Groundwater recharge systems installed & handed over in Ward 22 & 25 of Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: Groundwater is one of the major sources of drinking water for the residents of the Kathmandu valley since time immemorial.

The stone spouts, wells and kuwas (spring water points) are the major water outlets which can be seen everywhere in the valley.

However, from the last two decades, the excess groundwater extraction, haphazard building constructions and roads have made the significance depletion of the groundwater in the valley.

The change in rainfall pattern, that is extensive rainfall in short duration, has also made some impacts in the natural process of groundwater recharging.

In order to address these issues and to replenish groundwater through the artificial groundwater recharge initiatives, Bottlers Nepal Limited (BNL) and Centre for Integrated Urban Development (CIUD), demonstrating Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in the urban water management, have implemented yet another groundwater recharge project in ward number 22 and 25 of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City in 2024-25.

With the key objectives of increasing groundwater level at the selected sites, demonstrating low-cost groundwater recharge technology and motivating local governments and communities to replicate and scale up similar objectives, the project installed six recharge systems in ward 25 and five in ward 22.

Each system consists of a recharge well and a filter chamber. The average depth of the well is 20 feet.

Ms. Sunita Dangol, Deputy Mayor of Kathmandu shared, “As there is a need for water recharge in Kathmandu, we have been working with CIUD and Bottlers Nepal for water recharge systems in several areas in Kathmandu and been witnessing its positive impacts.

Today, we are very glad that we have been able to implement this project in a Ward 22 and 25, which is a core area of Kathmandu. The impact from this project will definitely be experienced by the communities of the area which is when we will celebrate the true success of the project.”

It has been estimated that the systems will help in replenishing nearly 8,624 kilo liter of water per annum thereby stabilizing the groundwater table of the intervention area.

While the project was implemented closely with both members from Ward 22 and 25, there were also various vital community groups such as the Sankata Club, Gwahali Dabu, Aryavalokitesvara Sudhar Sumuha, Kel Achaju Guthi and Machhindra Club that contributed their efforts to the project.

This project is the continuation of the tri-partite collaboration of Bottlers Nepal Limited, CIUD and WaterAid Nepal after the successful implementation of similar projects in Ranibari in ward number 3 of the KMC, UCEP in Thimi Municipality, at Rajdal Army Barrack in Lagankhel in Lalitpur Metropolitan City and in Balaju park ward 16 of the KMC.

This partnership, through the previous projects, has been replenishing nearly 156,000 kilo liters of groundwater annually.