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Nepal and ADB

ADB supports Nepal’s sustainable recovery from COVID-19 and inclusive growth by investing in infrastructure, improving access to basic services, and protecting the poor and vulnerable.

Results Reality

Bringing Water and Sanitation to Rural Nepal: Unlocking the Potential of Small Towns

Projects supported by ADB are making a positive impact on people's lives. Explore the results of our programs in Nepal, gain insight into our partnerships for expanding access to water and sanitation services, and learn more about how our projects are improving people's lives and well-being.

The projects include the Nepal Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Projects and Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project, which aim to deliver water and sanitation to a total of 1.24 million people in urban centers across Nepal.

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Urbanization in Nepal

Rapidly growing urban populations are increasing demand for reliable water supply.

Need for Clean and Safe Water

At the turn of the 21st century, many people living in small towns and urban municipalities across Nepal lacked access to clean and safe water. Rapid urbanization aggravated the problem as the supply of new infrastructure for water supply services failed to keep pace with surging demand.

About 42% of the country’s population was urban in 2015, and this is projected to rise to 50% by 2030. As small urban centers continue to multiply, more and more households must be connected to reliable water supply and sanitation systems. Previous attempts to provide these services have suffered from poor sustainability and lack of community participation and ownership.

Challenges: The Burden of Water Collection

Women in Nepal traditionally manage the household. With that responsibility comes the task of ensuring that that family has enough water for washing, drinking, eating, and taking care of crops and livestock.

Carrying the heavy gagri in their arms, women, and sometimes children, in small towns across Nepal often trek up to two hours on foot to collect water from communal tubewells or rivers. Some do this up to six times a day, everyday.

The Struggle for Water: In Photos

Women and girls in Nepal are usually saddled with the responsibility of collecting water for their households. More often than not, it takes hours of walking, queuing, and carrying heavy gagris or other water containers back and forth. (Use the side arrows to toggle between photos)

  • In urban Nepal, communal tubewells are the main source of water for daily consumption. Unfiltered and untreated, water from these tubewells are often contaminated.

    In urban Nepal, communal tubewells are the main source of water for daily consumption. Unfiltered and untreated, water from these tubewells are often contaminated.
  • The gagri is an aluminum or copper-based water container that weighs around 5 kilograms and can hold about 15 liters of water.

    The gagri is an aluminum or copper-based water container that weighs around 5 kilograms and can hold about 15 liters of water.
  • Women in urban Nepal often leave their homes at the crack of dawn to trek upaved roads and mountainsides to reach communal tubewells and other water sources.

    Women in urban Nepal often leave their homes at the crack of dawn to trek upaved roads and mountainsides to reach communal tubewells and other water sources.
  • Some travel up to 2 hours to communal tubewells and line up for another hour or so during peak collecting times.

    Some travel up to 2 hours to communal tubewells and line up for another hour or so during peak collecting times.
  • Some collect water up to 6 times a day, everyday, to ensure that their household has enough water for their daily needs, such as cooking, cleaning, and bathing.

    Some collect water up to 6 times a day, everyday, to ensure that their household has enough water for their daily needs, such as cooking, cleaning, and bathing.
  • Some place their full gagris in woven baskets to make carrying the heavy containers easier.

    Some place their full gagris in woven baskets to make carrying the heavy containers easier.
  • Children, at times, help our their mothers by collecting water before and after school. They often miss school or arrive late.

    Children, at times, help our their mothers by collecting water before and after school. They often miss school or arrive late.
  • Asha, a clothes shop owner in Ilam District, carries a gagri full of water back to her home.

    Asha, a clothes shop owner in Ilam District, carries a gagri full of water back to her home.
  • Sita Bhudjel from Katari used to fetch water from a tubewell downhill. After getting their own water connection, she now has more time for chores and leisure.

    Sita Bhudjel from Katari used to fetch water from a tubewell downhill. After getting their own water connection, she now has more time for chores and leisure.
  • Sita, who recently acquired her very own piped water connection, now has farm animals to earn more income.

    Sita, who recently acquired her very own piped water connection, now has farm animals to earn more income.

ADB Support

Recognizing the adverse impact of inadequate drinking water supply and poor sanitation conditions on human development, the Government of Nepal initiated the three-phased, 15-year Development Plan for Water Supply and Sanitation in Small Towns.

With ADB’s support, the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage has been implementing the Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Projects and the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project for the last 20 years to provide much-needed infrastructure and services to urban municipalities across the country.

The projects employ the small towns model—a cost-sharing system that promotes a sense of ownership and responsibility among communities by encouraging them to contribute to the capital, operation, and management of the services.

