E816 January 2003 RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION FUND DEVELOPMENT BOARD Public Disclosure Authorized ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT FOR RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION PROJECT II (RWSSP -II) Public Disclosure Authorized FINAL REPORT Public Disclosure Authorized NAWA RAJ KHATIWADA (Principal Investigator) 486 Shantinagar Marg Naya Baneshwor Kathmandu Public Disclosure Authorized JANUARY 2003 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The P'rincipal Investigator wotuld like to express his gratitude to the Rural Water Supply ancd Sanitation Fuind Development Board (The Fuind Board) for providing an opportunity to carry otut Environmnent Assessment of 'Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project II'. The co-operation and support extended by Mr. Raj Babu Shrestha, Executive Director; Mr. Kishor Kumar Bihib, Deptuty Director, Mr. Mano.j Kumar Pokharel, Chief of the Administrationi, Mr. Dibya Klhadgi, Chief of the Teclhnical Division, Mr. Manoj Kumar Lal, Water Supply and Sanitation Engineer, Mr. Suvash Acharya and Mr. H-liral Gautam from the HRD section, Mr. Harish Clhandra Netupane and all other staff of the FuLnd Board are highly appreciated and thaniks are due to all of them. Similarly, tlhanks are also due to Mr. Christoplhe Bosch, Water and Sanitation Economist of the World Bank who kindly provided a major suppot and help in concepttualization of the stuLdy, preparation and finalization of the study. Thle Principal Investigator would also like to highly appreciate the comments and valuable suggestions provided by tlle Steering Committee members : Dr. Ram Bahadur Khadka, Dean of the School of Environmenital Management and Sustainable Development, Mr. Damodar P. Bhatta, Officer of Ministry of Population and Environment, Mr. Rajan lPande, Senior Engineer from Department of Water Supply and Sewerage. It gives the stuLdy team a great pleasure to recall the kind co-operation and help provided by the following individuals dtui-ing the field visit: Mr. Khem Raj Sapkota - Section Officer of Nepal Red Cross Society Kaski District (NRCS-KAS); Mr. Tanka Raj Dhakal of Gaidakot Yuba Cltub (GYC); Mr. Piush Shrestha of Vijaya Development Resource Center (VDRC); Mr. Dipesh Kumar Clhoudhary, Mr. Gobardhan ChouLdhari, Mr. Govinda Prasad Choudhari of Shree Bhawaini Yuba Club (SBYCB) and Devi Prasad Bhandari of Center for Community Development Services (CCDSB). Finally, the co-operationi, active participation and valuLable suggestions rendered to this stLdy by the memiibers of the users committees duLring the field visit are also highly appreciated and acknowledged. Januiiary 28, 2003 Nawa Raj Khatiwada, Dr. Eng. Shantinagar, Kathmadtu ( Principal Investigator ) TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER TITLE PAGE T ITAL PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES v LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY viii I INTRODUCTION 1.1 General 1 1.2 Justification of the study I 1.3 Objectives of the environmental study 2 1.4 Methodology and activities 3 1 .5 Organisation and members of the study team 3 11 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT 2.1 Introduction 4 2.2 Project objectives 6 2.3 Project components 6 2.4 Project policy parameters 7 2.5 Project area 8 2.6 Anticipated benefits 8 2.7 Project cost 9 2.8 Environmental attributes of RWSSP 1 9 2.9 Water quality assessment of RWSSP I Schemes 11 2.10 Environmental aspects of RWSSP I: lessons learned and issues of major concern 14 2.11 Groundwater issues 15 Ill BASE LINE ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS 3.1 General 17 3.2 Topography 17 3.3 Climate 18 3.4 Soils 18 3.5 Land use 19 3.6 Socio-economy 21 3.7 State of the environment 22 3.8 Status of water supply and sanitation 25 3.9 State of the forest, agriculture and biodiversity 30 3.10 State of water borne diseases 31 IV GUIDING POLICIES, REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS 4.1 World Bank's EA requirements 32 4.2 National EA requirements 33 4.3 National legislation on water resources management 36 4.4 Other relevant legislations 37 4.5 Staindards 39 4.() Policies 40 4.7 Inter-inational obligations 43 4.8 Existing environmental code of practice of other agencies 43 V IMPACT IDENTIFICATION AND MITIGATION MEASURES 5.1 IntroduLction 45 5.2 Impacts caulsed by the proposed project 45 5.3 Impacts caused onl the services provided by the proposed projects 46 5.4 Analysis of the environmenital impacts 46 5.5 Water quantity related impacts 46 5.6 Water quality related impacts 47 5.7 Enviionimental sanitation related impacts 48 5.8 Impacts related to the tradition and culture 49 5.9 Impacts related to planninlg and construction phase 50 5.10 Other impacts 50 5.11 Cumulative environmental impact 50 VI ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS 6.1 Introduction 59 6.2 No project 59 6.3 Project witlhout considerinlg the environ-mental elements 60 6.4 Project addressing the enivironimental issues and incorporating the mitigation measures 60 6.5 Alternative for project components 