AAArrrssseeennniiiccc TTThhhrrreeeaaattt aaannnddd IIIrrrrrriiigggaaatttiiiooonnn MMMaaannnaaagggeeemmmeeennnttt iiinnn NNNeeepppaaalll Preliminary findings from the Narayani Irrigation Command Area The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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© FAO 2004 AAArrrssseeennniiiccc TTThhhrrreeeaaattt aaannnddd IIIrrrrrriiigggaaatttiiiooonnn MMMaaannnaaagggeeemmmeeennnttt iiinnn NNNeeepppaaalll Preliminary findings from the Narayani Irrigation Command Area

By

Suman Sijapati, Nepal Bandana Pradhan, Nepal Umesh Parajuli, Nepal

Funded by FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Through the FAO Netherlands Partnership Program (FNPP)

Rome, July 2004 TABLE OF CONTENT

Pages

Preface v Executive Summary vii List of Acronym and Abbreviation ix INTRODUCTION 1 Preamble of the Study 1 The Study Area 1 Methodology 3 Organization of the Report 6 ARSENIC ISSUE AND WATER PLANS IN NEPAL 9 Documents on Arsenic and its Occurrence and Effects in Nepal 9 Plans and Programs for Irrigation Development in Nepal 13 ARSENIC STATUS OF TERAI AND NARAYANI COMMAND AREA 17 General Overview of the Country’s Arsenic Status 17 Arsenic Status in the Command Area of Narayani Irrigation System 19 Surface Irrigation Water Availability in NIS command area 21 Flooding versus the Level of Arsenic 23 Level of Arsenic and the Cases of Arsenicosis 24 Mitigation Measures and the Cases of Arsenicosis 25 Discussion 26 CHALLENGES TO NEPAL’S IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND THE NEED TO MODERNIZE IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT 27 Present Status of Irrigation Development and Challenges to it 27 The Policy Reform 28 Need to Modernize Irrigation Management 30 YEAR ROUND IRRIGATION AND ARSENIC THREAT IN GROUNDWATER: COPING STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE 33 Arsenic Threat in Groundwater for Year Round Irrigation 33 Coping Strategies for the Future 34 Perspective for Future Investigation 36 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 37 Conclusions 37 Recommendations 38 BIBLIOGRAPHY 40 ANNEX 1 43 ANNEX 2 44 ANNEX 3 46 ANNEX 4 48 ANNEX 5 50 ANNEX 6 51 ANNEX 7 52 ANNEX 8 54

iii LIST OF TABLES

1. Arsenic Sample Tests in Nepal by Different Agencies 3 2. Targets set by NWRS 15 3. Arsenic Status of the Different Districts of Nepal 17 4. Number of VDCs and Arsenic Tests 19 5. Arsenic Level in the NIS Districts 20 6. Arsenic Status by Agencies in the NIS Command Area 20 7. Arsenic Contamination in the Tube wells in the NIS Command Area 20 8. Status of Arsenic and Arsenicosis in NIS Districts and Command Area 25 9. Impacts of Arsenic Mitigation Options 26 10. Irrigation Development by Type the Country’s Land Resources 27

LIST OF FIGURES

1. Location Map of NIS Command Area and the Concerned Districts 2 2. Layout Map of NIS Depicting the Different Blocks 2 3. Process of Analysis of the Status of Arsenic and Arsenicosis Patient 4 4. Schematic Diagram of Study Methodology 6 5. Spatial Distribution of Arsenic Level in Nepal Determined through Water Sample Tests 18 6. Spatial Distribution of Arsenic Level in the VDCs of NIS Command Area 21 7. Percentage of Samples Above WHO Benchmark versus WAI 22 8. Percentage of Samples Above Nepal Standard versus WAI 23 9. Maximum Arsenic Level versus Level of Flooding 24 10. Irrigation Development by Types 27

iv PREFACE

The FAO Netherlands Partnership Programme (FNPP) seeks to support FAO’s worldwide efforts to improve food security and to eliminate poverty. This is realized through assisting FAO’s member countries in formulating national level policies and strategies. FNPP adopted three main areas of interest: 1) food security; 2) agro-biodiversity; and 3) forestry, whereas “water” is a cross-cutting theme and is embedded in all the three main themes.

In 2003, a sub-theme on “Integrated Water Resources Management with a focus on Vulnerable Groups” (IWRM-VG) was formed with the aim to assist the selected countries in their efforts to formulate policies and strategies regarding integrated water resources management to improve water productivity at the national and sub-national level and to promote IWRM approach. This sub-theme was led by FAO’s Agriculture Water Resources, Development and Management Service (AGLW). Four countries facing difficulties in food security and where FAO-AGLW had already been actively involved in the water sector were chosen for intervention. These countries include Cambodia and Nepal in Asia and Burkina Faso and Tanzania in Africa.

In Nepal, AGLW-FAO has been involved in the implementation of several projects and programmes including On Farm Water Management Pilot Programme (OFWMPP), Women, Irrigation and Nutrition (WIN) Project and Irrigation Modernization programme.

OFWMPP, a sub-component of Nepal Irrigation Sector Project (NISP), was initially developed by AGLW-FAO. AGLW-FAO has also been providing technical backstopping to the project. The project commenced in 1999 on a pilot basis and will be completed in June 2004. OFWMPP seeks to achieve sustainability and improvements in irrigation sector by introducing effective measures in on-farm water management.

WIN project that started in 2000 was an international project, which was implemented in Cambodia, Nepal and Zambia. Although the project was completed in December 2003, Nepal Government has provided some funds for the bridging up phase until July 2004. The main objective of the project was to increase women’s capacity to participate in and to influence water resources management and increase their access to productive resources. AGLW, together with other Divisions of FAO, has been part of the core-team that developed and implemented the project. In Nepal, WIN project has closely been working with the OFWMPP, Department of Irrigation (DOI) and Department of Agriculture (DOA).

FAO has also recently been involved in capacity building of DOI staff in order to develop strategy to modernize irrigation systems, which aims at increasing productivity of water and promoting service oriented approach. In this regard, FAORAP organized an in-service training workshop on “Irrigation Modernization, Management Improvement, and Benchmarking” in Sunsari Morang Irrigation Project in 2003. The workshop targeted the irrigation and agriculture professionals to help shift their mindsets from the present form of “fixed” and “hardware” oriented management of irrigation systems to the “software” and “service” oriented Irrigation Management.

Taking advantage of the above mentioned initiatives, experiences, and collaboration between the different FAO projects in Nepal, FNPP sub-theme on “IWRM-VG”, in November 2003, jointly organized a workshop on “Modernization of Irrigation Management for Integrated Water Resources Management, Women’s Participation, and Vulnerable Groups Development” with WIN and OFWMP projects. This workshop was initially planned to be conducted in the western Terai in one of the WIN project sites, however because of security

v situation in the country the workshop was shifted to the central Terai and was held in Narayani Irrigation Scheme (NIS) that is facing water scarcity and management problems such as highly fluctuating water supply and Head-Tail difference in water availability. The workshop aimed at improving the understanding and knowledge of the Irrigation and Agricultural Engineers of concepts of Integrated Water Resources Management and Modernization; Service oriented approach in irrigation management; Stakeholders governance set-up; and addressing water demands of vulnerable groups including women and poor; and environment. The main outcomes of the workshop included modernization plan for NIS and an outline of national priorities and strategies for the modernization of irrigation projects in Nepal.

The workshop also highlighted a major problem of Arsenic contamination in water, specifically in the Rautahat district, which is at the tail of the system and practically receives no surface water. Water users in this district rely mainly on groundwater extraction to fulfill irrigation as well as domestic need. This is also one of the districts with highest Arsenic levels in groundwater in Nepal. These findings have implication on the modernization strategy of NIS and the country in general and any new policy/strategy must address this problem.

The findings of the workshop triggered this preliminary study to look at the Arsenic threat in the groundwater and its implication on the irrigation strategy and modernization plan, specifically when the country’s irrigation strategy is based on conjunctive use of surface and groundwater. The study aims to shed light on the extent and acuteness of Arsenic contamination of groundwater and to initiate a debate within the Department of Irrigation for a national level modernization plan that does not only address issues related to quantity of water but also takes quality of irrigation water into account to prevent any possible future catastrophe as a result of use of Arsenic contaminated groundwater for irrigation and domestic purpose.

Daniel Renault Robina Wahaj Senior Officer, Irrigation System Management Consultant, Water Resources, Development and Management Water Management Service (AGLW) AGLW

vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has recently taken many significant initiatives for the enhancement in the performance of the irrigation sector. Adaptation of a new Water Resource Strategy, 2002 and subsequently the new Irrigation Policy, 2003 are the most pertinent among them. The present challenge is to convert the policy directives into suitable strategies and subsequently into concrete actions. One new issue that has recently entered into the scenario while developing the action plan is the issue of Arsenic contamination in the groundwater. Greater focus of Agriculture Perspective Plan on the use of groundwater for achieving year round irrigation has been questioned due to this threat from Arsenic. This study, which is mainly concerned with the issue of arsenic contamination in the groundwater and its implications on irrigation and agriculture policies, is an endeavor towards a better understanding of the actual water quantity and quality situation of the Terai of Nepal. It also aims to initiate further thinking in the Department of Irrigation (DOI) in the process of building a strategy for Irrigation Management Modernization (SIMM).

This study has been triggered by preliminary studies carried out in 2003 by FAO under FAO-Netherlands partnership program and Women Irrigation and Nutrition project on modernization of irrigation management and aimed at shedding further light on the topic of Arsenic contamination in groundwater, which is relatively new for Nepal. The command area of the Narayani Irrigation System was chosen as a case study because of earlier FAO studies conducted in the system. Following are main observations made:

1. Although Arsenic contamination in the tube wells of the Terai districts has only recently been known, the problem among the local communities appears to be already serious as it is found to affect the basic human requirements like drinking water and health. 2. Arsenic risk population is increasing. Moreover since groundwater is the main source of drinking water in the rural communities of the Terai districts, these communities are potentially at a risk of Arsenic related health problems. The arsenic problem will further intensify in the future, if effective control measures are not undertaken. 3. Preliminary analysis of the data of Arsenic level in the Village Development Committees of the study area has revealed that Arsenic level is inversely related to surface irrigation water availability. Even though this analysis needs to be further verified through accurate investigation of the exact nature of correlation, the fact implies that improving the performance of surface irrigation delivery can reduce Arsenic level. 4. Another preliminary analysis of the comparison of the magnitude of flooding and the level of Arsenic in the VDCs of the study area has indicated that, in Nepal the level of Arsenic is not related to magnitude of the flooding that the area has to face. Again, this preliminary finding needs to be verified with more accurate investigation. 5. Majority of the patients who have Arsenicosis are found to be at the first level of symptomatic stage and so are found not to have felt any problem. The level of awareness among local communities about the mitigating options is very low because of lack of regular monitoring. 6. Although, to date, no one in Nepal has explored Arsenic uptake by different crops and plants from irrigation water or soil. Review of studies conducted elsewhere in the world on the issue (see e.g. Warren et. al. 2003; Farid et al; 2003) demonstrate significant uptake of Arsenic by a variety of vegetables and cereals that can get into the food chain and ultimately effect human health. Since the country’s planned

vii irrigation development is foreseen to rely largely on groundwater exploitation, there is a high risk, if proper control measures are not taken and the water resources are not managed properly, that the use of Arsenic contaminated groundwater may turns out to be disastrous in the future. This situation does not seem alarming yet but needs to be taken very seriously and proper measures need to be taken to deal with the threat posed by Arsenic contamination while implementing HMG Nepal irrigation strategy for Agriculture intensification through year-round irrigation. The results of this study call for careful implementation of the irrigation strategy and irrigation system modernization taking groundwater quantity in due consideration.

Based on this very preliminary study, the following measures are suggested for further actions: • Monitoring of the tubewells and other water sources needs to be done regularly. Samples of topsoil of the affected area should also be tested for Arsenic. • As the level of Arsenic is found to be inversely related to surface irrigation water availability the need for modernization of the exiting surface irrigation systems or the development of new schemes is further justified from this perspective also. • In addition to hair and water analysis, urine analysis of Arsenicosis patients should be carried out to give more information of people arsenic concentration in the body. • Effective awareness measures of the causes and effects of Arsenic based on in-depth analysis should be conducted for local communities. • As it has been observed that mainly the rural poor communities are the victims of Arsenicosis it has been suggested that the awareness campaigns on the causes and effects Arsenic should be expanded and made more effective in the affected areas. • There is an urgent need to develop a national strategy for irrigation system modernization, which aims to improve management and performance of the surface irrigation systems in Nepal in coherence with the vulnerability of the sub-command areas with respect to arsenic contamination.

viii LIST OF ACRONYM AND ABBREVIATION

$ US dollar AMIS Agency Managed Irrigation System APP Agriculture Perspective Plan CAD Command Area Development DEO District Education Office DHM Department of Hydrology and Meteorology DOA Department of Agriculture DOI Department of Irrigation DTW Deep Tube Well DWSS Department of Water Supply and Sewerage FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FMIS Farmers Managed Irrigation System FNPP FAO Netherlands Partnership program GIS Geographical Information System GRDFO Groundwater Resources Development Field Office ha Hectare HMG/N His Majesty’s Government of Nepal IDDO Irrigation Development Division Office IMD Irrigation Management Division IMSP Irrigation Management Support Program ISF Irrigation Service Fees PDSP Planning and Design Support Program PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Program JTA Junior Technician Assistant MOAC Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MOWR Ministry of Water resources MTEF Medium Term Expenditure Framework NEC Nepal Eastern Canal NEWAH Nepal Water and Health NGO Non-Government Organization NIMEC National Irrigation Monitoring and Evaluation Committee NIMI National Irrigation Management Institute NIS Narayani Irrigation System NRCS Nepal Red Cross Society NRs Nepalese Rupees ($ 1 is equivalent to NRs 74) NWRS National Water Resources Strategy OFWM On-farm Water Management Program PDMED Planning, Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division PLAN Plan International RAP Rapid Appraisal Procedure RWSSFDB Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Fund Development Board RWSSSSP Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Programme O&M Operation and Maintenance SIMM Strategy for Irrigation Management Modernization STW Shallow Tube Well VDC/s Village Development Committee/s WAI Water Availability Index WHO World Health Organization

ix WIN Women Irrigation Nutrition WRR Water Resources Regulation WUA/s Water Users Association/s WUG/s Water Users Group/s

x INTRODUCTION

Preamble of the Study

Nepal requires the management of medium to large irrigation systems to be modernized. Low water use efficiency, low level of collection of irrigation service fees, deteriorating stage of basic infrastructure of many agency managed irrigation systems, are all indicators of the need for modernization. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has recently undertaken some significant initiatives in this direction. Adaptation of a new Water Resource Strategy, 2002 and subsequently the new Irrigation Policy 2003 are the most pertinent among them. The present challenge is to convert the policy directives and the visions of the long-term plans like the Agriculture Perspective Plan (1995-2015), 10th Five Year Development Plan and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (2003-2006) into concrete and practical actions.

