Civil Insight: A Technical Magazine Volume 2 | Page 37

CIVIL INSIGHT 2018 TEACHERS’ SECTION 37 Evolution of Water Supply System in Bhaktapur City Er. Manish Prakash Lecturer Department of Civil and Geomatics Engineering, Kathmandu University [email protected] Bhaktapur city is a city located 12 km east of Kathmandu. The city is situated on a fl at elevated plateau with an average elevation of 1337 m. During the sixteenth century, Bhaktapur city was the capital of Kathmandu valley. The city is fed by two major rivers, Khasankhusing River in the north and Hanumante River in the south as the sources of surface water. Recharge areas are located in the northeast part of the city as well as of the valley which supplies water to the ground water table of the entire valley. i. Stone Spout Area ii. Primary Settling Unit iii. Secondary Settling Unit Figure 1: Bhimsen Temple Water Spout Area Ground water was exploited through dug wells and artistically carved stone spouts during the Lichhavi period before the 12 th century. Stone spouts were constructed down the surface to ensure continuous fl ow under gravity. The city dwellers fetched water from Stone spouts ( DhungeDhara ), Dug wells ( Inar ) and Ponds ( Pokhari ) for various domestic purposes. Water from stone spouts and wells were used for drinking purposes. Similarly, ponds collected storm water and served as recharge for wells and reserve for any fi re outbreak in the city. At present, there are around 87 stone spouts, 277 dug wells and 39 ponds in the city.