one observed first during

the field visit, done in May, 2001. A sand filter filters the spring water percolating from the upper parts

of this vegetated hill near which the spring box is closely constructed. The water in it appeared very

clean and fresh. The spring box is open and pipes take the water to taps in other locations in the T and D

site.

The gravity flow system was found to be used to harvest spring as well as stream water in the site.

Polythene pipes have been used to collect the water upland from the source and it is allowed to flow

through filtration chambers comprising pebbles and boulders. After percolating through these chmabers,

the water is allowed to flow through distribution chambers from where it is directed towards various

locations the site for irrigation purposes.

The water from the plastic lined, on ground open pond which has been built to collect rain in situ as well

from upland catchments and from a couple of streams, is used for irrigating the site’s nursery and other

plants. This water is also used to generate electricity through a peltric set to light 18 energy saving bulbs,

as shown in the picture.

Two 2 cum ferrocement jars like the ones in Jhiku Khola were observed. One is built near the ICIMOD

training center collecting water from its roof, which is has a very wide area. The other one’s roof

catchment is of normal size.




64

Conclusion

The Jhiku Khola RWHS

In respect to the harvested rainwater survey and analysis in the Jhiku Khola Watershed, the following

conclusions can be drawn from the results and findings:

1. The water in all jars except one was found to be generally good and fit for drinking even after 6

months of being collected. The water was clear and cool too. What can be concluded is that

rainwater can be a viable alternative for domestic purposes even after six months of storage in a

ferrocement jar. To make judgements for a period beyond that, further and deeper analysis needs to

be done.

2. The jar users were very well versed with the usage of rainwater and on the maintenance of the jars.

Their personal commitment and enthusiasm is a proof of the success of the whole program.

Figure 11. The success of private RWHS in Jhiku Khola

3. The best quality of rainwater was found in a the only jar collecting rain from a cement tile roof, in

contrast to all the other jars which have CGI roof catchments. This might prove that cement tiles are

better cathment areas than CGI sheets but further investigation into this matter is needed.

4. The worst quality of stored rainwater was found in the jar of the Palanchok Bhagawati temple due to

the plethora of pigeons on the roof and their waste, which flows directly into the tank with the rain.

5. Community rainwater harvesting has proven to be a failure in the case of the Palanchok Bhagwati

Temple. Lack of attention towards cleaning the roof catchment at regular intervals, esp. before rains

have proven to be unfortunate. The water is not fit for drinking at all and the local people don’t drink

it, out of suspicion. The jar tap, being kept locked, is not publicly accessible unless the key bearer is

summoned. This has made a community facility somewhat constrained within personal authority,

something which shouldn’t be happening.

Private RWHS Sense of ownership and Care and

Success




65

6. Another public rainwater harvesting structure, which has been a complete failure, it the one built in

the Palanchok Bhagwati Madhyamik Vidyalaya (a public school). The placement of the ferrocement

jar was totally wrong and the absence of a tap shows how neglected it is. It was not being used at all.

The availability of pumped tap water was given as an excuse. This shows what inadequate planning

and research as well as what construction for the sake of construction can do to the outcome.

Figure 12 The fate of public RWHS in JhikuKhola

In respect to the appropriate sizing of RWHSs, it seen that

1. Increasing the roof catchment area can give more surplus runoff, allowing the use of smaller

capacities of tanks to provide for a given demand.

2. The rainwater can not serve as a sole source of water for the average mountain farmer who doesn’t

have sufficient financial resources to augment his/her roof catchment area as this would suggest the

need to build a bigger house, annexed to the old one or even replacing the old one.

The organizations

The organizations and agencies involved in water harvesting in Nepal are doing a commendable job. All

are apparently very arduous. Those who have done some work already have done it well and those who

haven’t started work directly are making impressive plans, which if implemented, could really give

excellent outcomes. A majority of them seem to be working on the similar type of technology, the

ferrocement tank technology. All are being funded by some foreign grant money. What comes to mind

here, is what a respondent from one of those organizations said. What he said was that this job so

inspiring and fulfilling because you can see the direct result of your labor and you can see the boundless

joy in the eyes of the of the recipients of your help or the water users when they finally get water which

was previously scarce. That feeling of gratitude that that you see makes all the hardship worth it.