  • 1.24 million people in urban centers across Nepal benefitting from safe, reliable piped water supply
     

    1.24 million people

    in urban centers across Nepal benefitting from safe, reliable piped water supply

  • 2,619 km of water supply pipeline system installed
     

    2,619 km of water supply pipeline system

    installed

  • 3,050 km of water supply pipeline system under construction
     

    3,050 km of water supply pipeline system

    under construction

  • Over 1,000 Water User Committee members trained to manage water supply and sanitation systems
     

    Over 1,000 Water User Committee members

    trained to manage water supply and sanitation systems

  • Around 195,000 community members provided with information on water conservation, sanitation, and hygiene
     

    Around 195,000 community members

    provided with information on water conservation, sanitation, and hygiene

From Three Perspectives

The importance of providing clean, reliable water to the small towns, from a community leader, a government partner, and ADB.

Binda Dahal Thapa

Vice Chairperson
Water Users Committee
Indrapur, Morang District

Binda, who has been vice-chair of the Indrapur Water Users’ Committee since 2015, knows that women and girls shoulder the task of collecting water and using it for household chores. This is why she is happy that women like her are given a voice in decision-making and are helping to run the water supply services in their community.

Bidya Nath Bhattarai

Project Director
Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project
Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation
Government of Nepal

With urbanization in Nepal came the rising demand for safe water supply for growing communities. Bidya Nath Bhattarai, the director of the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project, shares the importance of government–community partnerships in making access to piped water supply universal.

Alexandra Vogl

Senior Planning and Policy Specialist
ADB

Alexandra Vogl discusses the introduction of the service provision model in the Nepal Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Sector projects in Nepal, and the crucial role of communities in ensuring the water supply system is managed sustainably.

Beneficiary Stories

Around 1.24 million people across 90 small towns and urban municipalities in Nepal are benefiting from high-quality, sustainable water and sanitation services. Infrastructure improvements come with comprehensive capacity building programs that enable Water User Committees to manage their community's water supply and sanitation services sustainably and effectively.

360° videos

  • Bhagwati Bayalkoti

    Farmer

    For Bhagwati, fetching water from the communal tube wells or springs meant risking her family’s health. Her husband became ill from drinking contaminated water, and they had to spend what little money they had on hospital bills.

    When she heard of the cost-shared piped water supply projects in their district, Bhagwati immediately signed up for her own connection with high hopes for safer water for her family and, in turn, better health.

  • Sita Bhudjel

    Domestic helper, farmer

    In Sita’s community, women and children had to traverse the hillsides and forests to reach the tube wells to fetch water. Having animals and crops to water meant multiple trips on foot for hours at a time.

    With a piped connection in her home that provides a supply of water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Sita now has more time to earn a living and her daughters can focus on their studies.

  • Srijana Rai

    Tea shop owner

    Every day, Srijana and her two daughters used to spend hours fetching water from crowded communal hand pumps. The family had to give up pig farming because of the shortage of water and had no income for some time.

    When at last the piped water supply reached their home, Srijana opened a tea shop and has since been earning more to support her family’s daily needs, especially her daughters’ education.

  • Mira Malik

    Housekeeper

    For Mira, fetching water for her family was a daily ordeal. Collecting from communal tube wells or the river meant hours wasted instead of earning additional income to help support her family.

    When an ADB-funded project started in her town of Indrapur, Mira invested in her own piped water supply. With a reliable water source in her home, she regained those hours and used them to boost her earnings. She also has more time to spend with her family and friends. This means she can enjoy a more dignified and productive life.

HD videos

  • Asha Tamang

    Clothes shop owner

    Asha had to give up farming because of the lack of reliable water supply in Ilam District. Like most women in her community, she wakes up at crack of dawn and treks to a communal tube well to fetch water for her family’s daily needs. She hopes that the piped water supply that will soon be installed in her home will allow her to go back to growing crops.

  • Kabita Katwal and Manisha Limbu

    Students

    Best friends Kabita and Manisha live together in an isolated community in Itahari. Before their house finally had its own water connection, they spent hours every morning collecting water for cooking and cleaning. This meant that they were often late to school and had little time to study.

    Now that they have water on tap in their tiny hut, they can focus more on schoolwork and having fun together, as tenth-grade students should.

  • Mira Malik

    Housekeeper

    For Mira, fetching water for her family was a daily ordeal. Collecting from communal tube wells or the river meant hours wasted instead of earning additional income to help support her family.

    When an ADB-funded project started in her town of Indrapur, Mira invested in her own piped water supply. With a reliable water source in her home, she regained those hours and used them to boost her earnings. She also has more time to spend with her family and friends. This means she can enjoy a more dignified and productive life.

  • Bhagwati Bayalkoti

    Farmer

    For Bhagwati, fetching water from the communal tube wells or springs meant risking her family’s health. Her husband became ill from drinking contaminated water, and they had to spend what little money they had on hospital bills.

    When she heard of the cost-shared piped water supply projects in their district, Bhagwati immediately signed up for her own connection with high hopes for safer water for her family and, in turn, better health.

  • Srijana Rai

    Tea shop owner

    Every day, Srijana and her two daughters used to spend hours fetching water from crowded communal hand pumps. The family had to give up pig farming because of the shortage of water and had no income for some time.

    When at last the piped water supply reached their home, Srijana opened a tea shop and has since been earning more to support her family’s daily needs, especially her daughters’ education.