A new water network for the fast-growing town of Lahan in Nepal will provide clean water, benefitting thousands of people.

Engineering and design consultant Atkins created layout plans for over 170km of new water network in Nepal as part of WaterAid's Beacon Project. The plans include a 73km high-level water supply network and a review of the water supply layout for urban Lahan, which will serve 42,000 people by 2030.

Atkins said it used in-house digital processes to outline the water networks automatically, using data from global open source and client-specific geographic information systems.

The project was delivered in two stages. First was the development of 73km of high-level water supply networks in three areas with 15,000 inhabitants that currently have no pipework.

Stage two was a review of the water supply layout for urban Lahan to increase customer coverage. That generated plans for 99km of pipework to serve 42,000 people by 2030.

Atkins said it deployed its in-house digital process to devise the shortest route from water sources to demand points.

Atkins carried out the work as part of charitable support provided by UK water utility Anglian Water for WaterAid’s Beacon Project, which aims to provide a clean water supply in Lahan - a fast-growing town with a population of approximately 100,000 in south-eastern Nepal.

“This is a really important project for the people of Lahan and it’s a great example of collaborative working with Anglian Water and WaterAid to help deliver high-level water network layout plans for the most essential services by using our latest digital tools," said Andy Taylor, digital transformation director at Atkins.

“The Beacon Project will make a huge difference to peoples’ lives in Lahan, and Atkins is extremely pleased to be able to support it in this way.”

The collaboration between Atkins, Anglian Water, and WaterAid showcases the value of digital tools in accelerating the planning process and supporting the goal of providing clean water to everyone in Lahan by 2030.

“The outputs generated from NetCreate will help our partner, the Nepal Water Supply Corporation, to efficiently target their limited resources to provide clean water to people that currently don’t have access to a reliable and safe supply," said Hannah Gray, Beacon Project UK programme manager at WaterAid.

The project is aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 - clean water and sanitation for all.