2011/9/21

Water Quality Management in the context ofBagmati River Basin Management in Nepal

Gautam Rajkarnikar
Chief, Koshi River Basin Management Cell

Water and Energy Commission Secretariat
Government of Nepal
E-mail: pinku_gautam@hotmail.com
3rd International Workshop of WEPA
Manila, Philippines
September 21,2011

Location of Nepal

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Hydro‐physiology of Nepal in Brief• There are more than 6000 rivers and lakes within theterritory of Nepal• Total drainage area: 147,181 km2• Annual surface flow 225 billion m3• High altitude variation from 60 m in Terai (Jhapa) to
7,500 m in high Himalayas within a span of 200 m inaverage.
• High Temporal variation (time) of annual rainfall, i.e.,
20% of total annual rainfall from October to May (8months) and 80% from June to September (4months).
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Key Policy Principle to River Basin Planning
"Development and management of water
resources shall be undertaken in a holistic andsystematictti manner, relying
l i on IIntegrated
tt d Water
W t
Resources Management (IWRM).

 "Water utilization shall be sustainable to ensure
conservation of the resources and protection ofthe environment. Each river basin system shallbe managed holistically."

Water Sector Policy Principle• Economic efficiency , environmental sustainability andsocial equity guide water resource development andmanagement;• Participation
P i i i off allll theh stakeholders
k h ld• Institutional and legal frameworks for coordination andtransparency• Wider adoption of the best existing technologies andpractices

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IRBM Approach• IRBM is based on 3 strategic principles
Sustainable
Environment

IRBM
Economicco o cEfficiency

SocialEquity

General framework of IRBM (adopted from UN 2005)

Guiding Principles for Environmental Action Planfor Basin Management
 Environmental and ecological considerations
should be integrated at every level of water
resources development;d l Increased environmental awareness, local
knowledge and public participation in sustainable
development of water resources;
 Reduced incidence of natural and manmade
negative environmental impacts and water
induced disasters;
 Mainstreaming environment into water resources
development strategy.

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Water Quality Scenario, Nepal• Water Quality Management (WQM) is still not fully
institutionalized. Data for many areas are not easily
available. For agencies involved in WSS, WQM waslimited mostly to microbiological quality and a few nonhealth related chemical parameters until 1998. Although
WQ data compilation at different levels are yet to be done,
data collected in Hill and southern region of country focus
on the following:• Gravity scheme water is often bacteriologicallycontaminated. Chemical parameters are within WHO
limits.
• Water from most city water supply schemes is microbiologically unsafe

Water Quality Scenario, Nepal contd..
• Protected spring sources are comparatively better, butunsafe microbiologically;• In monsoon, many gravity schemes carry silt and organic
matter, and water is very turbid;• Almost all dug wells are highly contaminated with choliform(more than 50% in some tests), and some wells contain highlevels of nitrate or ammonia;• High iron and manganese content is found in most tubewells• Fluoride levels are so far within WHO limits, but the sample
size is small;• Arsenic is now being detected in some of the Terai districts
at alarming levels;• There are already suspected arsenicosis in some districts.

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Bagmati River Basin

Source: Multi Dimensional Study of the Bagmati river
Basin,WECS,2008

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Sailent Features of the Bagmati River Basin Catchment Area : Major triburaries :3638.0 Sq.Km
Nakkhu, Kulekhani, Kokhajor,
Marin and Chandi River Forest area covers aboutb
50% off theh Bagmati river basinb
 Population of the Basin is about 2.3 millions according to2001 statistics
 Average population density is 628 persons/Sq.Km

Longitudinal Profile of the Bagmati River

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Land use and land cover in the Bagmati Riverbasin
Land use/land cover

Area (ha)Percent

18634049.6141986

37.8

Sand

18118

4.8

Bush13367

3.6

Grass5241

1.4

Channel4441

1.2

Builtup area

2378

0.6

Barren land

1264

0.3

Orchard785

0.2

Cultivation

Scattered tree

551

0.1

Nursery360

0.1

Pond or lake

141

0.0

Others628

0.2

Source: Multi Dimensional Study of the Bagmati river Basin,WECS,2008

Major Issues of Basin of Bagmati RiverBasin• Provision of effective waste disposal infrastructure;• Efficient allocation of limited water resources;• Improving public awareness of the overall relationshipbetween habits and environment;• Controlling encroachment of the riparian environment;• Remedying legislative and policy gaps and problems ofenforcement and monitoring• Population and livestock pressure on the naturalresources off theth watershedt h d• Deterioration of ecological balance• Disposal of untreated waste water into natural water bodies• Deterioration of river and ground water quality due to pollution8

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Water Quality of Bagmati River• The available water quality data are in the formof spot data.
• Long or short term time series data is notavailable.