Public RWHS Neglect

Failure

No sense of individual ownership




66

The database

Finally, skimming of the multitudes of global and local water harvesting technologies revealed the

immense development and research that has already been carried out in this sector. Scientists and

development agencies are moving towards sustainable water harvesting technologies. Several

technologies developed in developed countries like Australia and Germany are good for their local

geologic, climatic and economic conditions but not for a mountainous and developing country like

Nepal which has monsoon climatic type. Thus, careful consideration should be taken while selecting a

technology for Nepal.

To find out some appropriate WH technologies for the rural parts of Nepal, a selection from the database

was done on the basis of three criteria: cost, raw materials and relative advantages. 26 entries were

chosen. The results are displayed as follows in the next page:




67

Table 7 Best technologies based on criteria of cost, raw materials and advantage

Country/

Institution

technology/ product

name

Capacity

(cum)

cost

NRs

keywords remarks

Zimbabwe ferrocement tank 10 1125 Domestic, above ground.

Roof, ferrocement

GOOD FOR NEPAL. 6 sq. m. iron sheet metal roof or lid, sheeting/mortar roof

Australia Hippo tank 6 portable, rectangular,

irrigation, on ground, plastic,

clay

GOOD FOR NEPAL.

Honduras steel tank 0 975 domestic, above ground,

metal

Old steel barrels, not good but used by the poor people in the outskirts.

India Bamboo & plastic

tank

23 6250 domestic, above ground,

bamboo, plastic, concrete

Bamboo made non-biodegradable by soaking in 450g of sodium dichromate, 300g

of copper sulphate and 150g of boric acid dissolved in 10litres of water. GOOD

FOR NEPAL.

India-

Mumbai

ferrocement tank domestic, above ground,

ferrocement

This is easily made. Shape is circular. The cover is made of three patches of

cement & reinforcing bars. GOOD for NEPAL.

India-

Nagercoil

Ferrocement tank 10 domestic, above ground,

ferrocement

VERY GOOD FOR NEPAL. Punctured plastic bowl with stones & sand in basin

sealed with cement to cylindrical tank. Corrugated asbestos sheet cover. 18"

concrete plinth below tank. No waste of storage &b easy to place bucket. Seal tank

with tape after filling

Bangladesh

-Hatya

Island

pond 31875 domestic, on ground, fish,

clay, pond

Provides 80 % of the water demand. Surrounded by mud bunds & trees for

protection & so that surface water can't enter & bottom is free of sediments. Costs

depend on lining. GOOD.225 sq. m. capacity.

Nepal-

Kubhinde

underground cement

tank

10 25000 irrigation, underground,

cement

GOOD.1500 sq.m. catchment runoff passes through 5 ditches before collected in

last tank.

Srilanka-

Ahaspokuna

brick tank 3 76683 above ground, brick,mortar,

irrigation

The lid is a removable wooden frame covered with a fine nylon mesh which filters

out debris such as leaves and twig. Small fish are kept in the tank, preventing algal

growth & build up opf organic material. GOOD FOR NEPAL

Srilanka-

Kandi

partially

underground brick

tank ( with others)

10 383417 partially underground, brick,

mortar, domestic, irrigation

Combined with above ground & on ground tank. Galvanized sheet lid. GOOD

FOR NEPAL.

Thailand brick tank 14 domestic, aboveground,

ferrocement

GOOD FOR NEPAL. Requires no formwork, masons can easily work on it & can

be made into any shape.

Thailand Unreinforced

cement mortar jar

1 domestic, sawdust, cement,

sack, above ground

Can be reinforced with chicken mesh & hence become a ferrocement tank.

Cumbersome for large jars. PROBABLY GOOD FOR NEPAL.

Uganda-

Kampala

Stabilized soil block

tanks

3 above ground, soil blocks,

clay

Concrete plinths. No metal reinforcement. Red pozzolanic soil blocks with 6 or 3

% cement. Experimental. GOOD

Uganda/AC

CORD

tarpaulin tank 6 3000 domestic, on ground, plastic Hole lined with Tarpaulin. Water extracted through window in surrounding o.6 m

mud wall lined with plastic sacking. Lid of corrugated iron sheet has hole with

filter cloth through which water flows in through downpipe from roof. VERY

GOOD FOR NEPAL.

