ADB_book_18 April.qxp - Himalayan Document Centre - icimod

half of all motor vehicles in Kathmandu. Most of thegrowth in motor vehicle fleets is concentrated inKathmandu Valley. In March 2004, for example, thenumber of registered automobiles in Nepal was418,910, of which about half were in KathmanduValley (DOTM 2005).Water SupplyIn 2000, about 78% of the people living in urban areashad access to an improved water supply within 15minutes of home (WaterAid Nepal 2004). However,there is significant variation in the coverage, servicelevel, and qualities of supplied water between andwithin urban areas. A survey conducted in 2002 innine municipalities outside Kathmandu showed thatpiped water supply coverage varied from 7% to 65%of households (Nippon Jogesuido 2002). Groundwateris the main source of water in the Terai and isgenerally adequate in terms of quantity; hill townsare served from surface sources and generally faceserious water availability problems. Quality ofsupplied water is quite often a concern; arseniccontent has become an alarming issue in many ruralwater supply schemes in the Terai, whereasbiological contamination is generally the mainconcern where surface water is used. Except for afew towns such as Dhulikhel, Damak, andMechinagar, water supplies are intermittent, withwater available only a few hours a day (ADB 2000).Inadequate quantity, non-uniform distribution ofwater, unreliability of supply, and high rate ofunaccounted for water (due to leakage and illegalconnections) are major issues related to watersupply in the urban areas of Nepal. The rate ofunaccounted for water is particularly high inKathmandu (IUCN 1999; ADB 2000).sewerage systems in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, andBhaktapur cover approximately 13,000 households(ADB 2000). A 2002 survey in nine small townsoutside Kathmandu revealed that, in general, onlyparts of town centers have storm drainage; some arecovered but most are uncovered (Nippon Jogesuido2002). In these towns, the total length of storm drainsvaried from 2 to 22 km. During the rainy season,drainage is a serious problem, particularly in theurban areas of the Terai.Solid WasteSolid waste is generally very poorly managed bymunicipalities in Nepal (ADB 2000). More than half ofthe municipalities have not even identified orproposed sites for land-filling their wastes, let alonecarrying out proper land-filling. In general, waste iscollected, transported, and disposed of bymunicipalities. Lack of resources—including humanresources, infrastructure, and equipment—is acommon problem faced by municipalities inattempting to manage solid waste. Siting andoperation of landfills is highly sensitive andcontroversial. Many municipalities have worked inpartnership with the private sector, nongovernmentorganizations (NGOs), and community groups inSanitation and DrainageIn 2000 sanitation coverage in urban areas of Nepalwas 67% of the population (WaterAid Nepal 2004).The provision of sanitation infrastructure is generallyvery poor: a significant proportion of the urbanpopulation outside Kathmandu is still not connectedto wastewater or sewerage systems. In smallertowns, households are either without sanitationfacilities or served by septic tanks or pits, or illegallyuse storm water drains as sanitary sewers.Wastewater treatment facilities are very limited, andwhere provided they suffer from chronic disrepair,maintenance, and operation problems, and are oftennon-functional. For example, three sewage treatmentplants in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur are not functioning.Sewerage systems, often combined with stormwater drainage systems, only exist in some urbanareas; and their coverage is limited. The combinedAbandoned Chamber Built for Burning Medical WasteNEFEJChapter 8: Urban Environment107