Water: Waste Not, Want Not
Water is a vast, yet valuable commodity in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. As I trek along the numerous rivers and streams; step over black, narrow water hoses that lead from these natural waterways to outdoor community water stations for washing dishes, clothes, rice, and more; gaze at the irrigated rice fields; and admire the snow covered peaks; I wonder why porters must carry thousands of cases of bottled water up the rocky and dusty paths of the Himalayas. In Kathmandu, I turn on the tap and puzzle over the few drops of water that fall from the faucet (and when it does come out of the tap, there may not be any hot water, but that’s another, yet related story).
I hear there is a water shortage in Kathmandu. How can this be, I ask myself, thinking of all the water rushing down the mountains? Looking at statistics on water, I see that 96% of urban residents have access to “improved” drinking water . But I also read statistics showing the population in the Kathmandu Valley has doubled in the past five years. Statistics also show that 89% of rural residents have access to “improved” drinking water , but I’ve witnessed many people hauling water several kilometers from their homes.
The infrastructure was inadequate in Kathmandu before the population doubled. With so much new construction, the wells have been contaminated. In rural Nepal, the infrastructure is substandard or non-existent. The situation is so critical that there is a mandate in the current interim constitution and the proposed constitution to ensure clean water for all individuals in Nepal. Even when the proposed constitution is ratified, it will still be years before this mandate is satisfied.
Meantime, the Nepalis have learned how to cope with the situation. Their daily use of safe water in Kathmandu is limited by either insufficient supply from individual wells or from the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL). Americans can, in turn, learn from this as well. What, might you ask, can we learn? We, who have water at our immediate disposal, don’t think about it being a limited resource. As the biggest users, and one might say biggest wasters of water, we Americans should ask ourselves what changes we would make in our daily lives if we had a limited supply of water.
NSA Water Filters