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In Kathmndu, the century-old water distribution network is tasked with serving a population over one million people. The result is leakages, frequent contamination and inefficiency. Image by Anna-Katarina Gravgaard. Nepal, 2009.
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Even as the network deteriorates, the population is rapidly growing, especially in urban areas. In 2004, 16 percent of Nepal’s 25 million residents were urban. By 2021, the water and sanitation organization NGO Forum estimates, the population will be 34 million with 27 percent in urban areas. Image by William Wheeler. Nepal, 2009.
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A fetid stretch of the polluted Bagmati River in Kathmandu. Image by William Wheeler. Nepal, 2009.
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Residents of a shantytown sifting through garbage at the river bank. Image by Anna-Katarina Gravgaard. Nepal, 2009.
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A woman cleans the street in front of her shop in a tourist district. Image by William Wheeler. Nepal, 2009.
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Workers dig a sewer line through the city. Image by William Wheeler. Nepal, 2009.
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Many households are still without a water connection. In those with piped water delivery, the supply is often intermittent and water pressure is weak. Those who can afford ground pumps soak up the available water to the disadvantage of their poorer neighbors. Image by Anna-Katarina Gravgaard. Nepal, 2009.
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During the dry season, some estimates put the delivery output of the water system at less than half of total demand. Image by William Wheeler. Nepal, 2009.
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A boy checks the water tank on his rooftop in Kathmandu. Image by William Wheeler. Nepal, 2009.
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A bike fitted for carrying water. Image by William Wheeler. Nepal, 2009.
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Kids bathing in a river. Image by William Wheeler. Nepal, 2009.
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See also

Published October 1, 2009

William Wheeler and Anna-Katarina Graavgard, for the Pulitzer Center

Nepal is awash with water during the wet season. But for most of the year life in Kathmandu-- a city already choked by smog, and growing more polluted with the influx of rural Nepalis each year-- is strained by the circumstances of an ageing and inadequate water distribution network hobbled by political instability. Photos of life in the Himalaya's dirtiest city.

Project

South Asia's Troubled Waters

The majority of India's water sources are polluted. A lack of access to safe water contributes to a fifth of its communicable diseases. Each day in the booming, nuclear-armed nation, diarrhea alone kills more than 1,600 people.
December 14, 2011 / Nieman Reports

On the Road to Writing Books: Blazing New Trails

William Wheeler
Pulitzer Center grantee William Wheeler reflects on his experience in international reporting and the fraught path from daily journalism to long-form nonfiction.
October 26, 2011 / National Geographic

India and Pakistan at Odds Over Shrinking Indus River

William Wheeler
Irrigation and hydroelectric projects along with shrinking glaciers are reducing the flow of the Indus River--and increasing tensions between Pakistan and India.
more