One new issue that has recently entered the scenario is the issue of Arsenic in the groundwater. It has questioned APP’s greater focus on the use of groundwater for achievement of year round irrigation. Available documents indicate that Nepal’s 24 districts, including all 20 Terai districts and four hill districts have shown Arsenic contamination in groundwater. About one third of the total 29,953 tubewells tested for up to December 2003 have shown Arsenic concentration with over 10 ppb which according to WHO guidelines are not acceptable for consumption. Even according to the Nepal Interim Standard (50 ppb), about 7% of the total is not acceptable for consumption.

As part of the development of a strategy for irrigation management modernization it was considered necessary to investigate further on the issue of groundwater arsenic contamination. Thus a study was proposed aiming to create a better understanding of the actual situation of the Terai of Nepal. Command area of Narayani Irrigation System was taken as the sample for the study. Through the study it was aimed to create partnership with other institutions involved in the arsenic studies and to initiate further thinking in DOI about building a Strategy for Irrigation Management Modernization (SIMM).

Three national consultants were recruited for the study: one from the Planning Division of the Department of Irrigation, the second from Tribhuvan University, Institute of Medicine and the third from the On-farm Water Management Program. All three members worked as a team for the preparation of this report.

The Study Area

Rationale for Selection

Even though the general discussions in this study cover the whole national spectrum the command area of Narayani Irrigation System (NIS) was selected as the case for in-depth analysis. The selection was made, as NIS is one of the large irrigation schemes located in the central Terai of Nepal. It is also one of the schemes in which conjunctive use of both surface and ground water is practices in significant parts of the command area. Moreover, its command area also includes Rautahat district, which is one of the most severely Arsenic affected districts. An irrigation modernization workshop has been carried out in 2003 on the irrigation system so there were substantial data collected

1 during the exercise which could be used for this study. Furthermore, as observed from the RAP and benchmarking exercise large variation in terms of water availability exists in the command area of the scheme.

Description of NIS

NIS is part of an extensive irrigation system whose primary source of water is the Narayani River. Water is diverted to the system through the Don Canal, which serves the Nepal Eastern Canal (NEC) of capacity 24.1 cumecs. Its main canal runs from west to east for 81 km starting at the Nepal-Indian border. The planned command area of NIS is of 37,400 ha covering major portions of Parsa, Bara and Rautahat districts. Figure 1 shows the location map depicting the NIS command area and the concerned districts.

Figure 1 Location Map of NIS Command Area and the Concerned Districts

Figure 2 Layout Map of NIS Depicting the Different Blocks

2 There are 15 Blocks in the system, each consisting of 2,200-3,000 ha. The main secondary canals run north to south from the main canal for distances between 3 and 11 km. Figure 2 shows the layout map depicting the different blocks.

Methodology

The methodology followed during the conduction of the study basically comprised of the 6 tasks, which are briefly explained in this section.

Task 1: Networking and Partnership

On the onset of this study all available information and documents of efforts to study and synthesize the arsenic problem in Nepal and elsewhere were collected and compiled. This information was then used for two purposes. Firstly, all relevant information relating to Arsenic were summarized and compiled as literature review (Chapter 2 of this report). Secondly, all organizations working in arsenic problem in Nepal were identified an inventory was prepared. Table 1 lists the organizations dealing with Arsenic problem in Nepal and the coverage of the data collected by them.

Table 1: Arsenic Sample Tests in Nepal by Different Agencies (as of Dec 2003) Arsenic level (in ppb) Total samples % of samples Source of Data <10 >10-50 >50 tested tested DWSS 6768 2022 1216 10006 33.4 NRCS 6536 2709 503 9748 32.5 RWSSSP/ FINNIDA 3131 306 191 3628 12.1 NWSC 16 14 0 30 0.1 NEWAH 235 85 29 349 1.2 Plan 2778 2171 70 5019 16.8 Tandukar 59 32 8 99 0.3 RWSSFDB 887 122 12 1021 3.4 KTH 22 12 19 53 0.2 Total samples 20,432 7,473 2,048 29,953 100 tested % 68.2 24.9 6.8 100 Note: DWSS = Department of Water Supply and Sewerage; NRCS = Nepal Red Cross Society; RWSSSP = Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Programme; RWSSFDB = Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Fund Development Board; NEWAH = Nepal Water and Health; PLAN = Plan International; DEO = District Education Office.

Working relationships were established with all the relevant individuals and organizations working in the area of Arsenic as it was considered to be useful also for the next phase of the study.

Task 2: Compilation and Desegregation of Data for NIS Command Area

The data of Arsenic for this study have been basically derived from secondary sources. Although the data was collected by different agencies for their own purpose, they have covered as large number of tubewells without overlapping. Thus a satisfactory range of spatial dimension was covered. However, in terms of temporal aspect, even though there

3 are some variations it is not of sufficient range to give a fruitful analysis. The components of arsenic problem and the area covered by differ agencies was found to differ. Generally, all the agencies have dealt with arsenic concentration in tubewell water. Additionally, the study conducted by the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) with the support of ENPHO provides information on health condition of the Arsenicosis patients, as well as impacts of arsenic mitigation measures.

An exhaustive collection of date of the study area was compiled and analyzed from different perspective for the study. Data and information on arsenic have been acquired at two spatial levels. The first level includes total tube well samples for all three districts, viz. Parsa, Bara and Rautahat, lying in the command area of Narayani Irrigation System (NIS). At the second level, the data and information covers water samples of the tube wells at Village Development Committee (VDC) of those districts that fall within the irrigated command area of NIS.

Task 3: Analysis of the Available Data including Spatial Display through GIS Map

The process adopted by this study for analysis of the available data for assessing the status of Arsenic and Arsenicosis patient has been schematically presented Figure 3. The following steps explain the process: • Arsenic concentration in the water of tube wells was performed at two levels: one at Nepal Interim Standard (50 ppb) and other as per the WHO Guidelines (10 ppb). • The Arsenic status was analyzed at both VDC and district levels in the command area of the NIS, based on the available samples of the agencies.

NIS Command Area 134

As Tested (87 VDC)

Contaminated Tubewells Tubewells Tested 2389 108

Risk Households Risk Family Members Households 5122 882

Skin Problem Skin Problem Family Households (38) Members (45)

Arsenicosis Problem Family Members 35 Figure 3 Process of Analysis of Status of Arsenic and Arsenicosis Patient

4 • The Arsenic (As) concentration (ppb) in water of the tubewells was analyzed at three levels viz. <10 ppb, from 10 to 50 ppb, and over 50 ppb, and maximum concentration of arsenic was also acquired. • Based on the samples, the households consuming Arsenic contaminated water above Nepal Interim Standard (50 ppb) were classified as risk households. Among the risk household members, the Arsenicosis (Asc) patients were identified based on the clinical examination. Arsenicosis prevalence rate was computed as the ratio between symptomatic patients and total risk population, expressed in terms of percent. • The effect of Arsenic mitigation options and their impacts on risk population, as well as health condition of the Arsenicosis patients were analyzed. • Hair and nail of the Arsenicosis patients were analyzed to indicate the arsenic concentration.

Based on the analysis tables, graphs and maps were constructed to depict the characteristics of Arsenic problem of the study area. All these have been presented in Chapter 3 of this report. A digital map based on GIS showing all the VDCs within the study area including the VDC boundaries was prepared as part of the study. Arsenic status of each VDC was depicted on the GIS map. Visual display and analysis of the pattern of Arsenic level in the spatial dimension was made possible through the map.

Task 4: Linkage with SIMM Development

As groundwater management is considered to be a very important component of the strategy for modernization of irrigation management in Nepal it was considered very critical to link Arsenic diagnosis of this study to the process of developing the Strategy for Irrigation Management Modernization (SIMM) within DOI. Thus, as part of the study, all the prevailing plans and programs of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal for irrigation development were reviewed. Synthesis of the major plans and programs is a part of the literature review in Chapter 2 of this report.

Starting from the present status of irrigation development in the country the study tried to enumerate the major challenges that the sector is facing. Then the recent policy reforms made by His Majesty’s Government of Nepal were reviewed. Critical analysis was done in the light of the prominent features and the new provisions of the policy document. The need and broad areas for modernizing irrigation management were identifies and discussed. Detailed action plan for the execution of the new policy through a suitable strategy was then develop and finally status of Arsenic in the country and it consequences on the strategies and action plan of irrigation development and management was discussed.

Task 5: Workshop for Dissemination of Findings and Gathering Feedback

After a draft report was prepared based on the findings of the study a workshop was organized. The objective of the workshop was to disseminate the findings of the study and to gather feedback. The opportunity of the 51st Anniversary of the Department of Irrigation was capitalized and the Society of Irrigation Engineers, Nepal (SIREN) was mobilized for the conduction of the workshop. Findings of the study was shared with the participants and feedback gathered for finalizing the report.

5 Task 6: Report Preparation including Proposal for Further Investigations

Finally, the report was finalized jointly by all the study team members. This report summarizes the investigations and analysis done in the course of the study and described the finding and conclusions derived from the study. It also contains feedback from the workshop. Suggestions for further investigations in pertinent issues are also included in the report.

The Study Methodology including all the tasks conducted in the process has been schematically presented in Figure 4

Task 1: Gathering of information on Arsenic

Discussion with concerned agencies

Synthesis of Task 2: Literature Review Compilation of Data Review of plans and from the Study Area program in irrigation

Analysis Development Task 3: of SIMM

Status of Arsenic Compilation of data Threat in Nepal from the Study Area

Draft Report Task 4: Task 5: Dissemination Workshop

Task 6: Final Report Figure 4 Schematic Diagram of Study Methodology

Organization of the Report

This report is organized and presented in 7 chapters. After this first chapter, which gives a general introduction, the second chapter presents a summary of the relevant literature reviewed in the course of the study. The status of the Arsenic level in the study area and the various analysis done based on the available data is presented in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 moves on to a broader perspective and presents an overview of the present status of irrigation development in the country and the major challenges that the sector is facing.

6 It also outlines the recent policy reforms made by His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and discusses on the need to modernize irrigation management. Chapter 5 further builds up the discussion and goes on to develop a detailed action plan for the execution of the new policy through a suitable strategy. The threat caused by Arsenic and its consequences on strategy for modernization of irrigation management and the suitable measures that should be taken in handling the problem of Arsenic is presented in Chapter 6. Finally, conclusions from the study and the recommendations of the study team are presented in Chapter 7.

7 ARSENIC ISSUE AND WATER PLANS IN NEPAL

This part of the report presents a summary of the relevant documentation reviewed during the course of the study. This review can be broadly divided into two categories. Firstly the literatures pertaining to present studies made on Arsenic and the secondly those pertaining to the present policies, plans and strategies of the government for irrigation development and management.

Documents on Arsenic and its Occurrence and Effects in Nepal

General Introduction

Arsenic is a poisonous element. Alberts Magnus first discovered the element in 1250. Arenopyrite (FeSAs) is easily available in nature and As and FeS gets separated when the compound is heated. International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) has identified it as one element causing cancer. Arsenic is soluble in water. Water containing Arsenic cannot be differentiated by smell or color. World Health Organization (WHO) has set 0.01 milligram per liter (10 parts per billion) as the limit for the safety of water for drinking purposes. Bangladesh, India and Nepal have adopted the limit of 50 ppb.

Generally Arsenic is available in much higher concentration in groundwater compared to surface water. World’s highest concentration of Arsenic is presently observed to be located in Bangladesh and West Bengal State of India. About 46 million people of Bangladesh are believed to be victims of this problem among which 0.2 to 0.27 million people may die due to the same reason. Similarly 4 million people in India are also suffering from the same problem (Chakrabarti, 2000).

Source of Arsenic

Arsenic has been found to evolve both from natural as well as human causes. The following are the natural causes: − Arsenic being a natural element can be found in all parts of the world. Natural Arsenic can be found in the form of compounds of Sulpher(S) and Iron (Fe).

Realgar (As4S4), Orpiment (As2S4), Arsenolite (FeAs2), Arsenopyrite (FeAsS), Loellingite (FeAs2), Cobalitite (CoAsS), White Arsenic (As2O3), White Cobalt (CoAs2), Arsenical iron (As4Fe3) and Nickel Glance (NiAsS) are all ores of Arsenic found in the Igneous rocks of the Himalaya. These compounds get dissolved in the water through different processes like erosion and geo-chemical processes like oxidation and reduction and reach the ground water. − If peat is available below the ground level then the Arsenic gets reduced with Hydrous Iron Oxide (FeOOH) and gets dissolved in the groundwater.

The following are the Anthropogenic activities releasing Arsenic in the environment: − Phosphate is mixed in the detergents used for washing clothes. It may have up to 70 to 80 ppb Arsenic. Thus the resultant water from the use of detergents may have up to 150 ppb of Arsenic, which gets dissolved in the groundwater. − Different insecticides and pesticides contain compounds of Arsenic like Sodium

Asenate (NaAsO3), Sodium Asenite (NaAsO2), Calcuim Arsenate [Ca(AsSO4)2] These compounds gets dissolved in the groundwater from the soil.

9 − Poisonous afflux from the different industries gets dissolved in the water and reaches the groundwater resource. − 3 Phosphate (PO4 ) available in the fertilizers converts Fe and Mg Oxide/Hydroxide 3 from arsenic to Arsenate (AsO4 ) and dissolves into groundwater.

Level of Toxicity in the Different Compounds of Arsenic

Natural Arsenic is found in different stages and in different compounds. The level of toxicity is also found to vary from one compound to the other. The following is the level of toxicity in the different compounds of Arsenic: Highest Toxicity Arsine Gas (AsH3) Arsenite (Inorganic, As+3) Arsenoxide Arsenate (As+5) Arsenical Pentavalent Arsonium compounds Lowest Toxicity Elemental Arsenic

Effect of Arsenic Intake

The following are some of the effects observed due to the intake of Arsenic: − Continuous consumption of water containing Arsenic for several years results in the accumulation of poison in the body consequently causing the symptoms of Arsenicosis. The initial symptoms begin with stomachache, vomiting tendency, and blood dysentery. However the symptoms are found to vary from one area to the other and from one person to the other. − Consumption of water containing more than 50 ppb Arsenic for few years results in white spots in the skin (Hypopigmentation), black spots (Hyperpigmentation), thickening and bulges in the skin in the hand and leg (Hyperkeratosis). − Continuous consumption of water containing up to 500 ppb of Arsenic for about 10 years results in the cancer of the skin and if the consumption is for a longer duration of about 20 years cancer of the internal organs (lungs, kidney, urine bladder, etc.) is observed to occur. − No effect is observed to occur from using water containing Arsenic for washing hands, washing clothes, or even bathing. − Arsenic has been found to cause adverse effect on human health, livestock and even on crops (Ahmed 2003, IPCS 2001).

