Domestic Water Consumption in Urban Kathmandu Valley

Demand-side or Supply-side Management?

Mr. Padma Sunder Joshi

Background
Domestic water consumption is influence by several factors. One of the primary factors is the economy and way of living. Human societies have forgotten its water saving culture and en!oying" water wasting practices with the technological advancement# affordability# and ease in availability. $hese technologies and the behaviours have been imported without understanding and underta%ing the consideration of sustainability. &n most cases# unaware decision ma%ers and unfamiliar e'perts"( and in the absence of basic research and %nowledge( prevailing water conserving practices were overloo%ed and made them civili)ed" or advanced" with water wasting cultures. *a%ing mista%e in such decision not only ruins and misuses the resources( it further ruins the behaviour of people. +lanners and designers are using standard figures of water consumption to design water supply systems. With the availability of the resource# comfortable figures with considerable safety factors always %eep the designers in safe position. *oreover# high figures might be a lucrative proposal for the construction industries or the suppliers# or even to lending agencies. However# from the resource management side# especially when sharing the resource with other important and competing demands# careful and sensitive decision is e'pected for efficient and economic use of the resources. $he world trend of replacing economy,centric development by ecology,centric development demands efficient use of water in all wal%s of life and all aspects of use. $his is where we are dealing with rightful distribution of water. Water as a human right# as an economic goods# and water as a lu'ury item# needs to be dealt separately. -conomic tools considering ecological value of water need to be adopted to discourage water wasting practices li%e .a%u!ee# bath tubs or similar facilities in residences of Kathmandu. $herefore# estimating water consumption in Kathmandu should be loo%ed upon from the resource conservation view,point. -stimating water consumption in Kathmandu Valley is yet being an issue of discussion among the planners and water managers. /eing one of the primary parameters in resource planning and design of water systems# many studies in the past tried to come up with 0uic% figures 1perhaps with the e'cuse of time and resource constraints2. $he water consumption value which is influenced by several factors( demands thorough study that otherwise lead to uneconomical and inappropriate investments# especially when the country is already
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implementing ambitious water supply pro!ect li%e *elamchi with the investment of U45 676 million. &n last two decades# several studies have been conducted in various aspects of water and its management( few of them have also estimated the water consumption and its future pro!ection for the Kathmandu Valley. &ronically# the estimation of water consumption varies from one study to other due to different approaches# scopes and coverage of the study. 8or e'ample# in the report of /innie 9 +artners# average per capita water consumption is reported as 36: lpcd3 for full plumbed houses# ;< lpcd for houses with yard tap and 6: lpcd for standpipe users. $his si'teen year old study included only si' poc%et areas of <6,hour supply from Kathmandu 1/innie 9 +artners et. al.# 3;==2. >nother study conducted by ?ippon Koei shows that Kathmandu Valley"s average water consumption is :: lpcd 1Kathmandu municipality 6@ lpcd 9 Aalitpur municipality ;= lpcd2. $his study included only Kathmandu and Aalitpur municipalities 1?ippon Koei et. al.# 3;;;2. 4imilarly# 4&A$ 9 DB$C"s report suggests that municipal areas per capita water consumption is CD lpcd and 7: lpcd in rural areas 14&A$ 9 DB$C# 3;;;2 and B$&"s report states that average water collected by a poor household during rainy season is about :7 litres and @@D litres by a non poor household 1B$& <DD32. On the other hand the study made by *ulti Disciplinary Consultants for >D/ in October <DD< concluded that overall per capita water consumption in Kathmandu and Aalitpur municipalities is :;.C litres 1.ha# K.K. <DD<2.
Table 1 Domestic Water Consumption for Kat mandu !alley in "ast Studies Study #ea $%erage Domestic Water Consumption &lpcd' r
/innie 9 +artners ?ippon Koei 4&A$ 9 DB$C B$& 3;== 3;;; 3;;; <DD3 67.: 1+oor2# :C.: 1Aower *iddle &ncome Eroup2 36: 1full plumbing2 :: 1average2 CD 1municipal areas2 ;< 1yard taps2# 6@ 1Kathmandu municipality2 7: 1rural areas2 :7 1for poor HH2 76.;1*iddle &ncome Eroup2# C3 1Upper *iddle &ncome Eroup2 @@D 1for non poor HH2 :;.C lpcd 1Overall average domestic water consumption2 6: 1standpipe users2 ;= 1Aalitpur municipality2

.ha# K. K.

