How Effective Is Inter-Basin Transfer to Manage Temporal Variation Of “Too Much” And “Too Little” Water Conditions for Irrigation in a Himalayan Basin?

摘要: Better irrigation facilities leading to “more crop per drop” are today’s needs. This study examines how the overall water balance of Sunkoshi, Marin, and Bagmati Basins will be altered by implementing the Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Project (SMDP) to fulfill the unmet demands of the Bagmati Irrigation Project (BIP) in the Bagmati Basin via the Marin Basin in Nepal. The specific objectives are to: i) quantify “too much” and “too little” water peculiar to the study basin based on historical data; ii) evaluate water availability, irrigation water requirement, and deficits with and without SMDP; and iii) provide evidence-based recommendations on the effectiveness of the SMDP considering hydropower generation, irrigation and low-and high-flow conditions. Thirty years of historical daily flow data (two gauging stations) and precipitation data (15 stations) were obtained from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Other …