Arsenic also has some useful uses. It is used as a medicine for diseases like Syphilis, Leukemias, etc. It is also used as insecticide and for preserving wood. Arsenic is also used for making battery.

Arsenic in Food Chain

Arsenic is ubiquitously found in air, water, fuels, and marine life. Through the process of bioaccumulation and bio-magnification, crops, fruits, vegetables, meats and fishes obtain arsenic depending on the concentration of arsenic in soil where they are grown and water used for irrigation (Huq and Naidu, 2003).

In the arsenic affected areas, therefore, arsenic may enter into the food chain from water

10 to soil, and soil to food of all varieties, viz. roots and tubers, leafy vegetables, other vegetables, fruits, edible flowers, seeds, fleshy foods, eggs etc. the ultimate recipient being the man. It is known that most of the arsenic in water is in the form As (III), it is likely that a large proportion of this arsenic remains as such in the plant depending on the rate of biomethylation capacity of the plant species.

A preliminary survey data by Chakrawarty, Sinha and Ghosh (2003) indicates that in some variety of vegetables grown in the garden being irrigated by arsenic contaminated water namely, papaya, tomato (ripe), Mayalu, green chilly, jack fruit (green), and Parwar the arsenic concentration was higher than those grown in the unaffected areas. In the case of fruits no significant differences was observed.

Studies from Bangladesh (Haq. & Naidu, 2002; and Farid et al. 2003) have also supported these findings. Haq. and Naidu (2002) conducted a survey in Bangladesh where 500 samples of different vegetables, rice, wheat grasses, both from arsenic affected and non-affected areas were collected and analyzed for the inorganic arsenic. Arsenic in similar types of plants was higher for those from arsenic affected areas as compared to those from unaffected areas. They observed that arsenic in rice and wheat was mostly concentrated in the roots and straws. It was also noted that arsenic in rice grain varies with the variety. It was also observed that some green leafy vegetables act as arsenic accumulator. Some grasses, used as fodder were also found to accumulate the element.

The study of Warren et al. (2003) shows that the bioavailability of soil As to the vegetables grown in the contaminated field depends on the types of crops/vegetables. The higher the Arsenic transfer coefficient the greater the concentration of arsenic in the crop/vegetation. Uptake of Arsenic by plants depends on soil–plant transfer coefficients ranged from 0.01 to 0.1 (Kloke et al. 1984). The Arsenic transfer coefficient can be significantly reduced by using 0.5% Fe Oxide solution in the soil (Warren et. al., 2003).

Arsenic Problem in Nepal

Since a few years the data of groundwater of the Terai of Nepal exceeding the limit set by WHO has been made public. In 1999, WHO/ Nepal and the Water Supply and Sewage Department of Nepal conducted a study of Arsenic in the groundwater of Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari districts in the eastern Terai of Nepal. Similarly, Nepal Red Cross Society and Japanese Red Cross Society tested the groundwater of 17 districts in the Terai. The study showed that Nawalparasi, Rautahat, Bara and Bardia had samples above the safety limits. This attracted the attention of both national and international organization organizations into the matter.

Groundwater from all 20 districts in the Terai of Nepal has been tested for Arsenic. Among these seven districts including Kailali, Kanchanpur, Bardia, Kapilbastu, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi and Rautahat have significant number of samples with Arsenic above the limit of 50 ppb. A health survey conducted by NPCS/ENPHO shows that about 400 people from 4 districts of Terai, i.e., Bara, Pars, Rautahat, and Nawalparasi have been affected by Arsenicosis1 and 28 people have already died from the disease.

1 Arsenicosis is the clinical manifestation of disease shown by skin changes in patients by consuming Arsenic contaminated water above acceptable level.

11 Tests were also conducted of samples from the 8 Terai districts from Kanchanpur to Nawalparasi in which groundwater irrigation schemes are being developed since the last 5 years through loan assistance from the World Bank. Out of the total 307 samples tested 218 were in the range below 10 ppb; 9 were in the range from 10 to 50 ppb; and 80 above 50 ppb. Similarly, tests conducted in Bara, Parsa and Rautahat districts by the Community Groundwater Irrigation Sector Project (CGISP) in 325 STWs and wells have shown that one village in Parsa had Arsenic level of 50 ppb and one in Bara had Arsenic level of 25 ppb. The rest had Arsenic level below 10 ppb. In Rautahat many villages had Arsenic level of the range of 25 to 50 ppb and a few even above 50ppb.

A considerable number of people residing in the Terai are affected by arsenic contamination of ground water. Arsenic toxicity from the consumption of groundwater, particularly tube well water has created serious health problem in the Terai. Besides being used for drinking, cooking and household purposes; ground water is also used for agricultural purposes. Thus, agricultural and horticultural products are being grown in this region from arsenic contaminated water.

Why Arsenic is of Concern to Irrigation Professionals in Nepal

Even though the Arsenic Issue is a relatively new topic and direct linkages with irrigation may not be clearly visible, it has been observed that there are many different linkages that compel irrigation professionals in Nepal to be cautious. The following are some facts that cause the concern: • Use of irrigation water as drinking water • Accumulation of arsenic in topsoil, • Carry over effects on crops, • Decrease in nutrient (protein) content in crops, • Accumulation of arsenic in plants, • Decrease in crop yield,

In Nepal there are many instances where ground water pumped for drinking purpose is also used for irrigation purposes and vice versa. Thus we have to be careful with Arsenic content of all water. Moreover, use of Arsenic contaminated water not only affects crops but also results in the accumulation of arsenic in topsoil, which may again be harmful. Contamination of soil by Arsenic results from mining, smelting of Sulfide ores, particles, timber preservation and As-rich groundwater. Arsenic contaminated soils are major sources of contamination in the food chain and water supplies (Warren, 2003). Carry over effect on crops depends on many factors including the crop itself. Studies carried out in Bangladesh have shown that generally accumulated arsenic decreases from root to shoot (Md. Z. Alam and Md. Rahman, 2004). Protein content in crops is also found to decrease with increased level of Arsenic.

Although accurate arsenic balance at household/farm level needs to consider drinking water as well as food consumption, researches in the past years have mainly focused on ingestion of arsenic through the intake of contaminated ground water. It is pointed out that the food habit, the nature and the amount of food intake might have some role in arsenic intoxication. Studies have been made towards ensuring safe drinking water either through mitigation technique or through finding alternative sources of arsenic safe drinking water (ENPHO/NRCS 2003). These studies, however, do not discuss the potential arsenic exposure pathways that are important to animal and human systems. Even if arsenic safe drinking water is ensured yet, the same ground water will continue to

12 be used for irrigation purpose. This leaves behind a risk of soil accumulation of the toxic element and eventual exposure to the food chain through plant uptake and animal consumption.

Cause of Arsenic in the Groundwater of Nepal

Considering the fact that the tests of samples groundwater in the Terai of Nepal has started very recently, it is very difficult to draw conclusions on the extension and trends of Arsenic problem in the Terai of Nepal.

Study on Arsenic has been jointly conducted by the Department of Irrigation and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Parasi of Nawalparasi district Different layers of soil have been collected and tested in lab at USA. Similarly tubewells of different levels have been constructed and tests have been conducted of water from aquifers of different layers. Geologists say that the Terai of Nepal is made up of soil, sand and sediments deposited by the rivers from the Chure range, which in turn was formed by the depositions of the rivers flowing from the Himalayas during the Middle Miocene (15 million years ago) Era and the Quaternary Era (0.7 million years ago). Thus the source of Arsenic is believed to be the chemical reactions of the rocks in the Chure range.

The studies conducted so far have also revealed that in the Terai of Nepal Arsenic concentration is low in water extracted from 40-50 m from the ground level. Higher concentration of Arsenic is found mainly in STW and handpumps. However, in the case of dugwells, due to high iron concentration and direct contact of water with air helping the oxidization process, Arsenic is found to have settled with the iron thus reducing the level of Arsenic. Another difficulty in seizing the extension of arsenic problem is the time variation of arsenic concentration, as the level of Arsenic is found to vary with season (ENPHO, 2003).

Protective Measures from Arsenic

Based on the information of NRCS (2003), the following four types of mitigation measures are being provided to the Arsenicosis patients: (i) Two-Gagri (water vessel) filter (ii) Innovated dug well, which refers to the wide brimmed dug well with over 50 years old being converted to sanitary dug well with technical improvement such as slab cover, ventilator, wall sealing and raising of well wall (iii) Arsenic iron removal plant (AIRP) (iv) Tube wells from arsenic free aquifer

Along with these, health education is also being given to the population at risk. They are preventive measures intending to provide arsenic free water.

Plans and Programs for Irrigation Development in Nepal

His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has brought out several plans, policies and strategies for the development of irrigation and thereby irrigated agriculture in the country. Of them the Agriculture Prospective Plan (APP), National Water Resources Strategy (NWRS), 10th Five Year Development Plan, and Medium-term expenditure framework

13 (MTEF) are note worthy. Following few paragraphs describes features of these plans and strategies.

Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP)

In 1995, the government brought out a 20-year Agriculture Prospective Plan (APP) with an aim to accelerate Nepal's agricultural growth rate from 3 to 5 percent per annum. It considers irrigation as one of the prime inputs for agricultural development. Other priority inputs include agricultural road, electricity, technology, and fertilizer. For irrigation, APP emphasizes on the development of year round irrigation by improving the existing FMISs and by expanding the installation of shallow tube wells, especially in the Terai.

The Plan proposed to irrigate 612,000 ha of Terai land by groundwater by the year 2015 AD, mainly through shallow tubewells (STWs). In an average, the plan envisaged installing 8,800 shallow tubewells (each irrigating 2.5 ha command area) and 40 deep tubewells per year. The water balance study has shown that the available groundwater resource is adequate to support the proposed scale of groundwater irrigation development in the Terai.

Even today, fundamental basis of APP and its strategy for irrigation (emphasis on use of groundwater) has been reconfirmed, but some of the implementation actions (like market promotion, other support services and installation of shallow tube-wells) need revision. Although intensification of agricultural production using ground water appears to be financially viable, greater commercialization of agriculture products is needed to enhance farmer’s investment on tube-wells. This requires an integrated approach to agriculture.

National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS)

Freshwater system in the country is undergoing continuous natural changes in terms of quality, quantity and morphology. These changes are further accelerated due to increasing human exploitation of water resources caused by increasing population pressure demanding more water for several uses such as irrigation, drinking water, hydropower, and others. Growing concern for environmental degradation has further increased pressure on water resources. To cope up with such phenomenon and to manage country’s water resources in a holistic approach, Nepal brought out its National Water Resources strategy (NWRS) in 2001.

In order to meet those objectives, NWRS has adapted following strategies in irrigation • Integrate irrigation planning and management with agricultural development. • Improve management of existing irrigation systems. • Improve planning and implementation of new irrigation systems. • Develop year-round irrigation for intensification and diversification of agriculture. • Strengthen local capacity for planning, implementation and management of irrigation. • Encourage consolidation of land to promote irrigation/agriculture efficiency. • Improve groundwater development and management.

14 Table 2 presents the short, medium and long-term targets of NWRS for irrigation.

Table 2: Targets set by NWRS Short term Medium term Long term (By the year 2007) (By the year 2017) (By the year 2027) 1. Year round irrigation to 1. Year round irrigation to two- 1. Provision of 60% of irrigated land thirds of irrigated areas irrigation services to 2. 40% increase in average 2. Provision of irrigation systems to 90% of irrigable cereal yield in irrigated 80% of all irrigable land lands area 3. 125% increase in average cereal 2. An average cropping 3. Establishment of yields in irrigated areas intensity that exceeds WUAs that are capable 4. An increase in the effective use of 250% of managing irrigation command area to 80% 3. An increase in systems up to 500 ha 5. An irrigation service contribution irrigation efficiency 4. An average cropping (ISC) by farmers that exceeds to 60% intensity that exceeds 20% of o & m cost 4. An increase in the 200% in year round 6. Establishment of WUAs that are effective use of areas. capable of managing irrigation command area to systems up to 5000 ha 100%

Tenth Five-Year Development Plan

As more than 80 percent of the country's population is engaged in agriculture, the tenth five year development plan through its poverty reduction strategy targets to increase agricultural growth by about 4 to 5 percent. To achieve this target, the strategy focuses on: (i) increased investment from both the private and public sectors; (ii) streamlining the public expenditure in line with the APP investment plan; and (iii) improving the modality of implementation by emphasizing polycentric institutional arrangement2. In order to achieve successful implementation of the APP, strong emphasis need to be laid on package program of fertilizer, irrigation, technology, rural agricultural roads, electricity and market access. The strategy and programs outlined in the tenth five-year development plan are as follows: • Develop deep and shallow tube-wells with appropriate subsidy support in poverty- stricken areas and bring additional areas under irrigation through other irrigation schemes • Increase water use efficiency in the irrigation system • Emphasize on the use of local manpower and inputs in the construction of medium and large irrigation systems • Intensify water management activities

Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)

The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is a complementary tool brought out by the National Planning Commission in order to operationalize the targets set by the Tenth Five Year Development Plan. While doing so it links the annual program and budget with the periodic plan; prioritize programs and expenditure in relation to the periodic plan's goal and objectives, and resources availability; and provide funding guarantee to the prioritized activities. The first MTEF covered the initial three years (FY

2 Improved modality of implementation also means involvement of private sector and NGOs in the existing programs being implemented by the government.

15 2002/03 to 2004/05) of the Tenth Plan and the second MTEF, which is now being prepared, covers from FY 2003/04 to 2005/06.

In irrigation sector, MTEF granted highest priority to those activities that focus on the sustainable management of existing system. Development of new systems, especially through ground water, falls under the second priority.

16 ARSENIC STATUS OF TERAI AND NARAYANI COMMAND AREA

This part of the report presents the status of the Arsenic level in the study areas and the various analysis done based on the available data. It begins with a more general discussion on the status in terms of Arsenic in Terai and then focuses on the Narayani Irrigation System and the possible links of Arsenic level with other water parameters.

General Overview of the Country’s Arsenic Status

Available documents indicate that 24 districts of Nepal, including all 20 Terai and four hill districts have arsenic contamination in tube wells. By December 2003, water samples from altogether 29,953 tubewells of 24 districts have been tested for arsenic concentration.

