Water Quality in the Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal: A Modification of Viable Field-based Testing Methods

Abstract

Poorly managed solid waste disposal in the Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal, (SNP) is causing considerable degradation of major rivers and drinking water in the region. This research began as a study to: (1) identify sources of water contamination; (2) better understand the breadth of this problem; and (3) begin to develop technical solutions for resolving these problems. The remoteness of the study site and rugged terrain challenged the equipment used to collect and store samples and caused us to modify our protocols. Further, the complex interactions among natural resource management issues, increasing tourism, a Environmental Management and Sustainable Development ISSN 2164-7682 2017 http://emsd.macrothink.org 362 struggling economy, climate change, and the risk of natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes) in the SNP triggered a change in our initial approach to the problem. We decided to broaden our research goals to include community-based resource management efforts designed to inform how resources are protected and governed in the SNP. Understanding communities, residents, and other stakeholder's attitudes and perceptions of the social, economic, and environmental risks is necessary to help community leaders develop and sustain a useful governing framework to support water quality risk mitigation. This manuscript is an effort to communicate the evolving nature of our methodology over time and make a case for flexible research design, particularly in areas where geography, culture, and resource management potentially pose substantial challenges to traditional research methods. The methodology we eventually adopted is generalizable to similar remote mountainous regions around the globe.

The Impact of Precipitation on Drinking Water Resources in the Sagarmatha National Park (Mt. Everest Region), Nepal

“…After filtration the filter paper was placed in a sterile test card (manufactured by Micrology Labs ® ) containing a medium which uses two color-producing chemicals, one for the detection of the enzyme glucuronidase (produced by E. coli strains but not by general coliforms) and one for the detection of galactosidase (produced by all coliforms, including E. coli). The samples were then placed into a portable field incubator and kept as close to 35˚C as possible for 24 hours (for detailed field methods refer to [27]). Sample counts were done using a magnifying glass and a 10× geological hand lens.…”

An Assessment of Drinking Water Sources in Sagarmatha National Park (Mt Everest Region), Nepal

“…After filtration, the filter paper was placed in a sterile test card (manufactured by Micrology Labs) containing a medium with 2 producing chemicals, 1 for detection of the enzyme glucuronidase (produced by E. coli strains but not by general coliforms) and 1 for the detection of galactosidase (produced by all coliforms, including E. coli). The samples were then placed in a portable field incubator and kept between 208C and 358C for 24-48 hours (for detailed field methods, refer to Gruver et al 2017). Sample counts were done using a magnifying glass and a 103 geological hand lens.…”

Human Activities Increased Microplastics Contamination in the Himalaya Mountains

“…Water samples were collected from the Sagarmatha National Park (SNP), Nepal, because of its unique location and the mixture of human and natural factors that influence hydrologic regime change and potential contaminants [26,27] (Figure 1). SNP is situated on the southern side of Mount Everest, a sacred area with a population of about 6000 people, predominantly Sherpa who are indigenous to the region [26][27][28]. Despite being remote and having a low population density, the park attracts thousands of tourists each year, especially during the pre-monsoon season, because of its proximity to Mt.…”