As urbanisation increases across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), a study carried out by our colleagues in HI-AWARE, studies the relationships that 8 towns have with respect to water access and usage. These 8 towns are in 3 countries of the HKH: Pakistan, India and Nepal

1. WATER IN HIMALAYAN TOWNS
Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance
Researchers:
Neha Bharti-TERI
Sreoshi Gupta-ICIMOD
Menaka Hamal-ICIMOD
Bilal Khalid-LEAD Pakistan
Neha Khandekar-TERI
Mahindra Luitel-TMI
Chaaya Vani Namchu-ICIMOD
Kalsang Nyima-TMI
Anjal Prakash-ICIMOD
Prateek Sengupta-CEDAR
Krity Shrestha-Practical Action, Nepal
Design: Debabrat Sukla-ICIMOD6th Sustainable Mountain Summit, Mizoram

2. HKH’s unique topography and hydrogeology is able to support only
3 %Large cities 8 %Small towns
People are flocking to nearest urban
centers increasing urbanization and
water access challenges in Himalayan
cities

3. Urbancentres in the HKH region
<50000
50000 -100000
100000 - 500000
500000 - 1000000
>1000000
/hiaware @hi_aware

4. Haveliyan
Murree
Mussorie
Devaprayag
Tansen
Palpa
Singtam
Kalimpong
Focus
From left to right-

5. HAVELIYAN
Estimated current demand is
3 MGD
Abbotabad, Pakistan
Population: 40,000 (estimated)
80% domestic water
requirements met through
municipal piped supply
Reliance on water tankers
limited to periods of strong
water crisis
Shortages in water are mainly
through groundwater extraction
CRITICAL CHALLENGES
62%
21%
13%
2%
1%
Limited hours of supply
Poor infrastructure
Low quality
PRIME CONCERN

6. MURREE
90% reliance on
springs for water supply
1981
1998
2016
2017
153023
176426
21423
250000+
Population ProjectionOriginal supply network
installed by British army in
1984
Estimated current demand is
3 million gallons per day
Historic hill station founded in 1800s
2union councils- Murree Hills & Cantonment
Rawalpindi, Pakistan

7. Murree
Tourist based water demands and
resultant stresses on available water
resources
Commercial activities such as hotelier and
restaurant activities involved in water
stealing
No water-body source such as
lake/river/dam
Adaptation measures small and scattered
Rain water
harvesting
Seasonal migration
Identification of
new sources
Jhelum Water
Supply Project
Challenges
Strategies

8. MUSSORIE
Uttarakhand, India
Tourist based water demands
and resultant stresses on
available water resources
Limited supply in existing
connection; worse
conditions in public taps +
low pressure
Off season shortfall for water
Tourist season shortfall for water
1%
47%
Frequency of supply goes
down during tourist
season- as low as
16LPCD in some areas

9. MUSSORIE
Coping strategies
People often collect rainwater
off their rooftops, but only a
negligible amount of households
use conventional rainwater
Water tanker lobby is an
integral part of the water supply
system as a power relation is
visible in the town as people
with enough money to spend on
water haven’t really complained
about the situation

10. DEVPRAYAGUttarakhand, India
Key Issues
Water access-declining water
availability
Poor water quality due to silt
and debris
Drying up of existing water
sources
Demand Supply
Scenario
2013 2017-ADB intervention
Demand - 0.66
Supply - 0.20
Gap - 0.46 MLD
Demand - 0.67
Supply - 0.8
Surplus

11. DEVPRAYAG
Bottles upon bottles
Drawing water from
the Ganga
Community water
tank-municipal supply
Drinking water pipes
next to drains

12. TANSENPalpa, Nepal
3 water user group committees
manage
3180 Households
1372 m
Famous destination for domestic
and international tourists
Total estimated demand-
Total estimated supply-
3,500,000 Ltrs
1,947,064 Ltrs 22%
at
Households with tap
connections 73% no taps 27% private taps
deficit
Tansen municipality has
15 wards
Water supply is spring fed

13. TANSEN
Emerging Context
Increase in private
water tankers
Criticisms of
mismanagement, biasness
Small scale rain water
harvesting
Communities pay Rs. 357
more for 1000 ltrs
40%
Water wasted due to leakage
and lack of maintenance
Way Ahead
Source conservation and
protection
Improvement in good
governance and technical
capacity
More investment in source
diversification

14. VYAS
Damauli, Nepal
1996
24259 2001
28245 2011
42899
2015
50739
Inequality in water distribution Weak infrastructure
Population Trend

15. VYAS
Drying wells Poor water quality Limited hours of supply
Collection
and use

16. KALIMPONGWest Bengal, India
Water source
for Kalimpong
is Neora forest
Water demand today-
Population in 1922-
Population in 2011-
14000~
46138~
23 lakh gallons
per day
Distance between forest and city:
86 km
Outdated and weak infrastructure
Major Challenges
Departmental conflict
Stealing of water by breaking old
pipeline
Natural disasters

17. SINGTAMSikkim, India
Most households are rented
out-migrant residents from
rural areas
2Sources of water supply
Adaptive measures
Piped connections for older
inhabitants
Springs PHE supply
2 Types of water connections
PHE supplied water for rented
families
Personal connection with
ward commissioners
Taking water from
neighbors in lean season
Migrating to own villages
during shortages
Sikkim state
government’s
efficiency in
management
of water
found in
discussions

18. 5 ISSUES
An estimation of water demand and supply-with
projections that inculcates climate change impacts
Management of water at the bioregional scale
Protection of springs for sustainable water supply-
rights to people who live close to springs
Estimation of seasonal carrying capacity of the city
and planning accordingly
Water quality and waste management