‘Recharge Kathmandu programme unlikely to bear fruit’

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Around 114 million litres of groundwater is extracted through deep borewells Kathmandu, February 22 Kathmandu Metropolitan City recently
inaugurated the much-hyped ‘Recharge Kathmandu& programme in a bid to recharge the valley water table, which is rapidly declining due to
intensive extraction of groundwater through deep borewells. The programme began last Tuesday with the inauguration of a project which is
likely to recharge groundwater in around 500 metre square of open area on the premises of KMC Ward No 26 office, in Gongabu. Activists and
water experts, however, said the KMC initiative to recharge the shallow aquifer beneath the earth surface would hardly have any impact
considering the rapid decrease in the level of groundwater
KMC is spending Rs 500,000 for the programme that will harvest 767,000 litres of rainwater and recharge the groundwater. Groundwater
recharge rate is way less than the amount of groundwater extracted every day in Kathmandu valley
Around 114 million litres of groundwater is extracted every day through deep borewells inside Kathmandu valley
The amount includes 80 million litres of water extracted by Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited, an authorised body to provide drinking
water inside Kathmandu valley
KUKL extracts 80 million litres of water per day from 80 borewells that run more than 200 metres deep into the earth surface
Rest of the water is extracted by more than 900 privately owned deep borewells the valley. Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board, a
government body authorised to provide licence to drill deep borewells inside Kathmandu valley states that there are above 1,000 deep
borewells, out of which only 725 have been registered with them. KVWSMB requires that every individual who digs a deep borewell must manage
groundwater recharge system on their own, but very few people abide by the rule
Sanjeev Rana, executive director of KVWSMB, said so far only 125 registered deep borewells have water recharge system. Prakash Amatya,
chairman of GUTHI, an organisation that works to promote rain water harvest, said the government should focus on effectively implementing
the rule to manage groundwater recharge system
He also said government should introduce incentives for industries and offices to encourage them to harvest rain water or install
groundwater recharge system
Amatya said Rani Pokhari before the 2015 earthquakes was the best example for harvesting rainwater and recharging groundwater
He said Rani Pokhari, in the heart of the city, used to be refilled by the rainwater collected in nearby Durbar High School and Tri-Chandra
college until a few years ago
Amatya said, &KMC could have introduced such programmes rather than installing water recharge systems, which is the responsibility of those
who dig deep borewells.& He also criticised KMC for not enforcing existing laws that could have been instrumental in recharging groundwater
in the valley. Every year during rainy season, cities in Kathmandu valley get inundated due to rain water
Water experts say that one of the reasons for inundation is increasing concretisation
Environmentalist Bhusan Tuladhar said, &Our city is turning into a shield which obstructs rainwater from entering deep into the earth
This has destroyed natural drainage and all rainwater directly gets into the river system, which ultimately result into floods.& Tuladhar
suggested that the government should bring new rules with incentives to install rainwater recharge systems in private houses and
organisations
A report made public by Japan International Cooperation Agency in 1990 stated that there could be a major natural imbalance if the
extraction rate of groundwater exceeded 150 million litred per day inside Kathmandu valley The post ‘Recharge Kathmandu programme unlikely
to bear fruit& appeared first on The Himalayan Times.