Nepal, Jan. 3 -- The history of Kathmandu's past epidemics is the story of power, disease, and dependency From stone spouts to cast-iron mains, Nepal's water system and its struggle to provide safe water tells a larger story of power, disease, dependency - and lessons for the future.

From 1823 to 1891, the Nepali state made just two notable interventions in Kathmandu's drinking water system. The first was when Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa commissioned a stone pout (hiti) to tap groundwater within the valley's traditional supply system.

The second came nearly 70 years later with Nepal's first industrial-era water system, the Bir Water Works in 1891 under Prime Minister Bir Shumsher Rana.

Linking these two milestones was the spectre of c...