The Ministry of Water Supply is the leading executive agency in the sector that formulates federal level policy. The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation was established as per the decision of the Government of Nepal dated on 2072/09/09. Later, it was renamed as Ministry of Water Supply during the re-organization of the line ministries by cabinet decision dated on 2074/12/01 by keeping its scope for the management and regulation of water supply and sanitation related works. The Department of Water and Sewerage Management (DWSSM) under the Ministry is the lead implementation agency. Apart from the DWSSM, there are Water and Sanitation Tariff Fixation Commission, Melamchi Water Supply Development Committee, Project Implementation Directorate, Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited, Nepal Water Supply Corporation, Water Supply Management Boards for construction and service delivery of water and sanitation systems in urban areas.

 

According to schedule-2 of the Government of Nepal (Division of Work) Regulations, 2074, the scope of the ministry are as follows:

• To formulate policies, laws, standards related to water supply and sanitation,
• Implement national level large water supply projects and inter-provincial water supply projects,
• Identification, construction and regulation of national level projects with treatment and inter-sewerage treatment,
• Ministry related treaties, agreements, contact and coordination with national and international organizations,
• Management and regulation of ministry related public enterprises, institutions, companies, etc.,
• Operation of Nepal Engineering Service, civil engineering group, sanitary sub-group.

The constitutional provisions, policies, laws, regulations and formation orders, approved standards and guidelines related to the water and sanitation sector are the legal basis of the ministry.

 

Vision:

• Assurance, safe and accessible water and sanitation services and hygiene.

 

Goal:

• Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal no. 6 and to have universal access of safe water supply and sanitation services by A.D. 2100.

 

Purpose:

 

Water supply, sanitation and hygiene sector is directly related to human development and public health. In 2010, the United Nations established access to water and sanitation as a human right. Article 30(1) of the Constitution of Nepal ensures the right of every citizen to live in a clean and healthy environment and Article 35(4) ensures the right of every citizen to have access to clean drinking water and sanitation.Under the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (2016-2030 A.D.), SDG Goal 6 "Clean Water and Sanitation" aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by A.D. 2030.

 

The Water Supply and Sanitation Act, 2079 has been promulgated and implemented in order to provide equitable, adequate, affordable and reliable accessibility of safe and quality water and sanitation services and to manage sewage and waste water by respecting, protecting and fulfilling the fundamental rights of citizens related to WASH services. Likewise, National water quality standards 2079 and treated waste water standards 2080 have been approved and implemented. In order to ensure the fundamental right of people to have access to safe water supply and to live in a clean environment and to develop systematic and effective water supply, sanitation and hygiene facilities based on the principles of mutual coordination, cooperation and co-existence between the federal, provincial and local levels, by dividing the scope of work, the National Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Policy, 2080 has been approved by the Government of Nepal (Council of Ministers) on dated 2080/05/06 (23 Aug,2023) by integrating the previous Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Policy, 2061 and Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Policy, 2066. Similarly, the Ministry is also engaged in updating and finalizing a "draft 15-year WASH Sector Development Plan (2016-2030 A. D.)" aligning it with the SDGs. In this way, the Ministry has been working for the proper development and promotion of the WASH sector by formulating the necessary policies, laws, standards, regulations etc.

 

Nepal has been giving priority to the water supply and sanitation sector for the past three decades. Due to the leadership of the Ministry and the joint cooperation of all stakeholders and development partners, 95 percent of the population has access to basic water supply, 25 percent of the population has access to high and medium level water supply service, and country has been declared an open defecation-free country in 2019. The death and disease burden caused by waterborne diseases is decreasing because of significant progress in WASH sector. However, due to lack of personal and community hygiene, water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid have appeared as epidemics from time to time.

 

The Ministry is moving towards achieving the national target of providing basic water supply and sanitation services to all people by B.S. 2081 and achieving SDG 6 to ensure everyone's access to safely managed water supply and sanitation services by A.D. 2030.In addition to bringing about changes in hygiene behaviors, maintaining the sustainability of open defecation-free conditions, it is necessary to make a lot of effort towards the achievement of total sanitation conditions and solving problems such as waste water and faecal sludge management in urban, semi-urbanand rural areas.

 

The sustainability of water and sanitation systems is a matter of priority, providing basic water supply services to the 5% unreached populations, providing access to toilet facility to the 4.5% of households that are out of toilet facility as revealed by latest final report of census 2078 B.S., and improving the level of available water supply and sanitation services and equitable access to available WASH services are important issues.It seems that the inadequacy in the operation and maintenance management of the systems is partly behind the low sustainability and functionality of the systems. The study reports show that only about one-third of the systems have water and sanitation technicians, only slightly more than one-third of the total WUSCs have been legally registered, and only a few systems have operation and maintenance funds.

 

The national targets on WASH sector and the SDG Goal no. 6 will be achieved only by the implementation of future plans and programs with the adequate budget arrangements through a multi-layered mechanism by mutual coordination and cooperation of all three tires government, taking as a social responsibility by all individuals, societies and organizations to fulfill the human needs of access to water supply and sanitation services by considering the situation of the population deprived of services, if they are scattered in rural areas, cities and any environmental area.

 

History of piped water supply system development in Nepal dates back to 1895 A.D., when the first Bir Dhara system (1891-1893) was commissioned in Kathmandu by then Rana Prime Minister Bir Samsher. The system also led to establishment of Pani Goshowara Adda (The office for water supply) and it provided limited private and community standpipes in few selected parts of Kathmandu. The water supply services were then gradually extended to few other prominent places like Amalekhgunj, Birgunj, Palpa and Khalanga Jajarkot where either the rana rulers themselves or their family/relatives resided.

 

With the formulation of the first periodic plan in B. S.2013, the water sector began to receive proper priority. In the beginning, the water supply sector under the Canal Department was mainly operated through the policies and guidelines announced through periodical and annual plans and programs, so there was a lack of clear policies and programs in the sector. The Department of Water and Sewerage was established in B.S. 2029 under the Ministry of Water Resources.

 

In mid-eighties, the water supply sector was brought under the newly established Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning (MoHPP) which after few years was reinstituted into the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW). During this period, the drinking water sector succeeded in developing the necessary policy and legal documents, and emphasized on the concept that sanitation should also be taken into account, and started emphasizing on the implementation of integrated programs of drinking water and sanitation. In addition to the introduction of a single sanitation program, the concept of hygiene was also taken as an integral part of drinking water and sanitation.

 

With the establishment of the Ministry of Urban Development in B.S. 2068 by reformulating the Ministry of Physical Planning and Construction, the water and sanitation sector was brought under this ministry. The Government of Nepal has instituted the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation on 24th. December, 2015. The establishment of the new Ministry has coincided with the moment when Nepal WASH sector is becoming vibrant day by day and Nepal is achieving and committed to put due efforts to achieve many national and international set goals and targets in water, sanitation and hygiene, intended towards betterments of peoples' living standards. Immediately after its establishment, the Ministry has initiated to draft new policies and legislations as well as revisions of existing sector policies and legislations in line with the Federal Constitution of Nepal.