Kathmandu, July 28

A national conference on ‘Rainwater Harvesting for Livelihood, Community and Ecosystem Resilience’, concluded today, adopting a seven-point declaration on utilisation of rainwater.

Rainwater harvesting is accumulation and storage of rainwater for reuse, rather than allowing it to run off. Harvesting of rainwater simply involves the collection of water from surface on which rain falls, and subsequently storing it for later use.

Normally water is collected from the roofs of buildings and stored in rainwater tanks. With proper planning, rainwater on roads and pavements can be directed towards local ponds and aquifers.

Experts representing 38 organisations from different countries presented 30 research papers at the programme proposing various water harvesting systems. Around 500 people, including local level representatives from Kathmandu valley attended the event.

UNICEF’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene office in Kathmandu also stated that if managed properly, Kathmandu valley can harvest around 600 million to one billion litres of rainwater in a year.

Government record shows that 15 per cent of Kathmandu valley residents use water supplied through water tanks, while estimated 87 per cent of rainwater in the valley is not utilised.

Speaking at the conference, Minister of Water Supply Bina Magar said she would do the needful to formulate new rules and regulation to effectively implement the recommendations made by the conference. “As we are not able to provide pure drinking water to the people, the recommendations by the conference will be helpful for the ministry,” she said.

Government record shows that about 12 per cent of country’s population does not have access to pure water.

Technical advisor of GUTHI, an organisation that works on water and sanitation sector, Prakash Amatya stressed that the government had to encourage private sector to introduce latest rainwater harvesting technology in the country.