Table 3: Arsenic Status of the Different Districts of Nepal (as of Dec. 2003)

Total Arsenic ppb Max. As % sample % sample District Sample Test 0-10 >10-50 >50 (ppb) >50 ppb >10 ppb Banke 3360 2673645 42 270 1.3 20.4 Bara 2584 1983550 51 254 2.0 23.3 Bardiya 652 472 160 20 181 3.1 27.6 Chitwan 219 219 0 0 8 0.0 0.0 Dang 667 639 25 3 81 0.4 4.2 Dhanusha 502 425 64 13 140 2.6 15.3 Jhapa 571 493 77 1 79 0.2 13.7 Kailali 299 149 106 44 213 14.7 50.2 Kanchanpur 200 167 21 12 221 6.0 16.5 Kapilbastu 4099 3471 466 162 589 4.0 15.3 Mahottari 1202 1088 104 10 80 0.8 9.5 Morang 603 339 260 4 70 0.7 43.8 Nawalparasi 3833 1385 1340 1108 571 28.9 63.9 Parsa 2207 1895253 59 456 2.7 14.1 Rautahat 3365 814 2289 262324 7.8 75.8 Rupandehi 2725 2191 410 124 2620 4.6 19.6 Saptari 772 669 94 9 98 1.2 13.3 Sarlahi 532 402 114 16 98 3.0 24.4 Siraha 584 245 235 10490 17.8 58.0 Sunsari 891 646 241 4 75 0.4 27.5 Ilam 4 4 0 0 0.0 0.0 Kathmandu 56 35 20 1 141 1.8 37.5 Palpa 26 26 0 0 0.0 0.0 Udayapur 3 3 0 0 5 0.0 0.0 Total 29,953 20430 7474 2049 2620 6.8 31.8 Source: DWSS, NRCS/ENPHO, RWSSSP/FINNIDA, PLAN, NEWAH, RWSSFDB, DEO

17 The districts in which tests have been carried out and spatial distribution of Arsenic level in those districts have been displayed in Figure 5.

Narayani Irrigation System

Figure 5 Spatial Distribution of Arsenic Level in Nepal Determined through Water Sample Tests

As a whole this compilation shows that about one third of the tested wells are arsenic contaminated according to the WHO threshold (10 ppb), while some 7 % have Arsenic concentration over 50 ppb which according to Nepal Interim Standard are not acceptable for consumption. This is a very strong indicator of the extension and the gravity of the arsenic problem in Nepal.

This compilation also shows the variation of contamination by districts. An attempt is made here to classify the districts according to the extent of Arsenic threat faced. The threshold level of Arsenic in water considered safe for consumption by WHO and by HMG/N are used to classify if the problem is widespread (or Extended), and/or severe (or acute) in these districts. Based on these two threshold levels following classes are identified:

CLASS 1: High Extended and Acute CLASS 2: Medium Extended and Acute CLASS 3: Low Extended and Acute CLASS 4: High Extended but Not Acute CLASS 5: Medium Extended and Not Acute CLASS 6: Low Extended and Not Acute CLASS 7: Neither Extended Nor Acute

Problem is considered:

• High Extended if greater than 50 % of samples tested have Arsenic concentration above WHO threshold level (i.e. 10 ppb)

18 • Medium Extended if between 20-50% samples tested have Arsenic concentration above WHO safe threshold level (i.e. 10 ppb)

• Low Extended if less than 20 % samples tested have Arsenic concentration above WHO safe threshold level (i.e. 10 ppb)

• Acute if greater than 3% samples tested have Arsenic concentration above Nepal safe threshold level (i.e., >50ppb)

• Not Acute if less than 3% samples tested have Arsenic concentration above Nepal safe threshold level (i.e., >50ppb)

Based on the above criteria districts are grouped into the following classes:

CLASS 1: Kailali, Nawalparasi, Rautahat, Siraha CLASS 2: Bardiya, Sarlahi CLASS 3: Kanchanpur, Kapilbastu, Rupendehi CLASS 4: No district falls under this class CLASS 5: Banke, Bara, Morang, Sunsari, Khatmandu CLASS 6: Dang, Dhanusha, Jhapa, Mahottari, Parsa, Saptari CLASS 7: Chitwan, Ilam, Palpa, Udayapur

The situation in the districts falling under CLASS 1 and 2 appears to be grave with Arsenic problem widely spread and Arsenic level acutely high. This requires immediate intervention.

Arsenic Status in the Command Area of Narayani Irrigation System

The command area of NIS is spread in 15 blocks stretching out in the southern parts of Parsa, Bara and Rautahat districts. Only 58 VDCs of Parsa district, 51 VDCs from Bara district and 25 VDCs from Rautahat district are under the command area of the irrigation system. Thus a total of 134 small political units viz. VDCs lie within the command area. See Annex 1 for the list of VDCs in the NIS command area.

Table 4 shows the number of VDCs in the NIS districts and the NIS command area. The arsenic tests have been performed in 234 out of 283 VDCs of the NIS districts. In NIS area, tubewells of 87 out of its 134 VDCs have been tested.

Table 4: Number of VDCs and Arsenic Tests NEC Region Description Parsa Bara Rautahat Total % Total VDCs 88 99 96 283 A. NIS Districts Arsenic tested VDCs 74 80 80 234 83 B. NIS Total VDCs 58 51 25 134 Command Area Arsenic test VDCs 38 31 18 87 65

As shown in Table 5, there were altogether 6,544 tubewells tested in the NIS districts. The NIS districts have on the whole shown 4.7 percent of total samples above Nepal

19 Standard and 29.7 percent above WHO guidelines. Of the three districts, Rautahat has the largest percent of samples above Nepal Standard and WHO guidelines.

Table 5: Arsenic Level in the NIS Districts Arsenic ppb % sample % sample District Total above above WHO 0-10 >10-50 >50 Max. Tested Nepal Std guidelines Bara 1725 240 46 2011 254 2 14 Parsa 1862 206 52 2120 456 2 12 Rautahat 1011 1191 211 2413 324 9 58 Total 4598 1637 309 6544 4.7 29.7 Source: DWSS, November 2002.

Five organizations viz. NRCS, DWSS, Plan, DEO and Fund Board have conducted arsenic sample tests in the NIS command area. Table 6 shows that there were altogether 2,389 tested water samples of the tubewells in the area. The NRCS has covered the largest samples, i.e. 2,129 out of those total tested tubewells.

Table 6: Arsenic Status by Agencies in the NIS Command Area NEC As conc. Fund % NRCS DWSS Plan DEO Total Area (ppb) level Board <10 832 20 0 0 63 915 84.4 >10-50 130 2 0 0 0 132 12.2 Parsa >50 34 3 0 0 0 37 3.4 Total 996 25 0 0 63 1084 100 <10 561 26 38 0 0 625 84.1 >10-50 73 5 18 0 0 96 12.9 Bara >50 19 3 0 0 0 22 3.0 Total 653 34 56 0 0 743 100 <10 161 11 0 1 0 173 30.8 >10-50 333 7 0 0 0 340 60.5 Rautahat >50 47 2 0 0 0 49 8.7 Total 541 20 0 1 0 562 100 All Total 2190 79 56 1 63 2389 Source: DWSS, November 2002.

Table 7 shows that there is remarkable variation in the percentage of tube wells having arsenic level above 50 ppb in the VDCs of the NIS command area among the districts: 8.7% in Rautahat, 3% in Bara and 3.4% in Parsa.

Table 7: Arsenic Concentration in Tube Wells in the NIS Command Area Arsenic Level (ppb) of the Samples Districts 0-10 >10-50 >50 Total % Max Bara 625 96 22 743 31.1 254 Parsa 915 132 37 1084 45.4 456 Rautahat 173 340 49 562 23.5 324 Total 1713 568 108 2389 100 456 Note: See Annex 2, 3 and 4 for arsenic level by VDC of the NEC Area

20 Maximum arsenic level, i.e. 456 ppb, was observed in the tested tube wells of Parsa district. Spatial distribution of Arsenic level in the VDCs of NIS command area is displayed in Figure 6.

Figure 6 Spatial Distribution of Arsenic Level in VDCs of NIS Command Area

Similarity is observed between the pattern of Arsenic level in the VDCs of Parsa and Bara district. However a sharp distinction has been observed in Rautahat district with the majority of the tubewells have Arsenic level of the range of above 10 ppb and only 31% with Arsenic level less than 10 ppb. A comparative assessment of the Arsenic level in the three districts with that of all the districts in the Terai of Nepal also reveals that the Arsenic level of the portion of the district in the command area of NIS closely matches with that of the NIS districts. Furthermore the data also supports the above conclusion that the Arsenic level of majority of the tubewells in Rautahat district is distinctly higher than that of the other three districts. Rautahat (together with Nawalparasi) is observed to be one of the districts with the highest percentage of samples of tubewells with Arsenic level above WHO guidelines. Even though it cannot be ranked as the district with most number of samples with Arsenic level above 50 ppb (Nepal Interim Standard) it has been found to have majority of samples with the Arsenic level in the range of 10 to 50 ppb.

Surface Irrigation Water Availability in NIS command area

There is evidence from FAO study using the Rapid Appraisal of Performance in 2003 that water availability highly varies within NIS. It is also clear that the reliance of farmers on groundwater depends on surface water service. Upstream of the irrigation system (Parsa) very few pumping facilities are met, while in the downstream part of the command area (Rautahat), there are numerous wells for irrigation.

In these circumstances it is logical to analyze the relationship of the Arsenic level with the water availability through surface irrigation. The rationale behind this analysis was

21 that there was a hypothesis that the level of Arsenic increases with the increasing level of extraction of groundwater and obviously dependency on ground water is higher in areas where the availability of surface water is poor. Water availability in the various parts of the command area of Narayani Irrigation Scheme was classified into different categories called the Water Availability Index (WAI).

The classification was as follows: WAI: Description of the situation of water availability: 4 Water is available in required amounts at the frequency, rate and duration as per the demand of the farmers. 3 Water arrives in the area but the volume is unknown and deliveries are known more than 50% of the time. 2 Water arrives in the area but the volume is unknown and deliveries are mostly unknown more than 50% of the time. 1 Water is not available in the area at the times of requirement but occasionally gets there when there is excess water in the upstream side of the system.

Water Availability Index (WAI) is assigned to each VDC based on the water availability data gathered through the RAP exercise for each block and the relative position of the VDC in the block. WAI data has been generalized for the whole VDC. Analysis has been made by plotting the % of sample above Nepal standard and the % of sample above WHO standard in the y-axis and WAI in the x-axis. 100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

% Sample with As level above WHO Gd 10

0 012345 Water Availibility Index Figure 7: % of Samples above WHO Guidelines versus WAI

22 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20

% of sample above Std Nepal 10 0 012345 WAI

Figure 8: % of Samples above Nepal Standard versus WAI

For WHO standard contamination (above 10 ppm) shown in Figure 7 clearly indicates the inverse relationship of the Arsenic level with the water availability index. However this trend is less straightforward for the acute contamination (Nepal standard of 50 ppm) in figure 8.

Flooding versus the Level of Arsenic

There is a hypothesis, based on the evidence from field and laboratory studies, that Arsenic is released from soils following flooding and the development of anaerobic conditions. In Bangladesh, the areas that are worst affected by Arsenic (with Arsenic concentration >10 ppb and > 50 ppb) are also the ones which are deeply flooded (Ahmed, 2000; Chowdhury et al.2003). Based on this hypothesis and the fact that the command area of NIS is intersected by many cross drains and some of them carry high discharge especially during the monsoon and consequently result in water logging in certain areas, an attempt has been made here to correlate the level of Arsenic with the extent of flooding that the particular area has to face. Since, for NIS, the information on Arsenic concentration is available only at the VDC level, the analysis has also been done at that level. The extent of flooding has been divided into 3 categories:

FI: Description of the magnitude of the flood: 1 VDCs severely affected by the floods. 2 VDCs moderately affected by the floods. 3 VDCs not much affected by the floods.

23 350

300

250

200

150

100

Maximum Arsenic level in ppb in level Arsenic Maximum 50

0 01234 Flooding Index of VDC

Figure 9 Maximum Arsenic Levels versus Flooding Index

As has been indicated in Figure 9 no clear relationship can be seen between the magnitude of flooding and the level of Arsenic in a certain area. Contrary to the hypothesis that areas which are severely affected by flooding have higher level of Arsenic3, data show that VDCs that are more severely affected by flooding have in fact lower level of Arsenic.

This analysis, however, needs to be handled with more precision as flooding has many dimensions and is associated with different results e.g. water logging (prolonged retention of water in the soil), sediment transportation (erosion and deposition), etc. Hence, precise analysis could be drawn if the different parameters e.g. water logging and its duration and sediment transportation including its quantity and quality could be handled and analyzed separately. This was not possible due to lack of data.

Level of Arsenic and the Cases of Arsenicosis

The cases of Arsenicosis in the study area have also been explored. See Annex 7 for details of the cases of Arsenicosis. The comparative status of Arsenic contaminated tubewells between the NIS districts (viz. Parsa, Bara and Rautahat) as a whole and the NIS command area is shown in Table 8.

Table 8 indicates that the percentage of contaminated tube wells (>50 ppb) in NIS district and command area is more or less same i.e. about 4.5%. However the prevalence rate of Arsenicosis patients is found to be less in NIS command area as compared to the district. The reason behind this is not fully known. It may be because the data is based on NRCS study focusing on NRCS tubewells consumers only. For the future study it has

3 This hypothesis has been developed as Rautahat is one of the districts that is highly affected by flood and at the same time highly affected by Arsenic problem.

24 been suggested that the prevalence rate should consider representative sample tubewells consumers of the study area.

Table 8: Status of Arsenic and Arsenicosis in NIS Districts and Command Area NIS Districts NIS Command Area Description Parsa Bara Rautahat Total Parsa Bara Rautahat Total Total TW tested 2120 2011 2413 6544 1084 743 562 2389 Contaminated 53 44 207 304 37 22 49 108 TW (>50 ppb) Risk HHs 528 394 1338 2260 368 197 317 882 Risk HHs 3041 2475 7441 12957 2120 1238 1764 5122 members Asc patients 59 44 273 376 18 11 6 35 Asc prevalence 1.9 1.8 3.7 2.9 0.9 0. 9 0.4 0.7 rate (%) Source: NRCS/ENPHO (2003)

Mitigation Measures and the Cases of Arsenicosis

On the basis of NRCS (2003), four types of mitigation measures for Arsenicosis patients of the NIS districts are considered: (v) Two-Gagri (water vessel) filter (vi) Innovated dug well, which refers to the wide brimmed dug well with over 50 years old being converted to sanitary dug well with technical improvement such as slab cover, ventilator, wall sealing and raising of well wall (vii) Arsenic iron removal plant (AIRP) (viii) Tube wells from arsenic free aquifer

Along with these, health education was also given to the risk population. They are preventive measures intending to provide arsenic free water.

435 Arsenicosis patients were identified prior to recommendation of the mitigation measures but during the study period from 2001 to 2003, 28 Arsenicosis patients died. However, the detailed causes of the death were not identified.

The NRCS study provided the information that about 39.8% the patients had not used any of those mitigation measures, which might be due to their reluctance to the problems; nearly 31% patients had used the mitigation option of drinking water from arsenic free tube well; it was followed by another mitigation option ‘drinking water from dug well’; and about 60% of the patients had used at least one of the options.

