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Ceramic Filters for Nepal

Nepal
Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia
bordered by China in the north and India in the east,
west, and south. It mainly consists of the Himalayan
mountain range but also includes parts of the Indo-
Gangetic Plain. Despite 75 percent of the country being
covered by mountains, it features a diverse geographic
mosaic of fertile plains, forested hills, and eight out of the
world’s ten tallest mountain ranges, including Mount Everest, which lies on its border with
China. Its official language is Nepali but also includes other indigenous languages such as
Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Tharu.
Nepal is divided into four main physiographic belts called Himal-Pahad-Tarai. The first,
Himal, is the mountain region in the north that contains some of the highest elevations in the
world. Pahad is also a mountain region but unlike Himal, it
typically does not contain snow, located between the
Mahabharat and Himalayan ranges. The mountains in this
region have significantly lower elevations and therefore the
climates there vary more greatly, ranging from subtropical to
alpine. The inner
Tarai zone contains
forested Churia
foothills and the Tarai,
the lower Himalayan range, contains river valleys,
hills, and southern lowland plains, which are on the
northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. These plains
are fed by three principal Himalayan rivers: the Koshi,
Narayani, and Karnali. This region is the warmest of
the three, featuring climates ranging from subtropical
to tropical conditions. The diversity of elevations in Nepal are responsible for the variety of
biomes located in the country, from tropical savannas to subtropical broadleaf and coniferous
forests and montane grasslands and shrublands.

Current water conditions


Despite nearly half of the country’s residents
living in major river basins, the uneven distribution of
water availability leaves significant portions of the
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population with a water deficit. Excluded peoples in rural areas have limited to no access to
water, often having to rely on small streams or need to travel great distances to reach these
resources. Even the approximately 80 percent of the population with adequate access to water
can’t be sure of its quality and hygiene. This is due to
the fact that the surface and groundwater in
Kathmandu Valley polluted by both natural and
anthropogenic contaminants. Industry and
domestic waste as well as the discharge of untreated
sewage produced by tightly packed residential
neighborhoods is heavily responsible for dirtying
surface water. This pollution seeps into rivers and
lakes, which are primary sources of drinking water. In
the more rural regions of Nepal, village communities
rely on tube wells to retrieve drinking water. A major
concern is arsenic contamination of groundwater, which is especially prevalent in Tarai.
Because this region contains sedimentary layers
of deposits of sand and gravel made by rivers and
floodplains, it is extremely vulnerable to arsenic
contamination. The limited establishments of
water treatment facilities throughout Nepal is also
a leading cause for waterborne diseases such as
diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, gastroenteritis,
and cholera. Children under the age of five are
the most at risk, with 45,000 dying every year
with waterborne diseases as the cause. With the
intensifying problem of climate change, now more
than ever the country is experiencing an increase in warming days, unpredictable precipitation
patterns, increase in drought and windstorm frequency, and decrease in natural water
reservoirs. The disruption of the hydrological cycle by climate change further severens the
demand for water already increased by population growth.
Especially with the threat of monsoon season in the summer months, risk of disease is
at a high. For example, cholera thrives and spreads in wet, crowded, unsanitary conditions. Not
even being able to simply wash their hands or get access to safe drinking water, the most
vulnerable portions of the population could become seriously ill. In fact, just recently in the first
two weeks of July, recent floods in Nepal have caused extensive destruction and killed 90
people. Nepal’s mountainous terrain and undeveloped road system makes it all the harder for
trucks to transport clean water to villages in need.
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Citations

"Drinking Water Policies and Quality issues in Nepal." Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Resource
Centre Network Nepal, www.wash-rcnn.net.np/drinking-water-policies-and-quality-issues
-in-nepal. Accessed 24 July 2019.

"Nepal." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/place/Nepal/


the-economy. Accessed 24 July 2019.

"Nepal needs millions to rebuild after monsoon rain creates havoc." Gulf Times, 22 July 2019.
Gulf Times, www.gulf-times.com/story/637232/Nepal-needs-millions-to-rebuild-after-mon
soon-rain. Accessed 24 July 2019.

Suwal, Sahisna. "WATER IN CRISIS - NEPAL." The Water Project, thewaterproject.org/water-cri


sis/water-in-crisis-nepal. Accessed 24 July 2019.

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