Fulbright Letter-7 At the End of the Channel. Dear friends,

Transcription

1 Dear friends, This letter continues from the previous letter Water: Phewa Lake, and extends the water/solid waste issues to the regions below Phewa Lake. Phewa Lake has two major outlets: one from the Phewa dam and the other from a bypass channel. The Phewa dam discharges lake water to the Pardi River. There is no direct access to the dam without permission. However, you can walk around to the other side of the dam using a local path, a suspension bridge, and a narrow bushy passage (Photos 1-4). Photo 1: Local women heading to a suspension bridge (Photo by Sato, March 26, 2012) Photo 2: Me on a suspension bridge and Phewa Dam (upper right) (Photo by Sato, March 26, 2012) Photo 3: Side view of Phewa Dam at sunrise (Photo by Sato, February 10, 2012) Photo 4: Me and Phewa Dam (Photo by Sato, February 10, 2012) 1

2 The area below the dam gives scenic beauties comprising of boulders, rocks, and a stream (Photos 5). This area is, therefore, popular with local residents for dating, in addition to laundry and bathing (Photos 6-8). Photos 5: The area below Phewa Dam (Photo by Sato, March 26, 2012) Photo 6: Boulder provides space for romance (Photo by Sato, January, 2012) Photos 7: Women washing hair and clothes (Photo by Sato, January-May, 2012) Photo 8: The Pardi River (left) and river beach (above), below Phewa Dam: view from the suspension bridge (Photo by Sato, January-April, 2012) 2

3 Phewa Lake also drains water through a bypass channel (Photos 9). The channel runs through an urban area in the south of the lake. Photos 9: Water channel that bypasses Phewa Dam (Photo by Sato, March 26, 2012) A floodgate controls the flow and also captures some floating trash (Photo 10). In the downstream channel, it branches out and runs through commercial, residential and agricultural areas. At many places along the channel, stairs and laundry areas were built into its sidewalls for easy public access to water (Photo 11). Photo 10: Floodgate on the bypass channel: trash is captured by the gate (Photo by Sato, March 25, 2012) Photo 11: Stairs and laundry area on the side of the channel (Photo by Sato, March 26, 2012) 3

4 A means to divert water varies from floodgates, to weirs, to natural flow gradients (Photos 12-15). Photo 12: Floodgates to divert water, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by Sato, January 2012) Photo 13: Weirs to divert water, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by Sato, March 2012). Photo 14: Y-shaped channel to divert water, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by Sato, March 2012) Photo 15: T-shaped trench to divert water to farm lands, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by Sato, March 2012) 4

5 Domestic activities such as bathing, and washing clothes and cooking wares in the channel, are common scenes along the channel (Photos 16 & 17). Discarding soap/shampoo packages and bottles, and wornout clothes into the channel appear to be a general practice. Photos 16: Water channel in an urban area, near Birouta Chowk, Pokhara, Nepal: laundry areas and stairs were built for easy public access to water (Photo by Sato, January 2012) A small channel was constructed from the lake to rural areas for villagers (Photos 17). Photos 17: Small channel for washing clothes and kitchen wares in rural areas, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by Sato, January 2012) 5

6 The channel banks are often used as waste dumps (Photos 18). Naturally, the trash ends up in the channel. Some trash float, others sink. Photo 18: Trash dumps nearby a water channel, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by Sato, January 2012) Some of the floating trash is trapped by floodgates where children sometimes play with the trash (Photos 19). Heavier trash can be seen sunk to the bottom of the channel (Photo 20): there is no evidence of fish life. Photos 19: Children playing with floating trash, Pokhra, Nepal (Photo by Sato, January 2012) Photo 20: Trash sunken to the bottom of the channel (Photo by Sato, January 2012) 6

7 Some of other trash rolls downstream, and often gets stuck in the channel where local residents do laundry and bathing (Photos 21). Deposition of trash is prominent in low flow channels (Photo 22). Photos 21: Local residents washing clothes and bathing in the channel where trash is deposited, Pokhara (Photo by Sato, February, 2012). Photo 22: Deposition of trash in a low flow channel (Photo by Sato, February 2012). Once the channel reaches rural areas, it branches extensively to become irrigation trenches where the last remaining trash ends up: the trash can flow no further (Photo 23). Photos 23: Trash deposited in irrigation trenches and farmlands, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by Sato, April 18, 2012). 7

8 One of the channels reaches a small reservoir (Photo 24) where both floating and sunken trash are removed manually (Photo 25). The reservoir discharges water to two inclined pipe channels (Photos 26). Photo 24: Water intake reservoir and trash (Photo by Sato, April 2012) Photo 25: Man removing trash from a water intake reservoir (Photo by Sato, April 2012) Photos 26: Pipe channels connected to hydro-turbines (Photo by Sato, April 2012) At the end of the inclined pipe channels, there is a hydropower house (1 MW hydroelectric power plant). Yes, there is light at the end of the channel. 8

9 Appendix: At the End of the Channel behind the scene A portion of Phewa Lake water is used for hydropower generation. We (Rachel, Sachitra, and I) visited the Fewa (Phewa) Power House located at the bottom of a canyon. This powerplant can produce 1 MW of electricity according to an operator. Photo A1: Features of Phewa Powerhouse, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by R. Sato, March 11, 2012) Photo A2: Powerhouse, Pokhara, Nepal From left: operator, Me, Sachitra (Photo by R. Sato, March 11, 2012) Photo A3: Me and hydropower inclined pipe channel, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by R. Sato, March 11, 2012) Photo A4: Inside the powerhouse, Pokhara, Nepal (Photo by R. Sato, March 11, 2012) 9