The impacts of the mitigation options have been analyzed in terms of Arsenicosis symptoms, and concentration of arsenic in hair and water. Table 9 provides information on the status of the patients after the interventions. The NRCS study has shown that almost 49% patients responded positively to the mitigation options, whereas 39% patients had shown ‘no change’ to Arsenicosis problem. Only 3 out of 354 patients had felt the problem of deteriorating of Arsenicosis.

25 Table 9: Impacts of the Arsenic Mitigation Options No Impro Deteri Others Options used Total % change ving orating * 1. DW from filter 4 16 0 0 20 5.6 2. DW from dug well 21 31 1 10 63 17.8 3. DW from As free TW 37 66 2 4 109 30.8 4. Using Medicine 1 0 0 0 1 0.3 5. Extra diet 4 3 0 2 9 2.5 6. As free water and extra diet 2 6 0 1 9 2.5 7. DW from filter & dug well 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 8. As free water, medicine & diet 0 1 0 0 1 0.3 9. Any source 69 50 0 23 142 40.1 Total 138 173 3 40 354 100 % 39.0 48.9 0.8 11.3 100 *Others indicate the patients’ unaware of the problem and no response Source: NRCS/ENPHO 2003

Discussion

The preliminary analysis of the data collected within the command area of the NIS demonstrates clearly the acuteness of the arsenic issue in the system and particularly in the Rautahat district that is located at the downstream of the system. In Rautahat district only 31 % of the wells are safe according to WHO Guidelines. This is unfortunately the NIS part where pumping for irrigation is the highest because of the poor surface water deliveries.

At this stage it is difficult to say more about the causes of the variation of acuteness of arsenic contamination. Clearly there may be two causes for having higher arsenic contamination in Rautahat district. One is related to the higher rate of mobilization of groundwater which generates high water table fluctuations and creates aerobic conditions for arsenic to become soluble. The other explanation is the fact that Rautahat district stretches out on the left side of one of the major Himalayan river of Terai and therefore the chances of having higher deposit of arsenic is real.

In this preliminary study it has not been possible to partition the causes of arsenic contamination between what comes from surface water management and what is geologically related.

One thing we can hold for certain though is that water managers in NIS should highly consider the seriousness of arsenic contamination and try as much as possible to reduce the reliance of downstream farmers on groundwater.

26 CHALLENGES TO NEPAL’S IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND THE NEED TO MODERNIZE IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

This part of the report presents an overview of the present status of irrigation development in the country and also enumerates the major challenges that the sector is facing. It also outlines the recent policy reforms made by His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and discusses on the need to modernize irrigation management.

Present Status of Irrigation Development and Challenges to it

Present Status of Irrigation Development

Until the 1950s, irrigation development in Nepal was as a result of farmers’ own initiation and investment in the construction and management. Such irrigation systems are referred to as farmer managed irrigation systems (FMISs). It is estimated that about 70 per cent of the country's irrigated area is covered by such systems, thereby making a substantial contribution to the national economy. It was only with the start of the first five-year plan in 1957 that the government started developing irrigation systems in a planned way Agency Managed Irrigation Systems (AMIS). Since then several medium and large irrigation systems have been developed with donor assistance. Table 10 and Figure 10 show the present status of irrigation development in Nepal.

Table 10: Irrigation Development by Types and Country’s Land Resources Irrigation development by types Land resources Types Area (Ha) Land types Area (ha) AMISs 280,710 Total cultivated area 2,642,000 FMISs (Not intervened) 276,219 Total irrigable area 1,766,000 FMIS (Agency intervened) 334,2437 Total irrigated area 1,121,441 Ground water 230,275 Total 1,121,441

Ground AMIS water 25% 21%

FMIS FMIS (Not (intervened) intervened) 29% 25%

Figure 10: Irrigation Development by Types

At present, irrigation water is provided to approximately 42.5 percent of the net cultivated land, which forms about 63.5 per cent of net irrigable area. About 41 percent

27 of the net irrigated area is being supplied with year round (YR) irrigation water. It is estimated that the existing irrigation systems are the basis for approximately 33 percent of the current agricultural production of the country (WECS, 2001).

Key issues and challenges

Studies have shown that with the development of AMISs, crop yields have increased by two folds with over 60 per cent increase in cropping intensity. Certainly, from the point of national food and water security, these systems have shown positive impact. However, sustainability of these systems has been questioned because of following reasons. a) Low water use efficiency of AMISs4 resulting low level of irrigation service coverage has been one of the principal causes of un-sustainability. In general, coverage of irrigation service for irrigating monsoon paddy varies between 52 and 77 per cent, while for winter crops it varies between 20 and 40 per cent. b) Poor linkage between irrigation and agriculture c) Low level of irrigation service fees collection resulting poor maintenance of irrigation infrastructure. It is to be noted that in AMISs, irrigation service fees collection amounts to only about 3 per cent of the annual budget required for maintenance. d) Several important infrastructure of many large and medium irrigation systems are already deteriorating. Proper maintenance of such infrastructure has become essential, without which the system may become defunct in future. e) Although APP intends to maximize the use of ground water for agriculture development, actual operating hours of tube wells are much below than the expectation. The reasons are two folds. High operating cost of tube wells mainly due to the price hike of diesel and electricity is the first reason for this which has made farmers reluctant for extensive use of water for irrigation. Lack of support services for commercialization of the agriculture sector is the second reason. This is because without commercialization of the agriculture sector farmers will not invest heavily in tube wells although its operation appears to be financially viable. f) Possible threat from arsenic contamination in ground water irrigation is becoming increasingly important. Although at present, the awareness of arsenic contamination remains low in Nepal, in future it may turn out to be rapidly a very sensitive issue. So, the APP’s greater focus on the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater for achieving year round irrigation may be questioned.

The Policy Reform

Until the middle of 1980s, national effort in irrigation development was focused largely on the construction of infrastructures while their management aspects received very little attentions. With the then growing awareness about irrigation management, the government of Nepal for the first time brought out an irrigation policy in 1989 with a focus to management, which was revised in 1997 and lastly in 2003.

4 It is to be noted that water use efficiency of AMISs is estimated to be around 30 per cent.

28 The 1989 and 1997 irrigation policy clearly laid emphasis on participatory approach of irrigation management. The idea behind this participatory approach was to ensure greater farmer participation in irrigation management by increasing their sense of ownership and control over the system. It was presumed that such approach would lead to better use of the scarce water resources and augment agricultural production.

Despite the greater focus on the participatory irrigation management, level of performance of Nepal’s irrigation systems still remained much below than the expectation, and the above-mentioned issues and challenges stay alive. So, the basic question in the past and in the present has always remained the same, that is: How can the performance of our irrigation systems be raised in a sustainable manner?

To this end, following the adaptation of the National Water Resources Strategy (NWRS) and launching of 10th five-year development plan, the government brought out new irrigation policy – 2003 mainly to address the above-mentioned issues and challenges of irrigation development.

New Irrigation Policy-2003

The new irrigation policy – 2003 adapts the guiding principles as set out by NWRS, 10th five year development plan and APP, and also incorporates the experiences of implementing past policies. Followings are the objectives set by irrigation policy-2003. “PROVIDE YEAR ROUND IRRIGATION SERVICE TO THE IRRIGABLE LAND BY EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF THE COUNTRY’S WATER RESOURCES.”

1. Develop institutional capability of water users association for the sustainable management of existing system.

2. Enhance the knowledge, skill and institutional working capability of irrigation professionals, water users and non-governmental association / organization relating to irrigation development sector.

Many of the past important policy tools such as participatory approach of irrigation management, focus to ground water development (mainly shallow tube wells) for year round irrigation, river basin based approaches of irrigation development, and capacity building of water users and so on are also retained by the new policies. Followings are some of the new policy tools adapted by the new policy in order to achieve sustainable management of existing irrigation system. • It aims to empower WUAs with required legal authority for administrating system operation and even collection of irrigation service fee (ISF), especially in AMISs.

• It aims to raise the rate of ISF based on the incremental production due to irrigation. Part of such irrigation service fees will be diverted to maintenance support fund to be created under DOI, while part of it will be given back to the concerned WUAs for the maintenance of irrigation infrastructure being managed by them. Larger the area a WUA manages higher will be the percentage of ISF it will receive back for its maintenance. Certainly, such mechanism will provide incentive to users to take over the management of larger part of the irrigation system.

29 • It aims to involve private sector in managing public irrigation system, especially in the form of management contract, as an alternative approach of irrigation management.

• Recognizing the importance of zoning concept in development administration, it aims to demarcate the land having irrigation facility and declare the same as "irrigated area"

• While transferring the management of agency managed irrigation systems to the concerned users, it also aims to transfer possession and ownership of the irrigation infrastructure and the land where such infrastructure are built.

• It aims to strengthening the capabilities of water professionals, local bodies and users for their effective participation in planning, construction and management of irrigation systems.

• Recognizing the importance of decentralization in rural development, it aims to involve local bodies (VDCs and DDCs) in the development and management of small and medium irrigation systems.

• It aims to adapt quantitative monitoring system for delivery of irrigation services to users through quantity of water delivery for crops, irrigated area, and incremental agricultural production.

Certainly, these new policy tools represent major reform adapted by the government and they clearly target for: improved delivery of irrigation services to users; legal empowerment to water users for administrating system operation; increased collection of irrigation service fees to meet part of the maintenance requirement; and capacity building of water users. All of these activities in turn will help in raising the performance of Nepal’s irrigation systems in a sustainable manner.

Need to Modernize Irrigation Management

Modernization is a process of intervening irrigation system with several institutional reforms in order to raise its overall performances. Need to modernize irrigation can be viewed from two ways.

First, the recently introduce policy tools needs to be operationalized in practice which in turn will help in raising the overall performance of irrigation systems in a sustainable manner.

Second, most of the surface irrigation systems in Nepal are fed by medium or small rivers, with limited water resources available during the lean season insufficient for year round irrigation. In such a situation, one of the ways to improve year round water delivery service to farmers is to promote conjunctive use of surface and groundwater. However, growing concern for environmental degradation and health hazard due to arsenic contamination in groundwater irrigation is becoming increasingly important in the region. So, the strategy of conjunctive use of surface and groundwater for achieving year round irrigation may be adapted only where the threat from arsenic contamination is mastered. In some areas, such as Rautahat district, it seems that already conjunctive use is

30 no longer a viable option, and the year round water delivery services to farmers can only be provided through strategically designed and targeted improvements of surface water delivery system.

There could be two other ways of providing the year round water delivery services to farmers. The first option is to augment the supply through development of reservoir in the watershed. This option requires large amounts of resources coupled with long gestation periods, which have impeded their development until now. The second option is to minimize the overall water demand by optimizing its uses, and to develop service oriented management to allow farmers to develop their own strategy according to the water service they can have. This second option calls for modernization of irrigation management.

Whatever may be the reasons, the critical next stage now is to develop “Strategy of Irrigation Management Modernization" in order to actualize above-mentioned policy tools into action through several activities (See Annex 8 for description of strategy on Irrigation Management Modernization).

31 YEAR ROUND IRRIGATION AND ARSENIC THREAT IN GROUNDWATER: COPING STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE

This part of the report explains about the goal of the government of providing year round irrigation. It then outlines the strategies that should be taken in coping with the Arsenic problem. It also points out areas in which further investigation is required.

Arsenic Threat in Groundwater for Year Round Irrigation

In Nepal, year round irrigation has been one of the most important policy tools adapted by several plans and policies such as Agricultural Perspective Plan (APP), National Water Resources Strategy (NWRS), and irrigation policy-2003. However, due to the characteristics of Nepal’s irrigation system, most of which are of run-off-the-river type fed by medium or small rivers with limited water resources available during the lean season, development of year round irrigation in them has been difficult. Although Nepal has ample opportunities in developing year round irrigation by utilizing waters either from the major river systems or through inter basin transfer, actualization of such projects has remained a dream so far. Many of such identified schemes need to be developed as multipurpose projects. Large amount of resources required developing such project combined with long gestation period and downstream riparian concerns further add constraint in the process.

Recognizing the above-mentioned issues, Nepal adapted the strategy of using groundwater both in isolation as well as in conjunctive use with surface water for achieving year round irrigation. Accordingly, the Agricultural Perspective Plan (APP) envisaged installing 8,800 shallow tube wells (each irrigating 2.5 ha command area) and 40 deep tube wells per year.

Growing concern for environmental degradation and health hazard due to arsenic contamination in groundwater is becoming increasingly important. Although at present, arsenic contamination in groundwater irrigation is neither well documented nor considered a serious issue in Nepal, there are recent evidences that this will not last. The strategy of using groundwater for achieving year round irrigation may be adopted only if and where the threat from arsenic contamination is mastered.

As noted above, arsenic is a poisonous element present in groundwater. Continuous consumption of water containing arsenic results in the accumulation of poison in the body, which in turn may cause cancer. But, if such water is used for washing hands, washing clothes, or even bathing no effect to human body has been reported. This raises question – how then the groundwater used for the purpose of irrigation could cause harm to human being?

To some extent this argument raised here seems to be quite valid. This is because, much of arsenic related researches and their findings are focused to the use of groundwater specifically for the purpose of drinking, and not much of studies have been done to find out the extent of impact on human being by using arsenic containing water for irrigation.

33 Furthermore these researches focused more on that groundwater that are available in a highly shallow aquifer, which can be abstracted using hand pumps.

This is not to say that there is no impact on human beings by using arsenic containing water for irrigation. The only argument made here is about the extent of impact. Followings are some of the area that may have direct impact on the human being by using arsenic contaminated irrigation water

1. Contaminated drinking water: Groundwater abstracted for irrigation may also be used for the purpose of drinking if the irrigation system is located close to the village. In such situation if cattle drink Arsenic contaminated water their milk gets contaminated too, which in turn directly hampers human health.

2. Food chain contamination: The cereals, vegetables or fruits grown with arsenic contaminated irrigation water may also contain certain amount of arsenic, which affect human health.

3. Soil contamination: When arsenic contaminated irrigation water is applied to the agricultural land, part of the water that evaporates from the soil leaves the elements of arsenic back into the soil. As a result, arsenic concentration in the soil may increase in due course of time, which in turn deteriorates the soil quality. In this issue some research has already been done. The completed researches suggest that use of Arsenic contaminated water contaminate soil, which could be extremely harmful for soil and for human health (Warren G.P. et. al., 2003). These researches further state that Arsenic uptake from such soil by vegetables, cereals and other crops could be quite significant.

4. Effect of water abstraction: there is at present a scientific debate on the processes by which arsenic gets into the pumped water, some say that arsenic is already present and dissolved in groundwater, some says that this is the mobilization of groundwater which creates the favorable conditions for Arsenic to be released and dissolved (aerobic and water fluctuations). Some others say that both processes can be found. In terms of quantity of water pumped, say for a household/farmer, irrigation is by far greater than drinking and domestic water. Therefore irrigation from groundwater in arsenic affected areas can not only bring lots of arsenic into soil and food chain but also aggravates further the groundwater contamination by generating ample fluctuations. This double effect is not yet scientifically confirmed but the principle of precaution requires us to be careful and not discard it without checking on site.