61 VIl MITIGATION PLAN AND MONITORING 7.1 Environmental management plan 62 7.2 Environimental performance indicators 63 7.3 Modifications and additions suLggested to the existing RWSSFDB Formats 73 7.4 Tentative cost estimates 74 REFERENCES 76 APPENDIX A: Field visit report APPENDIX B: Questionnaire suirvey APPENDIX C : WHO water quality guidelinle APPENDIX D: Questionnaire formats APPENDIX E: Updated RWSSFDB Formats APPENDIX F: SuLmmary of response to the feedback provided - iv - LIST OF FIGURES Figuire Title Page 2.1 Coverage of RWSSP I 5 2.2 The project cycle under RWSSP I 8 2.3 Mapping of arsenic contamination in Nepal 13 3.1 Land cover / Land use and protected areas 18 3.2 Under five mortality rate by place of residence 29 4.1 Environmental assessment process in Nepal 34 6.1 (a) Development with projects not incorporating the environmental issues (b) Development with projects which address the environmental issues and incorporate mitigation measures 61 AP- I Intake collection chamber of Halede WSSSP A4 AP-2 Snail identified at the reservoir in Paudurkot WSSS A4 AP-3 Tapstand post and village pavement (Paudurkot WSSS) A5 AP-4 Traditional stone spout (Paudurkot WSSS) A5 AP-5 Tap stand post (Patichaur WSSS) A6 AP-6 Transmission main in the Begnas Lake (Simle Kusunde WSSS) A6 AP-7 A tapstand post of Taranagar WSSS A7 AP-8 Reservoirs under construction (Baikunthanagar / Saraswotinagar WSSSs) A7 AP-9 Tubewell in use (Shantanagar WSSS) A8 AP-10 Dugwell in Chiyabari WSSS A8 AP-] I Backyard of the house in Chiyabari WSSS A9 AP-12 Latrine and bathroom (Musaharnia WSSS) A9 AP-13 Intake of Kholaghari Mugu WSSS AIO AP-14 Tapstand post of Kholaghari Mugu WSSS AIO LIST OF TABLES Table Title Page 2.1 Batchwise coverage of the projects under RWSSP I 6 2.2 Sanitary conditions around selected drinking water sources 9 2.3 Use of saved time in fetching water by the respondents 10 2.4 Changes in personal sanitation practices 10 2.5 Water quality data of surface and groundwater sources in Nepal 12 2.6 Arsenic concentration in different districts 13 3.1 Area, population and number of districts by geographic region 18 3.2 Elevation geology and soil characteristics by geographic region 19 3.3 Land use pattern 19 3.4 Distribution of households by selected water supply and sanitation indicators 27 3.5 Stattus of water supply and sanitation 1996 28 3.6 Housing characteristics by residence 28 3.7 Trends in the infant mortality rate in Nepal 28 3.8 Expected status by the end of ninth plan 29 3.9 Incidence of diarrhea by region 2055/2056 to 2057/2058 31 3.10 Top ten leading diseases by development region and ecological zones, FY 2057/2058 31 3.11 Top ten reasons for hospitalization 31 4.1 Policies related water and environment in some contemporary acts 39 4.2 Major socio-economic goals 41 5.1 Matrix of environmental impacts and mitigation measures 52 7.1 Summary of activities described by EMP 63 7.2 Environmental management plan 65 7.3 Environmental performance indicators 73 7.4 Tentative cost estimates 75 AP-1 Lists of schemes visited Al B-1 Distribution of respondents BI B-2 Summary of response from users B4 - vi - LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CBO - Community Based Organisation DDC - District development Committee DWSS - Department of Water Supply and Sewerage EA - Environment Assessment EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment EMP -- Environmental Management Plan EMAP - Environmental Management Action Plan EPA ---Environment Protection Act EPR - Environment Protection Rules FDB - FuLnd Development Board (Short form of RWSSFDB) IIMG - His Majesty's Government HiSE - Hygiene and Sanitation Education IDA - International Development Association IEE - Initial Environmental Examination JAKPAS - Janatako Khaniepani ra SarsaphaiKaryakram KAP - Knowledge Attitude and Practice LSGA - Local self Governance Act NWSC - Nepal Water Supply Corporation PM - Portfolio Manager RWSSP - Rural Water Stupply and Sanitation Project RWSSFDB - Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Fund Development Board SA - Service Agency SO - Support Organisation VDC - Village Development Committee WATSAN - Water Supply and Sanitation WRA - Water Resources Act WTSS - Women Technical Support Services WUC - Water User Committee WUG - Water User Group VHP - Village Health Promoters vii - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The concepf offlhe project (Rutral Water Supply andl Sanitation Phase II) is based on thle /-inciples tlhait (17)1)11priah' vater supply and sanitation technologies redutce the prevaili/ng traditionaleuvironmental risks in the rur-al commnunities anad contribtate to poverty reductioni (11n(1 social Capital 1n1obli-jltition The project is based on1the inztegrated aproach in wvhich einlp/hasis is given ons boti hara(lware components aindl softiware aspects. Th is st dv /1(5hs i(len4tfie(l a Jewt environmnental issutes r-elatedl to waiter supply andi(i saniitation schemnes undi(1er RWVSSI' 11, which nieedl to he inicorpor-ated in the scheme cycle in ordler to attaini tlhe en vironlli,nlat'al suistaimafhilit ofjtl/e project.