Environment and Ecology Research Vol. 11(5), pp. 824 - 833
DOI: 10.13189/eer.2023.110511
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Drinking Water Accessibility Index in Mountainous Rural Area: Case Study on Lamgong Gewog of Paro Dzongkhag in Bhutan

Yeshi Choden ^1,2, Khameis Mohamed Al Abdouli ³, Pelden Singye ¹, Anju Chhetri ⁴, Desh Maya Rai ⁵, Nimesh Chettri ^1,2,*
1 Department of Civil Engineering, College of Science and Technology, Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan
² Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction and Community Development Studies, Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan
³ Faculty of Resilience, Rabdan Academy, United Arab Emirates
⁴ Bitekha Middle Secondary School, Ministry of Education, Bhutan
⁵ Chumithang Middle Secondary School, Ministry of Education, Bhutan

ABSTRACT

Bhutan is said to be water abundant with extensive river systems flowing from north to south. However, access to these water resources still remains an issue due to the country's rugged terrain, highly dispersed nature of settlements, and low population densities. Water accessibility assessment will help in effective water resource management. It is seen that some areas under Paro Dzongkhag are water scarce whereas some of the water resource is not accessible. The Water Accessibility Index (WAI) is developed in order to measure the relative access to household drinking water of the people of Lamgong Gewog under Paro Dzongkhag. The data are collected through questionnaire surveys and field investigations to analyze the disparities in water distribution, accessibility across various villages of the same Gewog and the impacts of socio-economic factors on the water accessibility in the area. The field data collected on eight index components such as main water supply sources, distance travelled to sources, water lock off hours, etc., were analyzed and WAI was developed for five chiwogs under Lamgong Gewog. The results of this project revealed that out of five chiwogs, Chhukha has high accessibility for drinking water and its resources are also found to be plentiful. The overall trend of the Gewogs water resource increases towards the central region and the Gewog as a whole has an index value of 0.684, thus being categorized as a medium accessed area for drinking water.

KEYWORDS
Water Accessibility Index (WAI), Eight Index Components, Water Availability, Spatial Pattern, Spatial Factors, Geographic Information System (GIS)

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Yeshi Choden , Khameis Mohamed Al Abdouli , Pelden Singye , Anju Chhetri , Desh Maya Rai , Nimesh Chettri , "Drinking Water Accessibility Index in Mountainous Rural Area: Case Study on Lamgong Gewog of Paro Dzongkhag in Bhutan," Environment and Ecology Research, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 824 - 833, 2023. DOI: 10.13189/eer.2023.110511.

(b). APA Format:
Yeshi Choden , Khameis Mohamed Al Abdouli , Pelden Singye , Anju Chhetri , Desh Maya Rai , Nimesh Chettri (2023). Drinking Water Accessibility Index in Mountainous Rural Area: Case Study on Lamgong Gewog of Paro Dzongkhag in Bhutan. Environment and Ecology Research, 11(5), 824 - 833. DOI: 10.13189/eer.2023.110511.