So, these are the four main areas that need to be looked into detail when dealing with arsenic contaminated irrigation water.

Coping Strategies for the Future

The arsenic threat is a relatively new topic for Nepal. It was not considered during the formulation of both the new irrigation policy and irrigation regulation. Based on the findings of this study the threat from arsenic in Nepal is quite evident at least in a few districts, although the extent of the threat from the perspective of irrigation is not yet known. The following are some of the strategies that need to be considered concerning the arsenic threat.

34 1. As groundwater resources already cover about 21 per cent of the country’s irrigated area, the strategy should focus first to the protective measures. The first step of the protective measure should concentrate on building awareness among the people about arsenic contamination in ground water and its likely effect on human being. Educating the people about the possible protective measures against arsenic contamination should be the second step. Followings are some of the protective measures that need to be adapted to minimize arsenic threat.

a. Threat from arsenic is more severe when arsenic contaminated water is consumed directly. Thus, people should be made aware about the process that can be followed for the protection against arsenic. Some of which are listed below. • Consumption of water, which does not contain Arsenic or at least low level of Arsenic. • Use of rainwater (rainwater harvesting) • Use of water from the deep tube wells (100 meters or more). Water abstracted from deep aquifer seems to have low level of arsenic contamination. • Use of water from dugwells after filtering (Arsenic removing filter) • Follow the sedimentation process (dissolvable iron (Fe) is mixed with water containing Arsenic and the compound settles down) • Three layer filtration process (first layer containing iron nail and rough sand, second layer containing charcoal and fine sand and the third layer for using the collected water). • Consumption of healthy food (fresh fruits, vegetables and other proteinious diets) also helps in reducing the effect of the disease.

b. Continuous monitoring of the arsenic level especially in ground water is essential.

c. As arsenic is a new topic in Nepal, more research is required to define the exact cause of arsenic and measures for being protected from its ill effects. Some of the possible areas of research are listed below.

2. Other than the protective measures listed above, followings are some of the strategies to be followed for developing year round irrigation in the country.

a. As water extracted from the deep aquifer is reported to have less contamination with arsenic, use of water from the deep tubewells (DTW) in conjunction with surface water should be promoted for achieving year round irrigation.

b. Minimize the use of groundwater and made more efficient use of the surface water by optimizing its uses. Depending on the available water, develop service- oriented management to allow farmers to develop their own strategy according to the water service they can have. This option calls for modernization of irrigation management.

Since it has been found that the arsenic problem is more prevalent in ground water it is recommended to follow the option “b”, which calls for more efficient use of the surface

35 water. Thus, it suggested that the existing irrigation schemes be modernized to make efficient use of the available water.

Perspective for Future Investigation

It is quite evident from the study that the issue of Arsenic is quite important and that further investigation is required. Following are some of the areas for further investigations: • Further research is required to define the exact cause of Arsenic and measures for being protected from its ill effects. • Reasons why the local communities are not adopting the mitigation measures should be explored and if it is really due to lack of awareness. Suitable awareness raising programs should be identified. • In addition to hair and water analysis, if urine analysis of Arsenicosis patients also were analyzed it would have given more information of arsenic concentration in the body.

36 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

The issue of Arsenic contamination in groundwater and the threat it poses to human health is relatively new for Nepal. There is a need to understand and systematically explore the extent of Arsenic threat in light of policies and strategies adopted by HMG Nepal for groundwater exploitation to provide year-round irrigation for intensification of Agriculture, and thus achieve food security and reduce poverty. This study seeks to initiate a debate within the Department of Irrigation on strategies for Modernization of irrigation systems and the ways to deal with Arsenic contamination in the groundwater and its deadly effects on human health. The Narayani irrigation system was chosen for preliminary analysis to relate water availability in the command area and arsenic contamination of the groundwater. The report also explores the present situation in the country by analyzing and synthesizing the earlier studies and reports, identifies the areas for further investigation, and calls for better management for surface water resources through irrigation system modernization.

Total number of (tube)wells in Nepal is not known, however according to conservative projections there are at least 300,000 wells in the country (Adamson and Pokhrel, 2002). If this projection is correct, about 10 % (29,953) of these wells have been tested for Arsenic, out of which 32 % have Arsenic level above the WHO standards (10 ppb) and 7 % have Arsenic level above Nepal Interim Standard (50 ppb), which is adopted by the Government mainly based on economic consideration, rather than solely for health reasons. This situation is highly alarming; also because earlier international studies have shown that even with the threshold level of 10 ppb 4 people out of 10,000 have a chance of getting cancer (Adamson and Pokhrel, 2002). A study (Adamson and Pokhrel, 2002) based on a mathematical model for risk analysis predicts 20-40 thousands cancer incidents per year in the near future because of Arsenic contamination. According to ENPOH (2002), which is also confirmed by this study, about 500,000 people living in Terai are at the risk of Arsenic poisoning.

Although the arsenic contamination in the tube wells of the Terai districts, including the NIS command area has only recently been recognized, the problem of arsenic among the local communities already appears to be serious. Analysis of various data sets of Arsenic tests obtained from different sources indicates an increasing trend in the risk population exposed to Arsenic. The same trend is found in the command area of Narayani Irrigation Scheme (NIS) and the districts covering NIS.

Majority of the patients who had problem of Arsenicosis are found to be at first level of symptomatic stage and therefore they have not felt any problem. This may be the main reason for relatively low Arsenic prevalence ratio found (about 3 % in NIS districts and 0.7 % in Rautahat NIS command area) in the NIS districts. However, this is expected to increase with time if strong and effective control measures are not undertaken. Unfortunately the rural communities are not aware of this threat.

To deal with the problem, some agencies, including NRCS, have tried to provide different mitigation measure to the Arsenicosis patients in different districts in Nepal. But the studies conducted by different NGOs and organizations show that majority of the Arsenicosis patients were unaware of the interventions and did not follow any

37 mitigating measures. Lack of regular monitoring by the concerned agencies may explain this.

The preliminary data analysis of the Village Development Committees (VDCs) in the command area of Narayani Irrigation System revealed an inverse relation between the availability of surface water and extent of Arsenic contamination in the groundwater as a result of its use. Though, this analysis and the exact nature of the co-relation needs to be verified, the fact remains that Arsenic is mainly found in the groundwater and improving the performance of surface irrigation delivery will reduce Arsenic contamination through less dependency on ground water.

A comparison of the magnitude of flooding and the level of Arsenic in the VDCs of the study area indicates that there is no direct relation between the level of Arsenic and the magnitude of flooding in an area in Nepal. However, this preliminary findings need to be verified with more accurate investigation; it seems that the soils in Nepal may be less prone to releasing Arsenic as a result of flooding.

From the irrigation use perspective, up until now, there is no study conducted in Nepal to explore uptake of Arsenic by different crops from irrigation water or soil. Nevertheless, studies conducted elsewhere in the world (e.g. Warren et. al. 2003) demonstrate uptake of Arsenic by a variety of vegetables and cereals that can get into the food chain and ultimately affect human health.

Furthermore, scientists are debating a hypothesis that groundwater abstraction from Arsenic-rich aquifers generates water fluctuation and also accelerates weathering process of Arsenic-rich rocks and therefore, creates conducive environment for Arsenic to be released and dissolved in water. If this hypothesis is true, mining of groundwater in parts of Nepal will increase the Arsenic content and thus will worsen the existing situation.

As the country’s planned irrigation development is heavily inclined towards exploitation of groundwater, there is high chance that arsenic may turn out to be disastrous in the future if not managed properly. This situation needs to be taken very seriously and ways and means need to be devised to deal with the Arsenic threat in implementing HMG Nepal irrigation strategy for Agriculture intensification through year-round irrigation. The results of this study call for careful implementation of the irrigation strategy and irrigation system modernization.

Recommendations

At least half a million people in Nepal are at risk of developing cancer as a result of drinking Arsenic affected water and/or eating vegetables and cereals with high arsenic concentration. To avoid the future catastrophe there is a need to systematically deal with the Arsenic threat immediately. Following are the recommendations for further investigations and actions:

• Water quality monitoring of the tube-wells (both for drinking and irrigation purposes) and other water sources be performed effectively and regularly. • There is a need to continue the on-going tests on Arsenic level of groundwater from the districts where groundwater is used for drinking purposes. Additional information like the coordinates of the location of the sample from which the

38 data has been observed and the date of observation is also necessary for complete analysis and for future use. • Geochemical and geological studies need to be undertaken to map the affected areas. • The exact causes of Arsenic formation and the process of contamination in Nepal are not fully understood. Hence, it is recommended that geochemical studies of the rock formation in the Himalayas, Siwalik range, and the Terai need to be carried out in a greater depth. • As the linkage between the level of arsenic concentration in the human body and the symptoms of Arsenicosis at present is not found to be very explicit it is suggested to analyze urine samples, in addition to blood samples, of Arsenicosis patients. Moreover representative sampling of tubewells consumers of the study area is recommended for the determination of prevalence rate of Arsenicosis. • As Arsenic contaminated soils are major sources of contamination in the food chain and water supplies it is recommended that, in addition to the tests in groundwater, samples of topsoil should also be tested for Arsenic. • Since the level of Arsenic is found to be inversely related to surface irrigation water availability the need for modernization of the exiting surface irrigation systems or the development of new schemes is further justified. In this concern it is suggested that a cell be formed in DOI that deals with the water quality issues and pursues the strategy for modernization of irrigation management in the country. It is strongly recommended that the water quality of any new irrigation scheme be assessed prior to the sanction of the scheme • As it has been observed that mainly the rural poor communities are the victims of Arsenicosis it has been suggested that the awareness campaigns on the causes and effects Arsenic should be expanded and made more effective in the affected areas. There is a need to start awareness raising programme at the VDC level and to include district level Government staff (for example staff from Water Supply, OFWM and DOI) in this programme. This needs to be done in collaboration with the International and National organizations already working on this issue. • There is an urgent need to develop a national strategy for irrigation system modernization, which aims to improve management and performance of the surface irrigation systems in Nepal. This will increase the availability of surface water to the tail portions of irrigation systems and reduce dependency of the people livening in these areas on groundwater until effective control measures to deal with Arsenic is put in place.

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42 Annex 1: List of Agencies working in the Field of Arsenic in Nepal

S.N. Name of Agency Abbreviation Type 1 Department of Water Supply and Sewerage DWSS Govt. Agency 2 Nepal Water Supply Corporation NWSC Semi-govt. 3 Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Support Programme RWSSSP 4 Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Fund Development Board RWSSFDB INGO 5 Department of Irrigation, Groundwater of Division GWD, DOI Govt. Agency 6 Community Groundwater Irrigation Sector Programme CGISP Govt. program 7 Nepal Red Cross Society NRCS INGO 8 Plan International Plan INGO 9 Nepal Water for Health NEWAH 10 ENPHO ENPHO 11 FINNIDA FINNIDA 12 DEO DEO 13 Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden KTH

43 Annex 2: List of VDCs in the Command Area of NIS

Districts Parsa Bara Rautahat Allowa VDC Amritgunj VDC Akolawa VDC Amarpatti VDC Auraha VDC Auriaya VDC Auraha Parsauni VDC Auraha VDC Bangaraha VDC Bahuyarwa Bhatha VDC Badki kulbariya VDC Bhaghwanpur VDC Bahuyarwa BhathaVDC Bahadi VDC Bhathiya VDC Bairiya birta VDC Balirampur VDC Dumariya VDC Bankarawa VDC Barainiya VDC Dumariya VDC Barbagog (Bindabasini) VDC Barainiya VDC Fhatuwa Maheshpur VDC Bhahuwari Pidari VDC Barirampur VDC Gaur VDC Bhauraya VDC Basatpur VDC Hajminiya VDC Bhawanipur VDC Basatpur VDC Jathara VDC Bhedihari VDC Beldari VDC Jhunsunawa VDC Bhikhampur VDC Benauli VDC Jokaha VDC Biranchibarba VDC Bhahuwari Laxmipur Bhramapuri VDC Biranchibarba VDC Bhaluhi Bhakhaliya VDC Narkatiya VDC Bishrampur VDC Bhatdimkhalim VDC Pipra VDC Dharai VDC Bishrampur VDC Rajdevi VDC Dhobani VDC Chatawa VDC Rajpur Tulasi VDC Gamhariya VDC Dachin Jitkaiya VDC Rampurawa VDC Govindpur VDC Ghahawa VDC Sabgadi VDC Hariharpur VDC Golagunj VDC Sadarmujhawa VDC Hariharpur VDC Hardiya VDC Saruyatha VDC Herpat ganga VDC Hardiya VDC Sirsiya VDC Jaimangalapur VDC Hariharpur VDC Tikuliya VDC Janaki Tol VDC Hariharpur VDC Badharawa VDC Jhakhada Basantpur VDC Inerwa VDC Jhakhada Basantpur VDC Kachauwa VDC Jhauwa guthi VDC Kadawa VDC Lahabardhakari VDC Kawahi VDC Lakhanpur VDC Kotwali VDC Langadi VDC Majariya VDC Madhuban VDC Majhadiya VDC Maniyari Parsauni VDC Materwa VDC Mashihani VDC Mauni VDC Mirjapur VDC Nagawa VDC Mudli VDC Nakatawa VDC Nagardaga VDC Nakatuwa VDC Pakaha Mainpur VDC Pakadiya VDC ParsuramVDC Parsaun VDC Pipra Ghoddhouda VDC Pheta VDC Prasauni Bhatha VDC Piparpati VDC Prasauni Bhatha VDC Piparpati VDC Ramagadawa VDC Piperpati VDC Ramnagari VDC Piprabirta VDC Sabaithawa VDC Piprathi VDC Sabaithawa VDC Prasurampur VDC Sarjaha VDC Purainiya VDC

44 Sataworiya VDC Raghunathpur VDC Savmauta VDC Shreepur VDC

Shibabi VDC Telkuwa VDC Shibabi VDC Uchidiha VDC Shirsiya VDC Sirsiya VDC Sisiyari Bairiya VDC Sugauli VDC Tulsibarba VDC Udayapur dhurmi VDC Vishwa VDC

