Publications

@article{PANDEY2023108287,
title = {Implementing conjunctive management of water resources for irrigation development: A framework applied to the Southern Plain of Western Nepal},
author = {Vishnu Prasad Pandey and Nirman Shrestha and Anton Urfels and Anupama Ray and Manohara Khadka and Paul Pavelic and Andrew J McDonald and Timothy J Krupnik},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837742300152X},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108287},
issn = {0378-3774},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-04-03},
journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
volume = {283},
pages = {108287},
abstract = {Climate variability and insufficient irrigation are primary constraints to stable and higher agricultural productivity and food security in Nepal. Agriculture is the largest global freshwater user, and integration of surface- and ground-water use is frequently presented as an strategy for increasing efficiency as well as climate change adaptation. However, conjunctive management (CM) planning often ignores demand-side requirements and a broader set of sustainable development considerations, including ecosystem health and economics of different development strategies. While there is generic understanding of conjunctive use, detailed technical knowhow to realize the CM is lacking in Nepal. This article presents a holistic framework through literature reviews, stakeholders consultations and expert interviews for assessing CM and implementation prospects from a systems-level perspective. We demonstrate the framework through a case study in Western Nepal, where climatic variability and a lack of irrigation are key impediments to increased agricultural productivity and sustainable development. Results show that knowledge of water resources availability is good and that of water demand low in the Western Terai. Additional and coordinated investments are required to improve knowledge gaps as well as access to irrigation. There is therefore a need to assess water resources availability, water access, use and productivity, to fill the knowledge gaps in order to pave pathways for CM. This paper also discusses some strategies to translate prospects of conjunctive management into implementation.},
keywords = {Climate change, Conjunctive management, Conjunctive use, Groundwater, Water policy},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Prajapati2021,
title = {Streams, sewage, and shallow groundwater: stream-aquifer interactions in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal},
author = {Rajaram Prajapati and Nick N. Overkamp and Niek Moesker and Kate Happee and Rick van Bentem and Anusha Danegulu and Bikesh Manandhar and Nischal Devkota and Amber Bahadur Thapa and Surabhi Upadhyay and Rocky Talchabhadel and Bhesh Raj Thapa and Rabin Malla and Vishnu Prasad Pandey and Jefrey C. Davids},
url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40899-021-00542-8},
doi = {doi.org/10.1007/s40899-021-00542-8},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-08-02},
journal = {Sustainable Water Resources Management},
volume = {7},
number = {5},
pages = {1-18},
abstract = {The Kathmandu Valley in Nepal is facing a water quantity and quality crisis due to rapid urbanization and haphazard water and wastewater planning and management. Annually, groundwater extractions in the Kathmandu Valley exceed capture, resulting in groundwater table declines. Streams are often important sources of recharge to (or destination of discharges from) aquifers. However, stream-aquifer interactions in the Kathmandu Valley are poorly understood. To improve this understanding, we performed topographic surveys of water levels, and measured water quality, in streams and adjacent hand-dug wells (shallow aquifer). In pre-monsoon, 12% (2018) and 44% (2019) of wells had water levels higher than adjacent streams, indicating mostly a loss of stream water to the aquifer. However, in post-monsoon, 69% (2018) and 70% (2019) of wells had water levels higher than adjacent streams, indicating that monsoon rainfall contributes to shallow aquifer recharge which, at least temporarily, causes streams to transition from losing to gaining. Concentrations of all water quality parameters (electrical conductivity, ammonia, alkalinity, and hardness) were higher in the pre-monsoon compared to post-monsoon in both streams and wells. There was no recurring trend in water level difference longitudinally from upstream to downstream. However, water quality in streams and wells depleted from upstream to downstream. While we clearly observed seasonal refilling of the shallow aquifer, the role of the deep aquifer in seasonal storage processes deserve future research attention.},
keywords = {Groundwater, Kathmandu Valley, Stream-aquifer interactions, Water management, Water quality},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Tanaka2012,
title = {Characterization of microbial communities distributed in the groundwater pumped from deep tube wells in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal},
author = {Yasuhiro Tanaka and Kei Nishida and Takashi Nakamura and Saroj Kumar Chapagain and Daisuke Inoue and Kazunari Sei and Kazuhiro Mori and Yasushi Sakamoto and Futaba Kazama},
doi = {10.2166/wh.2011.086},
issn = {14778920},
year = {2012},
date = {2012-01-01},
journal = {Journal of Water and Health},
volume = {10},
number = {1},
pages = {170--180},
abstract = {Although groundwater is a major water supply source in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, it is known that the groundwater has significant microbial contamination exceeding the drinking water quality standard recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and that this has been implicated in causing a variety of diseases among people living in the valley. However, little is known about the distribution of pathogenic microbes in the groundwater. Here, we analysed the microbial communities of the six water samples from deep tube wells by using the 16S rRNA gene sequences based culture-independent method. The analysis showed that the groundwater has been contaminated with various types of opportunistic microbes in addition to fecal microbes. Particularly, the clonal sequences related to the opportunistic microbes within the genus Acinetobacter were detected in all samples. As many strains of Acinetobacter are known as multi-drug resistant microbes that are currently spreading in the world, we conducted a molecular-based survey for detection of the gene encoding carbapenem-hydrolysing $beta$-lactamase (bla oxa-23-like gene), which is a key enzyme responsible for multi-drug resistance, in the groundwater samples. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using two specific primer sets for amplifying bla oxa-23-like gene indicated that two of six groundwater samples contain multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter. textcopyright IWA Publishing 2012.},
keywords = {Acinetobacter, Deep tube well, Groundwater, Microbial community, Multi-drug resistance},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Pandey2011,
title = {A framework for measuring groundwater sustainability},
author = {Vishnu P Pandey and Sangam Shrestha and Saroj K Chapagain and Futaba Kazama},
doi = {10.1016/j.envsci.2011.03.008},
issn = {14629011},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-06-01},
journal = {Environmental Science and Policy},
volume = {14},
number = {4},
pages = {396--407},
abstract = {This paper develops a structured framework that considers an index of means for achieving sustainability, the 'groundwater sustainability infrastructure index (GSII)', as a measure of groundwater sustainability. The infrastructure here refers to the existing knowledge, practices and institutions whose adequate strengthening helps achieve groundwater sustainability. The index is composed of five components (groundwater monitoring-GwM, knowledge generation and dissemination-KgD, regulatory interventions-ReI, public participation-PuP and institutional responsibility-InR) which disaggregate into 16 indicators. The index is illustrated with Kathmandu Valley in Nepal as a case study site. The study results showed that overall situation of the 'groundwater sustainability infrastructures' in Kathmandu Valley is relatively poor (GSII = 0.22). The scores of all the components of the index lie on the lower side of the sustainability scale (0-1, 1 representing the highest degree of sustainability). Therefore, more attentions are required to strengthen the sustainability infrastructures and subsequently achieve groundwater sustainability in the valley. Results of the GSII application demonstrated that the index could highlight areas for improvement and ultimately guide appropriate action and policy-making towards sustainable groundwater management. textcopyright 2011 Elsevier Ltd.},
keywords = {Groundwater, Kathmandu, Sustainability, Sustainability infrastructure, Sustainable management},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}