**8.1 The key to human security: access to fresh water**

In retrospect, in the four wards visited, the stock of fresh water was being drawn down both by typical activities and as well by the influences of climate change, the residual effects of the Gorkha earthquake on water infrastructure, and the atypical need to use water for construction projects to repair earthquake-related damage. Access to fresh water, often determined by locational factors, was a key determinant of human security.