<DD<

$hese contradicting figures demanded a thorough study of the water need of Kathmandu.

lpcd F liter per capita per day

<

T e Sur%ey Design
$o come up with domestic water consumption in urban Kathmandu Valley# a study was carried out in >ugust and 4eptember of <DD@. $his recent study named Household Water Use 4urvey and Besearch in Urban Kathmandu Valley was solely focused on domestic water consumption. $he survey has used Bandom 4ampling 1B42 and +robability +roportional to 4i)e 1++42 methods for selecting @DD houses from the five municipalities of Kathmandu Valley. 4urvey methodology has been designed strategically in order to include houses from all areas of urban Kathmandu Valley. Consumer 4urvey *ap 14ilt et. al. 3;;;2 has been used for selecting the primary sampling unit# i.e.# house# so that e'act location of the selected houses can be identified prior to the field visit saving significant amount of survey time. >lthough# the reference map does not include houses built in the last five years# location of the house and its additional information became valuable resource as secondary source for different purposes in this study. $he sample si)e of @DD houses was determined considering the limited time and resources# which represents urban Kathmandu Valley with :.= G of sampling error. &t was e'pected that each house includes one or more households. Huestionnaires were filled for all the households including the additional households and renters separately. 8or the secondary households or renters# a shorter version of 0uestionnaire was used and some physical information was also gathered from primary household itself. >part from the @DD houses from primary survey# additional 7D booster samples were collected# out of which :D houses were from <6,hours ?epal Water 4upply Corporation 1?W4C2 supply area and 3D houses from s0uatter settlements. $he purpose of the booster sampling was to compare water consumption in unconstrained situation. $he ten samples of s0uatters was also incorporated which helped in comparing the water consumption of the poorer strata of the community. $o supplement the survey and chec% the variation of the results a post survey was designed. $en houses# out of the @DD randomly selected houses# were selected for the post survey. Here a field supervisor was deputed to collect the records of water consumption of the selected houses for seven consecutive days. +ost survey was the tool employed to chec% the reliability and deviation of the data collected primarily by the enumerators.

T e (indings
8rom the analysis of the collected data# the estimated e'isting domestic water consumption was C@ lpcd. &n this study# all five municipal areas of Kathmandu
@

Valley were incorporated. $he @DD houses selected from urban areas of the Valley consist of 6@3 households 1@DD primary households and 3@3 secondary and rented households2. &n addition# :D houses were selected from <6,hours supply areas to observe the unconstrained consumption at present scenario and ten houses from s0uatter settlements were surveyed. >lthough the average water consumption for the urban Kathmandu valley was C@ lpcd based on 6@3 households# the consumption was higher for primary households than secondary and rented households. 8or the primary households the average water consumption was =D lpcd and for secondary and rented households it was only 67 lpcd. Out of 6@3 households# <D7 1i.e.# 6=G2 households were using yard taps with average water consumption of 63 lpcd and the remaining <<: 1i.e.# :<G2 households were fully plumbed with an average consumption of ;; lpcd. >mong <<: fully plumbed households# only 3;G were secondary and rented households. *a!ority of secondary and rented households 17CG2 were using yard taps. $his indicates that the primary households were consuming more water for more facilities than their renters and secondary households.
Table ) Domestic Water Consumption by Tap Type)
"rimary ** &+,, **' $%erage domestic -ater Type of Tap consumption &lpcd' @ Iard tap 6@ 8ull plumbing6 3D6 $otal =D Secondary/0enter ** &1+1 **' Iard tap @= 8ull plumbing 7@ $otal 67 Total ** &1+1 **' Iard tap 63 8ull plumbing ;; $otal C@ .umber of ouse olds 33; 3=< @DD == 6@ 3@3 <D7 <<: 6@3

8rom the fifty booster samples of <6,hour supply houses# the average consumption of the economic groups ranged from 3;6 lpcd in /ungalow type houses to 73 lpcd in connected houses in narrow lanes. $he weighted average domestic consumption in <6,hour supply condition in reference to their economic groupings came to an average of ;@.=: lpcd. &n s0uatter area# the water consumption was comparatively lower than other places. >mong 3D primary households of s0uatter# the average water consumption was found only <; lpcd including the houses with <6,hour supply.
< @

8or :D HH in <6,hour supply areas. Houses having one single tap without overhead tan% are considered as yard tap houses. 6 Houses having water storing and pumping facilities are considered to be fully plumbed houses.

