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KATHMANDU, APRIL 20Groundwater plays an essential role in the development of cities in Asia and the Pacific.
It not only helps meet domestic, commercial and industrial water needs, it accounts for about one third of Asia's drinking water supply.
In some cities, such as Ho Chi Minh City and Lahore, this figure is much higher.
Many municipal water service providers in the region are diversifying their water sources, especially expanding surface water supply where available, to build water security and reduce dependence on groundwater.
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Compared with alternatives such as desalination and water reuse, groundwater still offers a readily available, and cost-effective municipal water supply option.
Groundwater aquifers are also an important "reserve resource" that can be tapped during prolonged droughts when surface water is scarce.
However, rapid groundwater depletion continues in the face of growing water demand.
In Asia, more than half of the 4 billion residents of developing countries lived in urban areas in 2019.
Cities can expect an additional 1 billion residents by 2050.A version of this article appears in the print on April 21, 2022, of The Himalayan Times
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This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
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