The Small Earth Nepal (SEN) organized ‘Second Graduate Course on Hydrogeology’ from 12 to 16 August 2019 at Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB) in collaboration with the Fulbright Specialist Program, Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), University of Rhode Island (URI), Tribhuvan University Alumni Association Nepal (TUAAN), Centre for Hydrology of University of Saskatchewan (C4H-Usask) and KVWSMB.
The main objective of the course was to strengthen the knowledge on hydrogeological concepts, principles, components and approaches with a view to capacitate graduate students and early career professionals for carrying out hydrogeology based research and projects. There were altogether 18 participants representing academic institutions, government agencies, research organizations and a Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling fellow. The program began with a welcome speech by the President of SEN and a researcher at C4H-Usask, Mr. Dhiraj Pradhananga.
The second graduate course was led by Professor Thomas Boving from URI and Mr. Dhiraj Pradhananga. The course was oriented to the core concepts of groundwater hydraulics and modeling, aquifer safe yield and sustainability considerations, water quality issues, water management and water resources protection approaches, cold region hydrology and tools for research and communication in conjunction with hands-on exercises, group works and poster presentations by the participants to further retain their understanding.
The course was complemented with five guest lectures by the eminent experts – Dr. Vishnu Prasad Pandey, Dr. Neera Shrestha Pradhan, Ms. Suchita Shrestha, Mr. Madhukar Upadhyaya, and Prof. Narendra Man Shakya. The presentations by the guest lecturers elucidated groundwater vulnerability to climate change, the status of water resources management in Nepal and the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.
Mr. Piyush Dahal, Research Coordinator at SEN, summarized the findings of the recent research works carried out by SEN, particularly in Karnali River Basin of Nepal. Similarly, Mr. Nammy Hang Kirat, Senior Research Associate in SEN, demonstrated the application of Google Earth Engine for water resource management.
As a part of the course, a field visit was organized to Sundarijal, Kathmandu which allowed the participants to understand the hydrogeological setting of Gokarna Basin and the mechanism of water supply treatment plant and reservoir of Melamchi Project. The field trip was coordinated by Mr. Prabin Chandra KC and Mr. Ram Chandra Paudel from KVWSMB.
During the closing session, the participants presented their technical approach to groundwater issues in various parts of the country through poster presentations. This activity allowed the participants to work within groups to discuss their project proposals and receive constructive feedback from the fellow participants, Prof. Boving, Mr. Pradhananga, Er. Mahendra B. Gurung (Executive Director of SEN). The course was gracefully concluded with the closing remarks and certificate distribution by Prof. Boving, Mr. Pradhananga, Er. Gurung, Prof. Sunity Shrestha Hada (Chairperson of TUAAN) and Dr. Sanjeev Bickram Rana (Executive Director in KVWSMB).
