Nepal’s springs and groundwater reserves are steadily declining, putting the country’s water security at risk, according to a new assessment by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The Asian Water Development Outlook 2025, released on Monday, finds that over-pumping in the Kathmandu Valley has severely depleted aquifers and dried up traditional springs. Across the hills and mountains, numerous springs have either diminished or vanished entirely.

In the Tarai, shallow aquifers are overstressed, triggering seasonal shortages, while naturally occurring arsenic in alluvial sediments has contaminated groundwater in several areas, posing significant public health risks.

Despite Nepal’s abundant water resources, only about 25 percent of the population has access to fully functional drinking water systems, the study notes.

The country continues to face a paradox of abundance and scarcity: plentiful natural water, yet persistent shortages, contamination, and destructive floods.

According to the report, infrastructure gaps, fragmented governance, and climate impacts are preventing reliable and equitable distribution. While water and sanitation services have improved overall—particularly in rural regions—seasonal variability, poor water quality, and disaster risks remain unresolved challenges.

Communities that rely on springs and groundwater face growing hardship, with some households forced to migrate because local sources have dried up. The report warns that these losses threaten livelihoods, cultural heritage, and social stability. It calls for integrated watershed management, reforestation, and protection of recharge zones to halt the decline.

Rural household water security improved from 4.8 in 2013 to 10.3 in 2025; more than 91 percent of rural households now use piped or protected water sources. Yet nearly half still face contamination risks.

Infrastructure often fails, sanitation remains poor, and waste frequently pollutes groundwater and rivers. Most systems rely on flat fees rather than volumetric tariffs, and maintenance funds are scarce.

Progress in sanitation and hygiene—bolstered by post-Covid awareness—has helped lift rural water security scores, the report adds.

Urban areas are under growing strain, with populations rising at over 4.5 percent annually. In cities like Kathmandu, water is supplied intermittently—typically for just 3-4 hours every alternate day.

Flood-related shutdowns of the Melamchi system can slash supply to 30 percent of normal levels, forcing households to rely on expensive storage, filtration, or bottled water.

Drainage systems in Nepal’s cities remain inadequate, leading to frequent flooding. Wastewater treatment is almost nonexistent: only 2.1 percent of wastewater and less than 1 percent of faecal sludge is treated. Open drains, clogged sewer networks, and poor waste management continue to pose serious health hazards.

The report notes improvements in utility operations, particularly through Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited, and growing regulatory oversight from the Water Supply and Sanitation Tariff Fixation Commission.

But environmental water security remains fragile. It has improved only slightly—from 12.9 in 2013 to 13.7 in 2025—while hydropower development, river diversions, and weak governance have reduced environmental flows and degraded catchments.

Urban pollution, land-use change, and riverbed mining are damaging aquatic ecosystems.

Although the Catchment and Aquatic System Condition Index (CASCI) remains broadly stable, localised degradation is severe in areas like the Roshi river catchment in Kavrepalancok district, which suffered major damage during floods in 2024.

Governance scores are comparatively stronger due to wide terrestrial protection in rural regions, but wastewater treatment remains extremely limited.

Nepal’s water-related disaster security has made modest gains—from 11.8 in 2013 to 13.0 in 2025—thanks to expanded early-warning systems and the 2023 National Disaster Management Policy.

However, zoning enforcement is weak, and coordination between water and disaster-management institutions is inadequate. The report recommends stronger integrated planning under the integrated water resource management (IWRM) framework.

Nepal’s progress on IWRM remains slow. The country scored 37 out of 100 on SDG indicator 6.5.1 in 2023, far below the Central and South Asia average of 55 and well short of the 2030 global target of 91.

The report says Nepal’s federal structure—seven provinces and 753 local governments sharing overlapping water mandates—has created confusion, duplication, and gaps. Water governance remains siloed and coordination weak, with limited stakeholder participation.

Financing is a major constraint. Nepal lacks a dedicated funding mechanism for IWRM, and its financing score dropped from 32 in 2020 to 30 in 2023.

Most water-related infrastructure is publicly financed, except for some hydropower projects. Irrigation and drinking water withdrawals are not subject to user fees, and irrigation service fee collection remains weak, failing to cover operating costs.

Pollution charges are absent, and a petroleum surcharge originally intended for water infrastructure has not been used for that purpose.

Environmental degradation continues to worsen, driven by pollution, deforestation, encroachment, and poor enforcement of mandated environmental flows.

Climate change is amplifying floods, droughts, and landslides, further weakening already stressed ecosystems. The report stresses the need for land-use zoning, flood-risk mapping, pollution control, and nature-based solutions to restore ecosystems and strengthen water storage.

Across Asia and the Pacific, more than 60 percent of the population—around 2.7 billion people—has been lifted from extreme water insecurity over the past 12 years.

But these gains are increasingly at risk due to environmental decline and severe financing gaps. Wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and forests are deteriorating rapidly, while climate-intensified weather events—including storm surges, sea-level rise, and saltwater intrusion—threaten long-term resilience.

Recent weeks have seen devastating floods across parts of South and Southeast Asia, reinforcing the region’s vulnerability. The ADB estimates that $4 trillion will be required through 2040—about $250 billion annually—to meet basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs alone.

“Asia’s water story is a tale of two realities, with monumental achievements on water security coupled with rising risks that could undermine this progress,” said ADB Senior Director for Water and Urban Development Norio Saito.

“Without water security, there is no development. This report shows we need to act urgently to restore ecosystem health, strengthen resilience, improve water governance, and deploy innovative finance to deliver long-term water security—especially for the neediest communities.”

The report evaluates water security across five dimensions: access to clean water and sanitation for rural and urban populations; water availability for key economic sectors like agriculture; the health of rivers and ecosystems; and protections against floods, droughts, and other water-related disasters.