Begarding the sources of water# municipal supply of ?epal Water 4upply Corporation 1?W4C2 is the primary source of water in urban Kathmandu Valley. $raditional sources li%e stone spouts and community wells are still serving the water demand in many part of the city( especially in the old settlements of the valley. Once forgotten( Lonh Hities 1depressed stone spouts2 and wells are again e'plored to meet the water demand after the incapability of ?W4C supplying ade0uate water. Hand pumps 1especially rower pumps2 and shallow wells became very popular in recent years. >lthough poor in 0uality# in most of the places# this is the water used for all purposes other than drin%ing and coo%ing. 8or drin%ing and coo%ing purpose ?W4C water is preferred in general. &n the survey it was observed that nearly 7=G of the total daily water consumption of the urban Kathmandu Valley was contributed by ?W4C and the remaining @<G of water was provided by wells# stone spout# and private vendor. >lthough all 6@3 households were connected to ?W4C# more than :DG of households have more than one source of water to fulfil the demand of water. $here were 3;7 households 16:.:G2 with only one source of water# of which nearly ;DG households were getting water from ?W4C as a single source. Begarding the 0uality and 0uantity of water provided by ?W4C# about =6G users were reported to be satisfied with the 0uality even though ma!ority of them boil the water for drin%ing and only :7G users were satisfied with the 0uantity. $he consumption of water is different from one house to other. $he water consumption is greatly affected by various services and facilities available in the house. $herefore# all selected houses were classified into one of four economic classes in order to see the variation in water consumption. $he four economic classes were defined on the basis of 3< characteristics of physical assets and facilities of the house. $hese were , type of tap# land area# %itchen features# toilet features# household facilities# transportation facilities# building type# garden type# type of construction# wall finishing# and roof type. -ach criterion of these characteristics was allocated 149 a weight and all weights lpcd 109 were accumulated for each lpcd of @DD houses. $hus# there 55 were @DD weights lpcd 31 lpcd corresponding to the @DD houses ranging from 6 to 63. Here# the house with 11% 14% higher weight indicates the 33% 42% better economy compared to other houses. $herefore# all Class I Class II Class III Class IV @DD houses were listed in
Water Consumption (lpcd) Percentage o !ouse"old

#conomic Class and Water Consumption

descending order of the weights to categori)e the four economic classes such as , Class & containing houses with weights from @< to 63# Class && containing houses with weights from <@ to @3# Class &&& containing houses with weights from 3@ to <<# and Class &V containing houses with weights from 6 to 3<. $hen the average water consumption was computed for each of these economic classes# which varies drastically from the highest economic class to the lowest economic class. $he higher economic class 1i.e.# Class &2 has an average water consumption of 36; lpcd# and the second higher economic class 1i.e.# Class &&2 has 3D; lpcd# but the average water consumption was e'tremely lowered down to :: lpcd for the third economic class 1i.e.# Class &&&2 and further lowered down to !ust @3 lpcd for the fourth economic class 1i.e.# Class &V2. &n the survey it was remar%ably noticed that the ma!ority of houses 16<G2 belong to the third economic class followed by the second economic class with @@G and the fourth economic class with 36G. $here were only 33G of houses in the first economic class 1i.e.# Class &2. $hus# the average water consumption of the urban Kathmandu Valley was dominated by the middle two economic classes. However# there is an e'clusion of houses built within last five years in the sample selection. $he slight improvement in the economic condition certainly raises the average consumption of water of each group.

Conclusions
$o 0uote one figure for present domestic water consumption in urban Kathmandu Valley from the study is C@ lpcd. $his figure will be increased as the supply improves. &ncreasing number of full plumbed houses in recent years also shows the trend to increase water consumption along with other water consuming facilities li%e attached bathrooms and washing machines. Becent migration of ma!ority of relatively well,to,do people for several reasons in Kathmandu will also increase 0uantity of water consumption. However# increase in price of water will hinder the consumption if not switch to easily available ground water for au'iliary activities. $he figure of ;@.=: lpcd water consumption in the unconstrained supply area of ?W4C at present low water tariff showed that it is not the unavailability( more than that( it is economy and culture coupled with facilities available to them. 8rom the above discussions it is clear that J;6 lpcd of water is sufficient for domestic water consumption in Kathmandu. 4ince the design of *elamchi +ro!ect to supply 36: lpcd may raise several 0uestions from resource management point of view. $hese areK 3. Over design of the water supply system may introduce water wasting practices. <. 4ince the water is diverted from other watershed# it may bring social in!ustice and conflicts to the ecosystem of ne't watershed.
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@. Unnecessary cost may be incurred in bul% distribution system# treatment facilities# and the distribution. $he design of *elamchi Water 4upply +ro!ect based on 36: lpcd water may be ta%en as over design.

REFERENCES
Binnie 2 "artners et3 al3 1455. Water Supply for Kathmandu-Lalitpur from Outside the Valley, Pre-feasibility study inal !eport # H*E?L Water 4upply and 4ewerage CorporationL U?D+L &nternational /an% for Beconstruction and Development. 6 a K3K37 ),,). Situational "nalysis of Water Supply in #reater Kathmandu # *ulti Disciplinary Consultants 1+2 Atd. .ippon Koei et3 al3 1444. So$io-e$onomi$ Sur%ey !eport on Present Water &se and Li%in' (n%ironment in Kathmandu Valley# +ro!ect *anagement Consultancy for *elamchi Water 4upply +ro!ect# H*E?L >sian Development /an% 1Aoan ?o. 376D,?-+ 14822. 0T87 ),,1. Willin'ness to Pay for )mpro%ed Water Supply for Kathmandu Valley, *epal inal !eport# Water and 4anitation +rogram for 4outh >sia. S89T 2 D0TC7 1444. inal !eport on +onsumer Sur%ey, Main !eport # Urban Water 4upply and 4anitation Behabilitation +ro!ect 1&D> Credit ?o. <<@; ?-+2# ?epal Water 4upply Corporation 1H*E?2.