Water Quality Monitoring Stations in Upper Bagmati River
BasinIndex

CE BA 10
CE BA 15

LatN

Location

LongE

Sundarijal

27o45’42’’

85o25’24’’

Gokarna

27o44’03’’

85o23’20’’

Elev.
m1384
1324

CE BA 20

Jorpati

27o43’08’’

85o23’01’’

1320

CE BA 25

Gaurighat

27o42’35’’

85o21’10’’

1308

CE BA 30

Sinamangal

27o41’59’’

85o21’04’’

1293

CE BA 35

Min bhawan

27o41’00’’

85o20’37’’

1288

CE BA 45

Sankhamool

27o40’53’’

85o19’51’’

1285

CE BA 55Thapathali

27o41’21’’

85o19’01’’

1284

CE BA 60

Teku (Kalopul)

27o41’17’’

85o18’10’’

1280

CE BA 65

Balkhu27o40’16’’

85o17’46’’

1273

Sundarighat

27o40’02’’

85o17’46’’

1272

Kh k
Khokana

27o37’55’’

85o17’35’’

1262

Dhubarahi,Chabahil

27o43’19’’

85o20’44’’

1300

CE DHO 55

Siphal, Kalopul

27o42’43’’

85o20’17’’1299

CE DHO 60

Maiti Devi

27o42’11’’

85o20’10’’

1293

Bijuli Bazar

27o41’24’’

85o19’48’’

1290

Jadibuti Kendra

27o40’10’’

85o21’32’’

1296

CE MA 80

27o40’21’’

85o20’29’’

1291

CE HA 50Thimi

27o40’21’’

85o23’09’’

1297

Balkot, Kausaltar

27o40’13’’

85o22’07’’

1294

CE BA 70
CE BA 75
CE DHO 50

CE DHO 65
CE MA 70

CE HA 709

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Water Quality Monitoring Stations in upper Bagmati RiverBasin

Source: Department of Hydrology and Meteorology

Water Quality Monitoring of Bagmati River

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Water Quality of the Bagmati River basin
Location

pHCon.

TDS

Turbidity

NH3NO3NO2

DO

COD

BOD5μmos/cm

mg/l

NTU

mg/l

mg/l

mg/l

mg/l

mg/l

mg/l

Gokarna

7.670

56

160.1640.140

0.001

6.7

21.6

4.4

Gaurighat

6.5

360

288

56

16.8

0.545

0.01

<0.5

273.6

64.9

Sankhamul

7.1

410

328

48

18.6

0.565

0.003

<0.59020.8

Sundarighat

7.1

740

592

120

42.8

0.870

0.001

<0.5

378

90

Chovar

7.1

720

576

110

38.8

0.920

0.001

<0.5

367

87.3

Khokana

7.4

600

48060

36.0

0.490

0.002

<0.5

108

25.2
18.45

Kulekhani Dovan before

7.9440352

38.5

19.75

1.05

0.085

6.480

Kulekhani Dovan after

6.9

600

480-

---

5.6--

Bharang Danda7.6310

248----

6.2--

Bharang Danda

7.8

340272-

---

6.3-

-

Kokhajor Taldunga

8220

176

5.5

ND

3.425

0.043

7.3

10.3

1.7

Lamkana Dovan, Phaparbari

7.5

290

232----

10.1--

Water Quality Map of Upper Bagmati River Basin

Source : Department of Hydrology and Meteorology

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Conclusion• The water quality aspects at strategic points of
the river are important consideration for water
resources planning and management;• The water quality data shows that water quality
is vey poor and chemically, bacteriological andunsuitable for any freshwater fauna and flora;• Treatment and disposal of industrial effluents by
the industries and domestic sewage;• Establishments of and effective solid waste
management mechanism

Thank you for your attention

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