Country/

Institution

technology/ product

name

Capacity

(cum)

cost

NRs

keywords remarks




68

USA-

arizona

Stock tank 0 animals, landscape, clay, on

ground

Soil pushed downslope forming a barrier or retaining wall in path of seasonal

runoff. 2-4 feet water. GOOD in remote areas where water can not be hauled up.

Only cost of labour.

Brazil,

Argentina,

Venezuela

runoff collection

from paved/unpaved

roads

24 150000 irrigation, on ground,

underground, roads

Components include a collection area, drainage system, storage area, and

distribution system. Gutters 40*1*1cu.m. Perpendicular/parallel to road convey

runoff to roadside ditches & underground galleries 25.35 cum. after being

screened. GOOD.

Nepal-

Gulmi

ferrocement 20 150000 domestic, above ground,

ferrocement

Till 1989, three were made in two schools & village committee office. GOOD for

clustered roof areas & large buildings.10 % cost by community.

India- Tamil

Nadu

oorany 10000 525000 irrigation, domestic, on

ground

6 ha.catchment. Bunds made from excavated earth. Oorany connected to

abstraction draw well 3 m wide & as deep as it by pipe. 39200 till date. GOOD.

Bangladesh open sky rainwater

harvesting

525 domestic, above ground,

sarees, plastic, bamboo,

irrigation

Two corrugated iron sheets supported by 4 bamboo stands in such a way as to be

slanting & collect water in vessels. Polythene sheet supported by bamboo sticks &

with hole at center held down by stone, t o collect water below it. GOOD.Variable

capacity.

India-

Rajkot

percolation

pond/well

12500 562500 animals, on ground,

percolation, pond

Rainwater diverted to well through channels & pipes. Soil around it ploughed.

Water spreads to farm 24 hrs. after showers fill the well. GOOD.

Burundi plastered/f

errocement basket

( bamboo)

1350 bamboo, granary basket,

concrete, rocks, ferrocement,

domestic, above ground

Called 'Ghala Tank',. Lid of Cement mortar. Source (UNICEF, 1982). GOOD FOR

NEPAL

Kenya Unreinforced

cement mortar jars


sawdust, sacks


Tanzania Unreinforced

cement mortar jars


sawdust, sacks


China-

Shanxi

water storage wells 15 domestic, irrigation, lime,

clay, underground, landscape,

lime, clay,

Inflow pipe of tile/earthenware/bamboo with wire mesh leads to well chamber

from silt basin. Sand & gravel at base, brick/stone platform at

mouth.Cover.GOOD.

China water cave/wells 0 domestic, irrigation,

underground, landscape,

masonry

Entrance dug at foot of terrace>3m.Inflow canal diverts water to stone based

cave.On slope/flatland where water can be collected from gully. Evaporation &

seepage losses minimum. GOOD for Nepal.

India Bamboo & plastic

tank

2 625 domestic, above ground,

bamboo, plastic, concrete

Bamboo made non-biodegradable by soaking in 450g of sodium dichromate, 300g

of copper sulphate and 150g of boric acid dissolved in 10litres of water. GOOD

Nevertheless, whichever technologies are presumed to be the best, it is the people who have to make

them work. Many technologies, which have been imported from other countries, have been modified

before implementation in many countries. This kind of flexibility should be made a priority to make

newly introduced technologies work.

Recommendations

“We must learn to recognize the boundaries of poverty. A project that does not fit educationally and

organizationally into the environment will be an economic failure and cause disruption”




69

- E.F. Schumacher

The following view of Dunn (1978) is of importance in this particular context. According to him, it is

essential that from the beginning of a project, attention should be paid to the potential users, who must

be introduced to the development and also to local manufacture possibilities so that the market can build

up together with a suitable source of supply. He further elaborates by pointing out that the take-up by

industry is of fundamental importance and is too often completely overlooked.

