Abstract
Nepal, a beautiful mountainous country in South Asia, accommodates about one-third of entire length of the Himalaya and eight of ten highest peaks in the world. Nepal is ranked among the richest country in terms of water resource availability. Physiography of Nepal is unique due to the extreme contrast in topography ranging from 64 to 8848 masl within a very short span of 150 km from Terai Plain in the south to higher Himalayan mountains to the north. Groundwater is available in most parts of the country, but the amount and depth vary from place to place. In the Terai, the upper unconfined aquifer (50–60 m) has been considered as good productive shallow zones and most of groundwater production is limited to upper 250 m. Recharge in the Terai is estimated to be 8800 MCM/year. At present, only about 22% of the available dynamic groundwater recharge in Terai is being utilized. The quality of groundwater is generally suitable for irrigation as well as drinking purpose. The groundwater in Kathmandu Valley is overexploited. The natural recharge of groundwater in the valley is estimated at about 5.5 MCM/year. The draft exceeds this recharge due to which water level in the valley in some places is going down by 2 m/year. Groundwater from both deep and shallow aquifers is suitable for irrigation without any treatment, but for drinking and industrial uses, treatment is necessary.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
BGS/Wateraid (2001) Groundwater quality: Nepal. British Geological Survey and Wateraid, 4 pp
Binnie and Partners (1988) Water supply for Kathmandu and Lalitpur from outside the valley. Final report on feasibility study, Appendix-L (Groundwater Resources within the valley)
Bricker SH, Yadav SK, McDonald AM, Satyal Y, Dixit A, Bell R (2014) Groundwater resilience Nepal: preliminary findings from a case study in the middle hills. British Geological Survey Open Report OR/14/069, 67 pp
Dahal RK, Hasegawa S, Masuda T, Yamanaka M (2006) Roadside slope failures in Nepal during torrential rainfall and their mitigation. In: Marui H et al (eds) Disaster mitigation of debris flow, slope failures and landslides, Proceedings of INTERPRAEVENT 2006, vol 2. Universal Academy Press, Tokyo, pp 503–514
Dahal RK, Hasegawa S (2008) Representative rainfall thresholds for landslides in the Nepal Himalaya. Geomorphology 100(3–4):429–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.01.014
Dhital MR (2015) Geology of the Nepal Himalaya. Regional perspective of classic collided orogen. Springer, Heidelberg, 499 pp
Duba D (1982) Groundwater resources in the Terai of Nepal. Water and Energy Commission Secretariat Report
Electrowatt (1984) Eastern Terai irrigation project Nepal, vol 1–4
Gautam R (1991) Groundwater resource evaluation of Kathmandu valley. J Nepal Geol Soc 7:39–48
GDC (1994) Reassessment of groundwater development strategy for irrigation in the Terai, 6 volumes
GDC (1987) Study of Groundwater development strategies for irrigation in the Terai
Grimmelmann WF (1984) Preliminary hydrogeological mapping of Nepal-Regional Mineral Resources Development Center, Report No. 201-1984 (Unpublished)
Hagen T (1969) Report on the geological survey of Nepal. Volume 1: Preliminary reconnaissance. Denkschiiften der Schweizerischen Naturforscharden Gesellschaft, Band LXXXVI/1, 185 pp (with a geological map)
JICA (1990) Groundwater management project in Kathmandu valley. Final Report to Nepal water supply corporation
Kansakar DR (2011) Regulating common pool groundwater under fugitive surface water law: limitations in laws and regulations in Nepal. A report submitted to Jalsrot Vikas Sanstha/Global Water Partnership Nepal, 31 pp
KVWSMB (2012) Annual report 2012 of Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB)
KVWSMB (2010) Annual report, Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board
Mathur LP, Kohli G (1963) Exploration and development of the oil resources of India. In: Proceedings of 6th World Petroleum Congress, 19–26 June, Frankfurt, Germany
Metcalf and Eddy (2000) Urban water supply reforms in the Kathmandu Valley (ADB-TA Report number 2998-NEP), Completion report. Volume I & II—Executive summary, main report and Annex 1 through 7. Metcalf and Eddy, Inc. with CEMAT Consultants Ltd.
Mukherjee A (2018) Groundwater of South Asia. Springer Nature, Singapore. ISBN 978-981-10-3888-4
NPHC (2011) National Population and Housing Census 2011 (National Report), vol 1. Central Bureau of Statistics, Government of Nepal, 264 pp
Pant BR (2010) Groundwater quality of Kathmandu valley of Nepal. Environ Monit Assess. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1706-y
Sharma CK (1974) Ground water resources of Nepal. Wonder Printing Press, Kathmandu, p 140
Shrestha D, Shukla A (2010) Private water tanker operators in Kathmandu: analysis of water services and regulatory provisions. A paper present in Regional Conference on Water & Governance, organized in Bhutan, SaciWATERs
Shrestha BR, Whitney JW, Shrestha KB (eds) (2004) The State of Arsenic in Nepal-2003. National Arsenic Steering Committee, Environment and Public Health Organization, Kathmandu, Nepal, 126 pp and CD-ROM
Stanley IL (1994) The Bagmati Basin water management strategy and investment program. Report to Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning, Government of Nepal
Tahal Consulting Engineers (1992) Bhairahawa lumbini groundwater project environmental assessment study
UNDP/GWRDB (1987–1992) Shallow ground water investigation in Terai. Technical Report, Groundwater Resource Development Board
Upreti BN (1999) An overview of the stratigraphy and tectonics of the Nepal Himalaya. J Asian Earth Sci 17:741–753
Warner NR, Levy J, Harpp K, Farruggia F (2008) Drinking water quality in Nepal’s Kathmandu valley: a survey and assessment of selected controlling site characteristics. Hydrogeol J 16:321–334
WECS (2005) National water plan for Nepal. Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
WECS/DHMN (1996) Methodologies for estimating hydrologic characteristics of ungauged locations of Nepal (vol 2—Annexes). Water and Energy Commission Secretariat and Department of Hydrology and Meteorology of Nepal
Water Resources Act (1992) Government of Nepal, www.lawcommission.gov.np
Water Resources Regulations (1993) Government of Nepal, www.lawcommission.gov.np
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Shrestha, S.R., Tripathi, G.N., Laudari, D. (2018). Groundwater Resources of Nepal: An Overview. In: Mukherjee, A. (eds) Groundwater of South Asia. Springer Hydrogeology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3889-1_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3889-1_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-3888-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-3889-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)