From an open-access to a state-controlled resource: the case of groundwater in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Abstract

Groundwater is no longer an open-access resource in Kathmandu. Perceptions of groundwater are changing from an "infinite" to a "finite" resource and the role of the government from supply developer to caretaker of the resource. In this context, this paper aims to unfold how perceptions of groundwater in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, are changing from an open-access resource to an overexploited, depleted, degraded, vulnerable and state-controlled resource. In the process, it produces an aggregated picture of resource availability, development dynamics, impacts and responses in the area; suggests some "soft-path" approaches for groundwater management; and discusses implications of the experience for other areas.

Articulating the new urban water paradigm

“…At the same time, there is a shift from the few rigid roles in the old paradigm to a wide variety of overlapping and flexible roles. For example, government agencies like water utilities are not only supply developers, but also resource custodians and information providers Pires, 2004;Prasad Pandey & Kazama, 2014). For distributed infrastructures, consumers also become producers (prosumers) (Novotny et al, 2010;Sofoulis, 2015) of their own water supply or wastewater, and private competitors also become collaborators to achieve synergistic solutions.…”

Groundwater–surface water interactions of Ciliwung River streams, segment Bogor–Jakarta, Indonesia

“…The author stated that the local water supply company in Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), had extracted 62.2 % of the total groundwater in the area. As a result, groundwater discharge is more than twice the natural recharge, estimated at 4.61-14.6 MCM/year (Pandey and Kazama 2014). Pandey et al (2010) argued that the drivers of such massive extraction are population growth, urbanization and increase in tourism.…”