Melamchi water supply halted after flood damages temporary intake dam

Water supply to Kathmandu Valley from the Melamchi Drinking Water Project has been suspended after floodwaters damaged a temporary intake dam at the project's headworks in Helambu, Sindhupalchok. The incident occurred Thursday night when heavy rainfall in the upstream catchment area caused the Melamchi River to become heavily turbid, leading to the damage of the temporary diversion structure. Officials were forced to stop sending water into the 26-kilometer tunnel the same night.

A project technician stated that the river flow has not subsided, and there is no immediate possibility of resuming water diversion. While a senior division engineer and spokesperson for the project mentioned that no formal decision had been made to suspend operations, officials were assessing the situation due to increased turbidity and flood risks. The Melamchi intake has been vulnerable since devastating floods in June 2021 destroyed the original headworks, causing widespread destruction. Although plans for a safer relocation site are underway, the final design and report are yet to be completed.

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The river flow has not subsided yet. There is no immediate possibility of resuming water diversion.

Consequently, Melamchi water has typically been supplied to Kathmandu only during the dry season using temporary infrastructure. Project officials indicated that the latest damage to the temporary intake could lead to an extended delay in restoring supply. The Melamchi project currently provides approximately 170 million liters of water daily to Kathmandu Valley, and the suspension is expected to impact water distribution across the capital. Even a system designed to divert water from the nearby Ribarma stream during monsoon flooding proved ineffective as that stream also became heavily turbid.

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Officials were assessing the situation after the water became highly turbid and flood risks increased.