Figure 13 A typical Development flowchart

(Dunn, 1978)

What shouldn’t happen to any water harvesting technology that is developed, is the possibility of it

being driven to dereliction after some years of field trial. This is what has been seen to occur in past

typical development activities in developing countries, as shown in Dunn’s model above.

In view of past experiences and findings from this study, the following recommendations can be given:

1. The practice of placing logs and bamboo stands on roofs should be discouraged.

2. Proper handling of the rainwater jars should be given priority by the users. The dipping of containers

directly into the jar to get water should be entirely discouraged.

3. Research and investigation the quality of rainwater in relation to various roofing and guttering

materials should be undertaken soon.

4. An adjustment in the consumption patterns of the users is necessary, depending on the availability of

water, including rainwater and alternative sources like post monsoon recharged springs.

5. In order to increase the roof catchment size of rainwater, instead of building bigger houses, the used

of other surfaces like the roof of stables, balconies, even the toilet and other structures around the

house would be good.

Solution Design Need Prototype constructi

Field trial

Conference paper Equipmen

t to




70

6. One of the jar users’ idea of building one more jar each year should be adopted by those who can

afford it.

7. Formworks or casts of bigger sizes should be made available to the people so that they can decide

which size to build- bigger but less jars or smaller but less jars.

8. Necessary steps should be undertaken to rectify some of the problems related to the couple of

rainwater jars in the Jhiku Khola watershed. Very frequent cleaning of the roof in Palanchok

Bhagawati temple should be done. The school of the same name should be made to place a tap on its

jar and a major school awareness campaign on water harvesting is also strongly recommended.

9. Before undertaking any development or research activity in an area, its actual need, purpose and

scope needs to be assessed carefully. If any other future development activity, for the same area and

for the same purpose, is being planned for the near future, evaluation of both should be done

beforehand and if necessary, one should be dropped or done somewhere else where it has better

viability.

10. A mechanism to generate and distribute low interest loans for communities eager and willing to

build RWHSs should be created. Coordination between loan providing agencies, technological

experts, extension officers and the local individuals should be made a priority.

11. The creation of “Rainwater Users’ Groups (RUGs)” is emphatically suggested. If the local people

can organize themselves and have a common fund for rainwater jar construction, those with jars

could get loans from the same fund to construct more jars and those without, could make such jars.

12. Constant monitoring of the implemented technology is needed to be done, either by the

implementing agency or the research agency.

13. The most successful action plan would be to train the local people for the maintenance and

continuance of the technology, and its construction as well.

14. Training of trainers should also be given so that the knowledge from the training is not lost or

confined to any small sample of the local population and so that it can be spread indiscriminately.

This will guarantee the constant provision of data to even agencies, which are or will be involved

only in research of those technologies.




71

15. Transfer of the technological know-how and rights to local masons, builders, contractors,

businessmen and anyone with even remote chances of being interested in those technologies and

their expansion should be done.

16. The local community’s participation should be solicited from the project policy and planning phase

till the field trial and implementation and monitoring. Even research can not succeed without

acknowledging the community’s rights and giving it it’s due respect.

17. The local people should be consulted even in the course of the design and development of

technologies. They know best about any technology’s compatibility with their environment and

socio-economic conditions. No amount to of academic or organizational research can compete with

that.

18. Any technology imported from other countries or even other regions within the same country need to

be modified according to locally available raw materials, the local socio-economic and demographic

situations and the local environment.

19. The question of sustainability should be raised in each and every step of the process so that the

technology becomes sustainable beyond any doubts.

20. There is a need for the water harvesting organizations to become more transparent in their job and

publish results of their research and activities promptly, avoiding overlapping or repetition of similar

or even same types of research and trials. This would prove wise from the financial point of view.

Vital hours and days could be utilized towards innovative research and development of other new

technologies.

21. Coordination and exchange of technologies needs to be done between the concerned agencies.

22. There is an acute need for a national policy on water harvesting, without which no formal local,

regional or national action plan can be formulated for its development and implementation on a

wider scale. WECS should gather more momentum in this direction. The related organizations

should make their constant support, feedback and attention available to WECS too.

