Detail technologies_5200

Multiple Use Water System ( Gravity-Fed )

Type: Technologies

Creation: 2019-07-25 18:51 Updated: 2019-12-03 15:54

Compilers: Jhuna Kattel

Reviewers: Renate Fleiner

Country/ region/ locations where the Technology has been applied and which are covered by this assessment

Country: Nepal
Region/ State/ Province: Province-6, Mid-Western Development Region
Further specification of location (e.g. municipality, town, etc.), if relevant: Kunathari VDC-5, Saajh Pani, Barahataal, Badichaur
Map: View Map

Description of the SLM Technology

Short description of the Technology

Natural water source in hill top is collected in a small reservoir-chamber ( to preserve natural source), then passes onto a Reservoir Tank (RVT) for drinking water (ferro-cement tank/ Ghaito) with a capacity of 9000L that falls within individual’s plot of land. When the ferro-cement tank gets filled, water overflows, is collected in another reservoir pond (30,000L) for irrigation and other multiple uses. From the Ghaito and reservoir pond, two pipelines are fed and water is supplied into individual Multiple Use Water System (MUWS) tap towers.

Detailed description of the Technology

The technology is applied in a natural environment. The place of study falls under the dry belt of Nepal, receiving less than average annual rainfall (in context of Nepal). The source of water is natural that is located within a community forest area (samudayik ban), which is owned by the government and consists of trees like Sal, Supari (areca nuts), etc. From there, water collects onto a Ghaito / ferro-cement tank, which falls on the land owned by Mr. Krishna Bahadur B.K., who voluntarily agreed to donate the land for its construction. The total area covered for the tank is 1 ropani (1 hectare = 19.65 ropanis). From the reservoir, water is collected in a ferrocement tank / Ghaito / Thulo tanki (for drinking water) and a reservoir pond (for irrigation). Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) pipes are fed onto the tanks to distribute the water for multiple purposes in 6 Multiple Use Water System (MUWS) tap-towers; which consist of two faucets each - one for drinking and the other for irrigation and other purposes.
The major purposes of this technology are to supply clean water for drinking and other purposes to the community that is comprised of 23 households, through a cheap, effective and simple system. For establishing the system, labour and construction materials were needed for building Ghaito and pipeline systems. For the maintenance, manual labour is necessary. The natural source of water is locally maintained. The quality of the water that is supplied to the 23 households is good and the quantity seems sufficient for the number of households. Operation and maintenance works are done by the locals who collect NPR. 50 from each household. The system is guarded by a watchman (Chaukidar) who is given a monthly stipend of NPR. 800 from the committee. The system was financed through a public-private-partnership (PPP) program; out of which some amount was funded by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) - Sundar Nepal, primary survey of the natural source of water was done by another NGO- Anukulan Project with the help from UK-AID (NPR. 1,46,000) , and the remaining funds were contributed by the locals’ group (NPR. 1,39,183), by collecting NPR. 3000 initially then NPR. 1200 from each household. The then Village Development Committee (VDC) donated NPR. 1,00,000 and labour costs borne by the locals amounted to NPR. 85,600. Total amount invested for the project amounted to NPR. 4,70,783. Benefits of the technology are the sustainable use of water resources through a MUWS system, cheap and effective way to conserve water resources and the ensured availability of clean water even through dry seasons. The villagers like the facts that the water is clean, more water is available for irrigation for vegetable farming, and that their day-to-day life is simplified. They dislike the limited availability of water during dry season and that out of 6 systems only 3 are in operation and the other ones are in a non-working condition.
A separate committee is set up for the smooth operation of the system, which consists of 20 members- 10 males and 10 females. The head of the committee is Mrs. Amrita B.K.. The committee conducts a monthly meeting on 10th of each Nepalese month to discuss the problems and need of maintenance. During the initial setup, the connection of pipelines from the tap systems to the reservoir tanks was, however, done with the contribution of the locals. Every month, each family contributes NPR 50, which goes to a fund that is set up for the times of need. The labor contribution by the people of the VDC was dependent upon the number and availability of family members in the household. Similarly, the use of MUWS system and water from it is also dependent upon the availability of family members. Little to no maintenance was done to the system till now from 2073 B.S. ( 3 years) . Equal number of male and female members are in the committee dedicated to the MUWS system.