SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER REOURCES IN THE MID-HILL REGION OF CENTRAL NEPAL

Sustainability of water resources in relation to water quality and availability were investigated in an agricultural watershed as part of a larger study to enhance livestock climate change adaptation in the mid-hill region of Nepal. The Thulokhola watershed is a relatively small (c. 100 sq km) agricultural watershed in the Gandaki River basin in central Nepal located about 7 km southwest of Devighat in the Nuwakot district. It is a mixed farming livestock production system that has concerns for water sustainability in light of potential climate change impacts and population increase. Nine Community Livestock Groups (CLGs) were established to monitor and assess surface and ground water resources, climate change adaptation, and agricultural productivity. For surface water, each CLG tested for coliform bacteria, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), phosphate, and nitrate.

Ninety seven households in the watershed were interviewed in detail to evaluate water resource sustainability and other factors related to livestock climate change adaptation and agricultural productivity. In addition, forty one water sources were assessed by a team of local residents, geology graduate students, and a ground-water geologist in order to characterize the sources hydrogeologically and according to flow data from the local residents’ historical knowledge. Surface water quality evaluations show that every CLG tested positive for fecal coliform every month whereas about half of CLG sites were excellent for pH (pH from 6 to 8) and had good DO (DO 90-110% saturation). Other factors were variable at different times and places. There is great concern about ground water sustainability because springs are a primary source of water for most of the population during the non-monsoon season, which is about 8 months of the year. We found that about 85% of springs have diminished flow over the past 10-20 years. This is reflective of precipitation data from the Nuwakot district which show a decrease of around a third to a half over a similar time interval.