23. Several technologies need to be tested simultaneously under similar conditions to know their

viability.

24. Finally, the above recommendations summarized taking inspiration from Dunn (1978) in the

following steps which should be taken when developing any water harvesting technology:




72

i. Local skills should be employed

i. Local financial resources should be employed

ii. The technology should be compatible with local cultures and practices

iii. The local wishes and needs should be satisfied.




73

Chapter 8 References

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28. http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/Publications/TechPublications/TechPub-8e/community.asp




74

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Shrestha, G. 2001. Water Harvesting In Nepal As An Appropriate Technology: The Global And Local Perspective On The Realities

And Potential For Sustainable Rural Community Livelihood. B.Sc. Thesis. Kathmandu University.

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Books and others

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Harvesting in the HKH, Vol. 1. ICIMOD, Nepal.

Banskota, M. and Chalise, S.R. (Ed.), 2000. Waters of Life: Perspectives of Water

Harvesting in the HKH , Vol. 2. ICIMOD, Nepal.

Bajracharya, D.R., Dahal, B.M., Merz J., Nakarmi, G., Shakya, S., Sharma, S., 2000.

Report on Methodology Adopted for Physical and Chemical Analysis of Water.

PARDYP/ International Center for Integrated Mountain Development and the Department

of Environmental & Biological Sciences, Kathmandu University, Nepal.

Center for Rural Technology, 1999. The Proceedings of the National Workshop on Local

Water Harvesting Systems (LWHS) for Mountain Households. Nepal.

Chaudhari, M.A., 1997. Water Harvesting- A Key Factor for Sustainable Agriculture in

Arid Regions in Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on Sustainable Agriculture in

Dry and Cold Mountain Areas held in from Sept 25-27, 1995. Pakistan Agricultural

Research Council and ICIMOD.

CIRDAP, 1997. Rural Water Supply in Asia. Center for Integrated Rural Development

for Asia and the Pacific, India.

Dubbeldam, F., 1979. Ferrocement Water Tank: Test Tank and General Information.

Local Development Department, Community Water Supply, Pokhara, Nepal.

Dunn, P.D., 1978. Appropriate Technology: Technology with a Human Face. Mac Millan

Press Ltd., UK.

ENPHO, 1996. A survey report on Water Quality testing from Different

Rainwater Collection Systems and other Water Sources in Daungha VDC, Gulmi, Nepal.




78

Masina Continental Associates Pvt. Ltd., Udaya Consultancy and Seth Engineering

Services Pvt. Ltd., 2000. Feasibility and Project Preparation Studies on Rainwater

Harvesting and its Use in Nepal: Draft report. Nepal.

Nakarmi, G and Neupane, P., 1999. Construction of a Water Harvesting tank- Experience

from Kubhinde in the Jhiku Khola Watershed, Nepal in People and Resource Dynamics

Project: the First Three Years (1996-1999), Proceedings of a Workshop held in Baoshan,

China. IDRC, Canada.

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Opportunities. National Academy of Sciences, USA.

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Pacey, A. and Cullis, A, 1986. Rainwater Harvesting: the Collection of Rainfall and

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RWSSSP, 2000. How to Build Rainwater Collection System (Construction Manual).

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Shafiq, M., Ikram, M.Z. and Nasir, A., 1997. Water Harvesting Techniques for

Sustainable Agriculture in Dry and Cold Mountain Area in Proceedings of the Regional

Workshop on Sustainable Agriculture in Dry and Cold Mountain Areas held in from Sept

25-27, 1995. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and ICIMOD.

State of the Environment Report of Nepal, 2000. HMG Ministry of Population and

Environment, Nepal.

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Development Research Center (IDRC) Canada..




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The Resource Agency, 1981. Captured Rainfall: Small Scale Water Supply Systems,

Bulletin 213. Department of Water Resources, State of California, USA.

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and Control of Community Supplies. World Health Organization, Geneva.

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Criteria and other Supporting Information. The World Health Organization, Geneva.

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Recommendations. The World Health Organization, Geneva.

Documents

Water Harvesting - Analysis of global technologies and their appropriateness for Nepal