Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system

To meet the demand deficit in Kathmandu Valley, the Government of Nepal has planned to supply an additional 510 million liters per day (mld) of water by implementing the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) in the near future. In this study, we aim to assess the spatial distribution of groundwater a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thapa, Bhesh Raj
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: IWA Publishing 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/106865
_version_ 1855519397144166400
author Thapa, Bhesh Raj
author_browse Thapa, Bhesh Raj
author_facet Thapa, Bhesh Raj
author_sort Thapa, Bhesh Raj
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description To meet the demand deficit in Kathmandu Valley, the Government of Nepal has planned to supply an additional 510 million liters per day (mld) of water by implementing the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) in the near future. In this study, we aim to assess the spatial distribution of groundwater availability and pumping under five scenarios for before and after the implementation of the MWSP using a numerical groundwater flow model. The data on water demand, supply infrastructure, changes in hydraulic head, groundwater pumping rates, and aquifer characteristics were analyzed. Results showed that groundwater pumping from individual wells ranges from 0.0018 to 2.8 mld and the average hydraulic head declined from 2.57 m below ground level (bgl) (0.23 m/year) to 21.58 m bgl (1.96 m/year). Model simulations showed that changes in average hydraulic head ranged from þ2.83 m to þ5.48 m at various stages of the MWSP implementation, and 2.97 m for increased pumping rates with no implementation of the MWSP. Regulation in pumping such as monetary instruments (groundwater pricing) on the use of groundwater along with appropriate metering and monitoring of pumping amounts depending on the availability of new and existing public water supply could be interventions in the near future.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace106865
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2019
publishDateRange 2019
publishDateSort 2019
publisher IWA Publishing
publisherStr IWA Publishing
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1068652024-05-01T08:16:00Z Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system Thapa, Bhesh Raj water supply groundwater management groundwater flow models groundwater extraction pumping wells water resources water deficit water demand watersheds aquifers valleys To meet the demand deficit in Kathmandu Valley, the Government of Nepal has planned to supply an additional 510 million liters per day (mld) of water by implementing the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) in the near future. In this study, we aim to assess the spatial distribution of groundwater availability and pumping under five scenarios for before and after the implementation of the MWSP using a numerical groundwater flow model. The data on water demand, supply infrastructure, changes in hydraulic head, groundwater pumping rates, and aquifer characteristics were analyzed. Results showed that groundwater pumping from individual wells ranges from 0.0018 to 2.8 mld and the average hydraulic head declined from 2.57 m below ground level (bgl) (0.23 m/year) to 21.58 m bgl (1.96 m/year). Model simulations showed that changes in average hydraulic head ranged from þ2.83 m to þ5.48 m at various stages of the MWSP implementation, and 2.97 m for increased pumping rates with no implementation of the MWSP. Regulation in pumping such as monetary instruments (groundwater pricing) on the use of groundwater along with appropriate metering and monitoring of pumping amounts depending on the availability of new and existing public water supply could be interventions in the near future. 2019-12-01 2020-02-03T04:08:33Z 2020-02-03T04:08:33Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/106865 en Open Access IWA Publishing Thapa, Bhesh Raj; Ishidaira, H.; Gusyev, M.; Pandey, Vishnu Prasad; Udmale, P.; Hayashi, M.; Shakya, N. M. 2019. Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system. Water Policy, 21(S1):120-137. doi: 10.2166/wp.2019.084
spellingShingle water supply
groundwater management
groundwater flow
models
groundwater extraction
pumping
wells
water resources
water deficit
water demand
watersheds
aquifers
valleys
Thapa, Bhesh Raj
Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system
title Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system
title_full Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system
title_fullStr Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system
title_full_unstemmed Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system
title_short Implications of the Melamchi water supply project for the Kathmandu Valley groundwater system
title_sort implications of the melamchi water supply project for the kathmandu valley groundwater system
topic water supply
groundwater management
groundwater flow
models
groundwater extraction
pumping
wells
water resources
water deficit
water demand
watersheds
aquifers
valleys
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/106865
work_keys_str_mv AT thapabheshraj implicationsofthemelamchiwatersupplyprojectforthekathmanduvalleygroundwatersystem