45 Annex 3: Classification of Arsenic Concentration in the Command Area of NIS in Parsa district

NRCS Total Max DWSS Total Max Fundboard VDC wise As level Total Max VDC samples ppb samples ppb samples ppb 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0-10 >10-50 >50 Aauraha 11 30 1 42 35 1 1 42 1 0 43 35 Alau 12 3 1 16 84 1 1 343 12 3 2 17 343 Amarpatti 10 14 6 30 46 1 1 25 6 0 31 46 Bahuari Pi 12 22 34 5 0 34 0 0 34 34 Bahuarwa B 24 26 2 52 45 0 50 2 0 52 52 Benchibarb 3 17 12 32 36 0 20 12 0 32 36 Bhawanipur 1 1 19 20 0 0 20 20 Bhikhanpur 2 39 1 42 22 0 41 1 0 42 42 Bhiswa 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Bindhyabas 7 19 7 33 36 0 26 7 0 33 36 Biranchibarba 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Biruwa Gut 18 12 30 8 0 30 0 0 30 30 Bishrampur 6 31 6 43 17 0 37 6 0 43 43 Dhobini 5 31 2 38 20 1 1 16 36 3 0 39 39 Hariharpur 22 30 5 7 64 144 1 1 53 5 7 65 144 HarpatGanj 1 8 8 17 37 0 9 8 0 17 37 Janaki Tol 5 38 2 2 47 270 1 1 44 2 2 48 270 Jayamangalapur 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Jhunwa Ghu 14 17 8 39 30 1 1 32 8 0 40 40 Lagadi 1 1 196 0 0 1 1 196 Lahabarthakari 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Lakhanpur 10 26 10 9 55 456 0 36 10 9 55 456 Madhuban M 24 5 29 2 1 1 28 58 0 0 58 58 Mahuban 1 1 2 11 1 1 0 2 11 Maniyari B 37 37 0 0 16 53 0 0 53 53 Masihani 7 56 1 1 65 68 0 63 1 1 65 68 Nagardaha 13 11 24 10 0 24 0 0 24 24 NRCS Total Max DWSS Total Max Fundboard VDC wise As level Total Max VDC samples ppb samples ppb samples ppb 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0-10 >10-50 >50 Pakahamainpur 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Parsauni B 2 4 1 2 9 77 1 1 2 8 1 2 11 77 Ramgadhawa 2 2 3 7 15 1 1 5 3 0 8 15 Ramnagari 2 10 12 24 36 0 12 12 0 24 36 Sabaithawa 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Sibarwa 6 18 22 8 54 294 1 1 163 24 22 9 55 294 Sirsiyakha 21 8 29 29 1 1 22 8 0 30 30 Sugauli 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Tulsibarta 1 33 1 35 12 1 1 35 1 0 36 36 Udayapur D 17 15 1 33 30 0 32 1 0 33 33 Wairiya Bi 6 18 8 4 36 158 0 24 8 4 36 158 Total 267 565 130 34996 7 13 2 3 25 063 0 0 915 132 37 1084 Annex 4: Classification of Arsenic Concentration in the Command Area of NIS in Bara district

VDC wise Arsenic level NRCS Total Max DWSS Total Max PLAN ppb Total Max VDC 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 samples ppb 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 sample ppb 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0-10 >10-50 >50 sample ppb Amritgunj 1 1 25 0 1 0 1 25 Badaki Phu 16 27 2 45 27 0 43 2 0 45 45 Badhawan 2 10 3 15 20 1 1 13 3 0 16 20 Balirampur 1 2 5 8 1 1 2 24 11 5 15 11 0 26 26 Barainiya 14 1 5 4 24 148 1 1 87 15 5 5 25 148 Barkifulbariya 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Basatpur 2 24 7 1 34 74 0 26 7 1 34 74 Beldari 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Bhuluhi Bh 9 7 3 19 37 0 16 3 0 19 37 Bisrampur 16 15 6 3 40 197 1 1 32 6 3 41 197 Chatawa 11 13 12 1 37 102 1 1 25 12 1 38 102 Dakshin Jh 13 31 1 45 15 4 4 48 1 0 49 49 Golaganj 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Hardiya 23 33 1 57 40 0 56 1 0 57 57 Hariharpur 1 1 47 0 1 0 1 47 Inarbasira 2 2 2 6 41 8 2 12 4 0 16 41 Kabahigotha 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Kabahijabdi 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Kohalbi 28 23 51 10 0 51 0 0 51 51 Majheriya 40 1 41 11 0 40 1 0 41 41 Matiarwa 25 5 8 2 40 110 1 1 31 8 2 41 110 Pakadiya 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Pheta 15 25 6 46 44 1 1 41 6 0 47 47 VDC wise Arsenic level NRCS Total Max DWSS Total Max PLAN ppb Total Max VDC 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 samples ppb 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 sample ppb 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0-10 >10-50 >50 sample ppb Piparpati 1 24 2 27 25 1 1 89 25 2 1 28 89 Pipradhi 1 38 1 40 13 2 2 41 1 0 42 42 Prasauna 18 11 1 30 12 0 29 1 0 30 30 Purainiya 10 8 2 5 25 254 1 1 62 18 2 6 26 254 Raghunathp 14 2 3 19 72 0 14 2 3 19 72 Uchidiha 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Utter Jhitkaiya 5 5 10 26 1 1 19 11 25 16 0 41 41 Valurimakhariya 2 2 2 0 0 2 2 Total 205 356 73 19 653 5 21 5 3 34 0 38 18 0 625 96 22 743 Annex 5: Classification of Aresenic Concentration in the Command Area of NIS in Rautahat District

NRCS Total DWSS Total VDC wise Summary VDC 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50 >0-10 >10-50 >50 Total Akolawa 2 15 24 41 1 1 18 24 0 42 Auraiya 9 6 26 41 1 1 16 27 0 43 Banjarha 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 Benjerhawa 6 3 13 1 23 0 9 13 1 23 Dumariya M 6 9 2 17 1 2 1 1 5 9 10 3 22 Dumariya P 3 3 12 18 0 6 12 0 18 Fataha 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 Maheshpur Gaur Nagar 1 2 3 3 1 1 5 5 3 0 8 Jatahara 1 6 10 17 1 1 2 8 11 0 19 Jhunkhunaw 1 3 36 40 1 1 4 37 0 41 Jokaha 1 1 18 20 40 0 2 18 20 40 Laxmipur B 2 20 10 32 0 2 20 10 32 Mathiya 1 29 6 36 0 1 29 6 36 Narkatiya 2 16 18 7 43 1 1 18 19 7 44 Phataha Ma 4 10 33 1 48 0 14 33 1 48 Pipara Bha 16 29 45 0 16 29 0 45 Rajdevi 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 Rajpur Tul 8 12 22 42 0 20 22 0 42 Saruatha 10 13 32 55 1 1 24 32 0 56 Total 49 112 33347 541 5 6 7 220 173 340 49 562 Annex 6: Number of Arsenic Sample Tested by Different Agencies as of November, 2002

S.N. Districts DWSS NRCS RWSSSP RWSSFDB NEWAH PLAN DEO Tandukar Total 1 Kailai 87 100 187 2 Kanchanpur 153 153 3 Bardiya 79 428 24 531 4 Dang 99 99 5 Banke 99 549 96 974 3 1721 6 Kapilbastu 83 608 1748 133 2572 7 Rupandehi 82 758 1175 63 2078 8 Nawalparasi 2503 716 361 3580 9 Chitawan 86 86 10 Parsa 62 1915 143 2120 11 Bara 90 1757 164 2011 12 Rauthat 68 1767 8 157 328 13 72 2413 13 Saptari 57 300 234 37 628 14 Dhanusha 108 81 20 209 15 Siraha 95 124 10 33 262 16 Sarlahi 88 299 31 27 445 17 Mahottari 66 25 91 18 Sunsari 200 172 372 19 Morong 134 39 173 20 Jhapa 131 325 49 505 Total 4370 9422 3284 803 487 1677 121 72 20236 Source : DWSS, NRCS/ENPHO, RWSSSP/FINNIDA, PLAN, NEWAH, RWSSFDB, DEO Annex 7: Cases of Arsenicosis in the Study Area

Cases Symptomes and Diseases Location of Tubewell and Arsenic Concentration SN Name Age Sex Form Problem Duration Feeling of symptom MP MS MT KS KP District VDC Ward Tubewell As No. (yrs) no. no. conc. (ppb) 1 UMRAOTI DEVI 30 female 50 yes 1 ITCHING - - - yes yes Parsa BAIRIYA 6 2106 64 2 CJDK 70 female 55 yes 1 NOTHING - - - - yes Parsa BAIRIYA 6 2106 64 3 CHAMFA DAVE KARME 50 female 313 yes 2 INCONVENIENCE - - yes yes yes Parsa SIBARWA 5 7042 83 4 SM 75 male 362 yes 1 NOTHING - - yes - yes Parsa HARIHARPUR 9 7799 70 5 SM 55 male 363 yes 2 INCONVENIENCE - - yes - yes Parsa HARIHARPUR 9 7799 70 6 SM 70 male 368 yes 1 INCONVENIENCE - - yes - yes Parsa HARIHARPUR 9 7799 70 7 JDR 50 female 419 no 2 NOTHING - - - yes yes Parsa HARIHARPUR 7 7792 87 8 BDK 70 female 426 yes 2 NOTHING yes - - - yes Parsa HARIHARPUR 7 7792 87 9 JKM 70 male 432 yes 2 NOTHING - - yes yes yes Parsa MASIHANI 2 8094 68 10 HM 58 male 435 yes 2 NOTHING - - - yes yes Parsa MASIHANI 2 8094 68 11 JDY 55 female 453 yes 1 NOTHING - - - yes yes Parsa PARSAUNI B 7 9948 77 12 TIMAL MAHATO 70 male 490 yes 1.5 NOTHING yes - - - yes Parsa PARSAUNI B 5 9946 65 13 MAJARIN KHATUN 60 female 492 no 5 NOTHING - - yes - yes Parsa PARSAUNI B 4 9946 65 14 SANTA RAUT 66 male 500 no 2 INCONVENIENCE - - yes yes yes Parsa BAIRIYA 2 2112 55 15 NANDA LAL YADAV 60 male 503 no 3 NOTHING - - yes yes yes Parsa BAIRIYA 2 2112 55 16 PDM 56 female 516 no 2 NOTHING yes yes - - yes Parsa BAIRIYA 5 2100 69 17 SHAPHURUDIN ANSHARI 60 male 517 yes 1 NOTHING - - - - yes Parsa BAIRIYA 5 2100 69 18 RAM BALAK RAM 50 male 518 yes 1.5 NOTHING - - - yes yes Parsa BAIRIYA 5 2100 69 19 PHATMA KHATUN 50 female 236 yes 2 NOTHING - - - - yes Bara PURAINIYA 9 10573 254 20 MANZAR MIYA 60 male 261 yes 2 NOTHING - - - yes yes Bara PURAINIYA 8 10577 97 21 DHORIK THAKUR 70 male 306 yes 2 NOTHING - - yes yes yes Bara PURAINIYA 1 10595 55 22 SARITA DAVI 32 female 307 yes 2 NOTHING - - - yes yes Bara PURAINIYA 1 10595 55 23 KHATUN NESA 48 female 318 yes 2 NOTHING - - - - yes Bara PURAINIYA 1 10592 55 24 TARA KHATUN 55 female 322 yes 2 NOTHING - - - yes yes Bara PURAINIYA 1 10592 90 25 JOYGINDA MAHATO 70 male 327 yes 3 ITCHING AND PAIN - - - yes yes Bara RAGUNATHPUR 8 10412 72 26 MAHADEV SHAH 65 male 362 no 2 ITCHING yes yes - - yes Bara BISRAMPUR 2 10675 197 Cases Symptomes and Diseases Location of Tubewell and Arsenic Concentration SN Name Age Sex Form Problem Duration Feeling of symptom MP MS MT KS KP District VDC Ward Tubewell As No. (yrs) no. no. conc. (ppb) 27 RAM JOTI DEVI 60 female 362 yes 2 MISSING yes - - yes yes Bara BISRAMPUR 2 10675 197 28 SABITRI DEVI 44 female 369 no 2 NOTHING yes yes - yes yes Bara BISRAMPUR 2 10675 197 29 KISHUN RAUT 70 male 424 yes 2 NOTHING - - yes - yes Bara BISRAMPUR 3 10704 104 30 SK 60 female 553 yes 2 NOTHING - - - yes yes Rautahat DUMARIYA 5 2385 59 31 BC 50 male 558 yes 2 NOTHING - - yes yes yes Rautahat DUMARIYA 5 2386 65 32 SRY 50 male 906 yes 2 NOTHING - - - yes yes Rautahat JETHARHIYA 6 7549 56 33 MARACHHIYAB KH 35 female 1205 yes 1 NOTHING - - - yes yes Rautahat NARKATIYA 7 11381 63 34 GAGAN DEV SHIN 65 male 1236 yes 1 NOTHING - - - - yes Rautahat MATHIYA 5 11164 57 35 TAHID ANSHARI 56 male 1264 yes 2 NOTHING - - - - yes Rautahat NARKATIYA 6 11380 121 36 NAKALI DEVI 50 female 1280 yes NOTHING - - - - yes Rautahat NARKATIYA 5 11388 68 37 PUNI RAUT 70 male 1283 yes 1 NOTHING - - - - yes Rautahat NARKATIYA 5 11388 68 38 GYANI RAUT 50 male 1293 yes 1 NOTHING - - yes - yes Rautahat NARKATIYA 5 11388 68 Annex 8: Implementing the Policy: Strategy for Irrigation Management Modernization

This part of the report builds further of the discussion on the previous part and goes on to develop the details of the action plan for the execution of the new policy through a suitable strategy. Necessary program and activities including the capacity building of the irrigation professional and users and development of a regulatory mechanism and systems for monitoring of system performance have been presented in this part of the report. The strategy identifies the following four tasks:

• Implement irrigation management support program • Develop capacity of water professionals and users • Develop and implement regulatory frameworks for irrigation management • Development and implement irrigation service delivery monitoring system

Irrigation Management Support Program

It is proposed to operationalize the provisions made by the irrigation policy-2003 through a program entitled “Irrigation Management Support Program” (IMSP). The program aims to achieve following outputs and outcome.

Table Expected Outputs and Outcomes from IMSP Program Output Outcome Irrigation • Increase the level of year round irrigation by Sustainable management increasing water use efficiencies. management of support • Increase the linkage between irrigation and irrigation program agriculture systems and • Increase the level of irrigation service fee increased level collection to meet part of the maintenance of agricultural requirement production • Increase the level of participation of users and private sector in the management of irrigation systems • Increase the level of irrigation services delivery to users

The proposed “Irrigation Management Support Program (IMSP)” should include following components • On Farm Water Management • Irrigation service fees collection program • Transfer irrigation management to users, local bodies and private sector • Rehabilitation of some of the key irrigation infrastructure of AMISs

On farm Water Management (OFWM) Program This program aims to improve the linkage between irrigation and agriculture. The ministry of water resources and the ministry of agriculture jointly own this program. The objectives of the “On Farm Water Management” program include:

54 • Optimize use of irrigation water • Increase agricultural production • Achieve self-reliance of users in O&M of irrigation system • Develop institutional capacity of WUAs

Presently, this program is being implemented on a few FMISs under the World Bank funded NISP. At the field level, both the irrigation and agriculture offices jointly implement this program through concern WUA. It has been reported that OFWM is one of the successful irrigation development programs. It is proposed to implement this program in all the AMISs.

