Kaustuv Raj Neupane, Kushal Pokharel, Dil Khatri and Kamal Devkota
Influenced by global water management practices, Nepal is moving towards large-scale and centralized water system to address burgeoning urban challenges and pressures. Despite having certain limitation like intermittent supply and small coverage area, the role of small water supply system in effective water management is crucial but remains ignored. For instance, a recent ban on the use of local springs due to hepatitis and jaundice outbreak in the Indian city of Simla, the Himachal Pradesh, led to water shortage leaving the city’s 200,000 residents without water for weeks. Increasing cases of the failure of large-scale and centralized water supply system have been reported in the developed countries such as United States. The ‘Flint water crisis’ of US that began from 2014 owing to the city’s struggle to finance a water system is a case in point.
In contrast to these centralized schemes, the town of Bidur has taken the strategy of diversifying the water management strategies i.e. maintaining the small-scale locally managed sources alongside large-scale municipal scheme. This blog narrates the story of Bidur focusing on the role of small-scale water schemes in ensuring water security in lower Himalaya towns.
The town of Bidur
Bidur- a small town of Nepal is located on the bank of giant rivers Trishuli and Tadi with an area of 34.55 sq.km. With a significant area covered by the valley and remaining area with the hills, the town depends on local springs and small community managed schemes for their domestic water use, a common practice in the growing lower Himalayan towns. Although situated between two giant glacier-fed rivers namely Trishuli and Tadi, Bidur is struggling hard for water for decades. Bidur Water Users Supply Committee (BWUSC), which is a community institution of over 2000 households in the town, covers nearly 40% of the Bidur residents; however, the actual supply of water is intermittent and limited. Additionally, three multiple small water users committees have been supplying water to the town. Recently, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded large project is under construction with an aim to resolve the deepening water crisis supplying 89 liters water per second. Yet, the diverse local sources and community managed small scale schemes are crucial for ensuring water to residents of Bidur, particularly the population from poor and marginalized groups. However, current focus on building the ADB funded project raises question of whether the existing multiple schemes will be maintained.
In light of the above, the water story of Bidur highlights how local community action have enhanced the coping capacities of people during disasters promoting water access of the poor and marginalized community.
Multiple strategies for water security
More than 32 community managed water users committees supply water to its residents. Communities are engaged for managing source, distribution and maintenance of the system themselves. In addition, people have dug well along the river banks and water is pumped to their houses for agriculture and poultry farming in addition to domestic use.
Residents of Bidur are relying on these diverse schemes. During recent meeting, Shiva Ram Adhikari, President of Dolpe Drinking Water users committee which supplies 20 taps to individual houses said the water supplied from his system is good and will be operating even after larger water project supplies come into operation. This shows that people feel ownership towards the small water users committee. In addition, people have a deep belief that the local spring water tastes good and are attached to it. Rawal Dhara is an exemplary case but all settlements prefer to use spring water for drinking even though they have piped water connection.
Figure 1 Wells in river bank dug to supply water to the town
Figure 2 People in queue in Rawal Dharan, popular spring in the centre of the city
Bidur was one of the hardest hit towns by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake and the major water supply collapsed for 15 days. During those days, people relied on water supplied by small water users committee. A survey carried out by Southasia Institute of Advanced studies (SIAS) in 2016 reported that more than 55% of the households had to suffer from pipe destruction which was installed by the large water supply project. But more than 80% did not have to suffer severely as they had alternative water option i.e. Connection to small water user committee at their yard or public water taps nearby.
When this story was shared in the Bidur water forum in September 2019, participants realized the importance of small water users committee. In this regard, Deputy Mayor Gita Kumari Dahal remarked that they have never realized the contribution of the small water users committee, adding that the Municipality will not ignore the role of small users in upcoming days.
We are in need of devising a long term strategy for water management. The research has shown how managing small and fragmented springs like ‘Batar’ and ‘Rawal’ taps can come to the rescue of the consumers when big projects incur certain problems. However, we have never thought this way but will contemplate over this now. (Deputy Mayor, Bidur)
Figure 3 People queued in central town of Bidur for water on next day of Gorkha Earthquake of 25 August, 2015
However, this was not for the first time Bidur water supply system had collapsed by earthquake. In the past, landslides damaged the intake tank in the source and pipes on the way number of times breaking the system.
Conclusion and way forward
The story of Bidur water supply reveals how small water users have contributed to overcome major shocks and helped community resilience despite the low appreciation of the same. It further demonstrates that small water users committees cannot totally contribute for maintaining adequate water supply. The key message to other town in the Himalayas is that they should understand the importance of small water supply systems in better water management. How multiple and diverse institutions can strengthen water supply system by improving their adaptive capacity has become evident.
Published on March 02, 2020. The authors are researchers at Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS).
