Remote-Sensing Applications to Support Rehabilitation of Water Infrastructure in Lapilang, Nepal

Abstract

Disasters such as the earthquakes that struck Nepal in spring 2015 not only cause direct impacts of death and injuries to people, but also have long-term effects such as the destruction of vital infrastructure. To support the restoration of such infrastructure, remote-sensing applications can be helpful due to their potential to be complementary to in-situ data. In this study, GIS analyses are applied to Earth observation (EO) data in order to support the rehabilitation of water supply infrastructure planned by the Earthquake Recovery Operation of the Nepal Red Cross Society in the area of Lapilang, Nepal. Various aspects that are important for effective and sustainable planning are examined: (1) provision of accurate elevation information with a spatial resolution of 2m to support the planning of water supply systems; (2) mapping the distribution of buildings as a proxy for population distribution in order to facilitate a spatially explicit estimate of water demand; (3) identifying potential locations for community water taps that fulfil national standards; (4) the assessment of landcover / land use in watershed areas to estimate meliorating effects and potential contamination risks. The mapped results of the analysis are not only essential for onsite field work, but can also facilitate informed decision-making processes for both short- and long-term planning of water supply systems in the area.