Irrigation Service Fees Collection Program Until mid 1980s, management of irrigation was the sole responsibility of agency personnel, and it was guided by several administrative procedures. HMGN was responsible for the collection of irrigation service fees.

After the mid 1980s, people’s participation became one of the most important policy tools in irrigation management. With the start of participatory irrigation management, it was believed that irrigation users could solve all shorts of management problems by building social pressure against those users who do not follow the rules of irrigation management. As a result, several legal and bureaucratic administrative provisions of irrigation management were relaxed.

With this notion of participatory irrigation management, Nepal's past irrigation policy also authorizes water users association for collection of irrigation service fee (ISF). In a few irrigation systems, although some progresses have been made, in majority of them rate of ISF collection has remained much below than the expectation. Discussions with farmers suggest that with the changing socio-economic conditions, building such social pressure against non-complier of irrigation management rules is becoming increasingly difficult. This phenomenon is not only true in AMISs. At present, several FMISs, which used to be managed by the local community with the help of social norms and values, are already at the crossroad.

Thus, many water users associations now believe that lack of legal authority to sanction against those who do not pay irrigation service fee is one of the reasons for the low rate of ISF collection.

Recognizing this difficulty, the new irrigation policy decided to empower WUAs with required legal authority for the collection of ISF. It is believed that building social pressure from bottom-up direction, and enforcing legal provisions from top-down direction could help in raising the collection of ISF.

Further, the new irrigation policy decided to raise the rate of ISF based on the incremental production due to irrigation. A recent study conducted by Nepal Irrigation Sector Project suggests that in Terai ISF should be raised from the present rate of about NRs 200 to about 700 per hectare. Part of such irrigation service fees will be diverted to maintenance support fund5, while part of it will be given back to the concerned WUAs for the maintenance of irrigation infrastructure being managed by them. Larger the area a WUA manages higher will be the percentage of ISF it will receive back for its

5 The new irrigation policy also aims to create a maintenance support fund under DOI

55 maintenance. Certainly, such mechanism will provide incentive to users to take over the management of larger part of the irrigation system.

Followings are some of the key tasks to be performed under this program, which are categorized into two phases.

Phase one: • Develop framework for determining incremental production due to irrigation. • Develop mechanism for determining ISF • Develop procedural guidelines for the collection of irrigation service fees • Establish maintenance support fund and develop procedural guidelines for its operation. • Evaluate the present legal arrangements for managing water by WUAs, and suggest suitable provisions for empowering them legally

Phase two: With the completion of the phase one, above-mentioned tasks will be operationalized in the field, and the entire process will be documented for further refinement of the above- mentioned frameworks and procedural guidelines.

With the above arrangements, it is believed that substantial amount of resources could be generated for the proper maintenance of the system.

Transfer Irrigation Management to Users/ Local Bodies/ Private Parties The new irrigation policy aims to transfer the management of irrigation system to users, local bodies (VDC/DDC) or private parties. This report, however, deals with transferring management of irrigation system to private sector.

With the initiation of participatory irrigation management in Nepal, water users associations (WUAs) were formed at several hierarchies of irrigation systems, and responsibilities to manage water at the lower end of the system were given to them while the management of upper end of the system is still retained by the government irrigation agencies.

Despite the promotion of participatory irrigation management, sustainability of water users associations formed at the lower end of irrigation system (at the level of watercourse or tertiary canals) is still remained question. Unreliable irrigation service to these WUAs by the irrigation agency is one of the widely accepted reasons for this.

The most important challenge of the day is: “how to provide efficient and reliable irrigation services in delivering irrigation water in bulk to several small groups of water users (WUAs) in a sustainable manner?” Such reliable bulk delivery of water to several WUAs has also become essential from the perspective of volumetric allocation, which is also one of the important needs of the day.

If one looks at the management of other public enterprises such as transportation, industries and so on, NGOs and private entity are found to be much more efficient and reliable in delivering services to their concerned clients. They are also equally efficient in managing and utilizing available resources. These aspects thus open the possibility of private sector involvement, in some form, in the management of all or parts of public irrigation systems. Recognizing this possibility, the irrigation policy–2003 aims to initiate

56 private sector management of a few public irrigation systems. Their involvement however will be limited above the interface with farmers.

Involvement of private sector in irrigation management, especially in the form of management contract, is not new to Nepal. In many small-scale farmer managed irrigation systems, instead of mobilizing voluntary labor for operation and maintenance of irrigation system, farmers have been awarding management contract of their irrigation system to private party. This experience is, however, not available in the case of large- scale public irrigation system. Further, there have not been studies in this area.

It is proposed to implement this activity in the three phases.

Phase one A Conduct case studies to: • Assess deficiencies in managing irrigation systems by government agencies. • Investigate and review partial and complete involvement of private sector in managing public enterprises (irrigation, urban/rural water supply systems, and so on) • Assess level of success, lessons to be learned, and viability of involving private sector in managing public irrigation systems in South Asia, and its implications to government irrigation agencies

B Conduct wide-ranging consultations with water professionals about technical, financial and administrative aspects of involving private sector in irrigation management through workshops and seminars.

Phase two • Select public irrigation systems for private sector management through consultations with farmers and other stakeholders. • Conduct diagnostic analysis of these irrigation systems, and develop their operation and maintenance plan. • Develop specifications, regulations, contracts/agreements and administration procedure for involving private sector in irrigation management through stakeholder consultations and workshops

Phase three • Initiate private sector management in them as an action research. • Document the entire process

Rehabilitation of Some of the Key Irrigation Infrastructure Many of the large and medium irrigation systems were originally developed during 1970s. In recent years, although several irrigation development programs are being implemented in them, proper maintenance of some of the key hydraulic structures has received little attention. Thus, proper maintenance of such irrigation infrastructure has become essential, without which the system may become defunct in future. Thus, the proposed “irrigation management support program” should include a component to facilitate rehabilitation of some of the key irrigation infrastructure.

57 Capacity Development of Irrigation Professionals and Users

Nepal is a country where irrigation development is central to policies of food security and poverty alleviation. Irrigation takes place in a diverse range of agro-ecological zones. About 70 per cent of the Nepalese irrigation systems belong to the category of farmer managed irrigation system (FMIS), where tradition of self-governing systems and strong community participation are important and common features. Local ingenuity and skills have been applied over the ages to develop these FMISs. Rests of the systems belong to the categories of either agency managed or joint managed irrigation systems, and such systems were (are) developed mainly by applying engineering and agronomic principles.

It has been well recognized that development and management of irrigation system is a complex socio-technical phenomenon. It involves collective action by the people and includes multiple activities including the maintenance of irrigation system, organizing local community, and delivering water to users for meeting their need. Varying demand and supply of water over time and space has further increased complexity in managing such systems. Further, in the context of Nepal, as people’s participation and local governance have remained major policy tools, concept of irrigation as socio-technical phenomenon has received further attention in order to promote user focused design and management.

Despite the greater focus on “socio-technical approach” or “user-focused design” in managing irrigation system, regular inter-disciplinary training for irrigation professionals is non-existent. Further, there is also no mechanism to draw on the experience of engineers, and managers - to help build such training based on people’s own experience. As a result, many of the programs to improve FMISs have failed mainly due to gap between the field level problem and the type of education/training provided to students and irrigation professionals. In the context of Nepal, where technical personnel heavily dominate irrigation development sector6, regular and energetic training for irrigation professional on “socio-technical approach of irrigation design and management” has become unavoidable in order to gear up the country’s irrigation development quality.

It is not to say that there were no human resources development programs in the past. Certainly, there have been a number of initiatives in developing capacities of engineers through the use of several training modules, which were said to have focused on appropriate design and management of irrigation systems. As many of these capacity building programs were implemented through project mode, related training modules also focused on tailored need of the project. Further, these training modules still focused heavily on natural science aspects of irrigation with very little or no attention to management aspects. As a result, past initiatives in this regards were not successful.

Further, compared to the investment that the government has made on the development of physical infrastructure, the investment in human resource development so far has remained inadequate.

6 Nepal’s irrigation development sector is heavily dominated by civil or agriculture engineers, who were (are) educated mostly in foreign universities. Academic curriculum of many of these universities, as guided by their need, focused mainly on natural science of irrigation. Socio- technical aspects of irrigation were completely ignored. Even at present, this trend is continuing in many universities. As a result, Nepalese engineers lack the basic knowledge of socio-technical approach of irrigation design and management.

58 Despite of the situation depicted above the country has made some significant achievements in the past that could be used as a basis to move on for better future. Firstly, each of the concerned line agencies has now a cadre of well-qualified professionals with national and international exposure and experience. Secondly, each of these institutions has developed research works that are specific to their area of work and experience. Thirdly, a sizable number of individuals and organizations with valuable knowledge and skills related to water resources are now available in the semi-government and none-government sectors. The need of the hour is to pull together the knowledge gained so far to form a pool of national knowledge and develop the capacity of young professionals working in the field of water.

Institutional Framework Many of the recent policies of the government are guided by the need to limit government roles to that of a "facilitator" with focus on building capacity in private sector for the management of national resources. This is also well reflected in the irrigation policy 2003.

With these realizations and lessons learned from the past, it is proposed to establish a "National Irrigation Management Institute (NIMI)” in participation with the private sector. NIMI will work as an autonomous organization, and focus on the following activities. • Conduct research on irrigation related issues to build case studies to be used in training work. • Develop training materials and approaches to promote socio-technical, interdisciplinary understanding of irrigation and their broader water resource management contexts, and more awareness of users needs and skills in design and management. • Execute short and medium term training to professionals in the irrigation sector including users. • Provide specialized services (consultancy) both to the government and private sector as per the demand. • Conduct action research for development of appropriate technology. In the long run, NIMI is expected to be financially self-sustainable institution.

Regulatory Framework for Irrigation Management

It is widely recognized that a well-defined regulatory framework is the key for quality management of irrigation system, which in turn is the backbone for the overall agriculture development. But, in the case of Nepal such regulatory frameworks do not exist. As a result, quality of irrigation management is far from satisfactory. Following are the most important aspects that require regulatory framework for achieving quality irrigation management. • Design and construction of irrigation infrastructure • System maintenance • Water delivery system in time and space

Design and Construction of Irrigation Infrastructure Design practices of irrigation infrastructures in Nepal generally follow the Indian standards, and such standards are based on alluvial plains. However, in Nepalese context, a large numbers of irrigation systems are to be designed for non-alluvial plains. To cope

59 up with this difficulty, in 1990, the Department of Irrigation prepared a large number of irrigation design manuals (commonly referred to as PDSP manuals), which are suppose to furnish the design need of irrigation systems located in all the ecological regions of Nepal.

Although, these manuals are still workable to some extent, the design and planning professionals faces new challenges, which are not covered by the document. Furthermore, as these design manuals provide vast range of options, engineering design prepared in recent years are not uniform form person to person; consequently the associated performance of the system vary. Recognizing the importance of well- engineered irrigation infrastructures for delivering quality irrigation services to farmers, there is a need to develop a simple, brief and workable engineering design framework (guidelines) to support both the design engineers and the authorities responsible for approving the design, and to ensure that the minimum engineering standards are complied with.

As in the case of design, the construction side of irrigation infrastructure also lacks basic regulatory frameworks. There are no systematic construction procedure to be followed and agreed on by the engineers, contractors and water users. As a result, quality of construction varies from one place to others depending on the personnel judgment of engineer concerned. Thus, there is a need to develop regulatory framework for construction management, which should be made mandatory for all stakeholders (contractor, water users and engineers) of irrigation management.

System Maintenance Adequate maintenance of irrigation system is essential for quality irrigation management. Without due care in maintenance, deterioration of irrigation infrastructure will proceed unchecked requiring early rehabilitation, which in turn deteriorate quality of irrigation management.

In Nepal, system maintenance is the most neglected aspect of irrigation management, especially in Agency Managed Irrigation System (AMISs). Although, part of the reason is the lack of resources required for maintenance, part of the reason also lies to our ignorance of improved maintenance planning procedure. What is lacking is therefore the effort to spend the available resources judicially.

Maintenance tasks are of several types. Some maintenance tasks produce impact on system operation while some tasks prevent further deterioration of irrigation infrastructure although no immediate impacts on system operation are seen. For example, tasks like desilting the canal cannot be ignored without producing an impact on the system water delivery performance. However, tasks like strengthening the deteriorating canal banks may have no immediate impact on the system water delivery performance, but such tasks certainly prevent further deterioration of the canal banks. In a situation where the maintenance budgets are always small than the requirement, it is necessary to use the fund in the best way possible to address both types of problems.

Thus, developing a regulatory framework with improved maintenance planning procedure for targeting maintenance of priority items is the need of the day for quality management of irrigation system.

60 Water Delivery System in Time and Space Until recently, the only indicator that was used for the development and management of irrigation system is the "irrigated area". With such an indicator, aspects related to delivery of irrigation services to users remained in shadow. Recognizing the importance of reliable and efficient irrigation services to users, the new irrigation policy adapted two additional quantitative indicators for monitoring quality of irrigation management. These indicators are: • Quantity of water delivered for crops • Incremental agricultural production.

Of the two indicators, the value of the first indicator is becoming increasingly important from the perspective of volumetric water allocation, which is also one of the important needs of the day.

So, in order to actualize these indicators in actual practice, there is a need to develop a regulatory framework with improved procedural guidelines.

Proposed SIMM activities In the context of developing regulatory framework for several aspects of irrigation management, SIMM will take up following tasks. • Upgrade the PDSP design manuals • Develop regulatory framework for: o Designing irrigation infrastructure o Construction management o System maintenance o Flow monitoring system in canals o System operation and water delivery management o Documenting agricultural production • Develop supportive regulations with technical directives for making these regulatory frameworks mandatory for all stakeholders of irrigation management. • Implement these frameworks in actual practice and document the process of actualization.

Monitoring of System Performances

A fundamental of irrigation performance improvement is the monitoring of the irrigation management. These include monitoring of the activities for each aspects of irrigation management with respect to the regulatory framework or procedural guidelines as agreed on. In this context, as set out by Irrigation Policy 2003, it is proposed to take up the following tasks: • Establish a “National Irrigation Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (NIMEC)” comprising of representative of the Federation of National Water Users Association and irrigation professionals working in both public and private sector. • Develop operational mechanism of NIMEC. • Develop decentralized monitoring system to examine delivery of irrigation service to farmers by the irrigation systems. Quantity of water delivery to farmers, change in cropping intensity, incremental agriculture production, status of water users association, and socio-economic change in the area will be the indicator in examining level of irrigation service delivery.

61 • Support to local water managers and users in monitoring irrigation performance. • Develop methodology for performance analysis of irrigation system.

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