UC Research Studies How to Improve Water Distribution in Developing Nations

Manish Shrestha

, EIT, MBA and recent University of Cincinnati

College of Engineering and Applied Science

MS graduate, is now a published researcher.

Shrestha's novel work on satellite water tanks, titled “Feasibility of Using Satellite Water Tanks for Protecting Drinking Water in Urban Communities in Developing Countries,” was featured as a chapter in the text "Securing Water and Wastewater Systems: Global Experiences." The collective work, published by Springer Science + Business Media, was edited by Robert M. Clark and Simon Hakim.

In most of the developing nations around the globe, water is delivered to communities via intermittent distribution systems that operate for limited hours on certain days. About 350 million people in South Asia and 50 million in Latin America receive water in this sporadic manner. The service is often unsatisfactory due to low network pressure, insufficient supply and poor water quality.  

To cope with the unreliable, low quality of their water supply, end users often rely on service pumps, private water tanks and on-site filters, leading to an uneven distribution of the already-scarce water. However, the strategic deployment of satellite water tanks seems to be a solution to mitigating the effects of intermittent water supply and the coping burden that comes along with it. Elevated satellite water tanks act as local storage points and maintain hydraulic pressure throughout a service region, rendering household pumps and tanks unnecessary as each home is equally supplied with quality water.

Shrestha explains, “I hail from Nepal, a developing nation where scarcity of water and power is a common thing. Living under such scarcity, I had always wanted to understand the real science behind how water was diverted to reach household via pipes and fittings from the source/rivers. My interest led me to design a water supply network for a rural village in Nepal as my final undergraduate semester project.”

His interest was further developed during his doctoral studies at UC. Shrestha travelled to Kathmandu, Nepal, to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of using satellite water tanks to provide a continuous, reliable supply of quality water. The study’s intermittent water supply was simulated using the

US Environmental Protection Agency

(USEPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) in a small residential neighborhood (comprised of only 25 households) that had been receiving fitful service.

Shrestha’s simulation results indicated that strategic deployment and operation of satellite storage tanks did, in fact, improve water quality and reduced the cost of supplying water to the community. His economic analysis revealed that, in most cases, the benefits of installing satellite tanks outweighed the cost and depended on a tradeoff between leakage losses versus reduced healthcare expenses.

Shrestha reflects, “My UC CEAS education equipped me with in-depth knowledge of hydraulic and hydrological analysis, while also allowing me access to cutting-edge hydraulic modeling software. Steven G. Buchberger, PhD and head of the

Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management

, provided me with invaluable guidance and support for this research from the very beginning. I have been regularly using this knowledge as I continue to move forward with my research.”

For two consecutive years, Shrestha was the recipient of the

Ivanhoe Fellowship

in recognition of his research in the water resources field. He also was selected to present his groundbreaking work at an

American Society of Civil Engineers

Conference.

Shrestha earned his MS degree in Environmental Engineering from UC in 2012. He worked as a graduate research assistant in the Environment Engineering Department for two years, from 2010 to 2012. His special areas of research include hydraulics and hydraulic modeling. He also holds an MBA degree from Clemson University and a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He currently works as a project engineer at

Symbiont

and is a member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers

.

Shrestha plans to remain on the forefront of helping developing nations meet their basic amenities.