Mitigation and Remedy of Groundwater Arsenic Menace in India

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Mitigation and Remedy of Groundwater Arsenic Menace in India : A Vision DocumentTable 4.2: Scheme wise coverage and estimated cost of the schemes planned to cover forthe arsenic affected areas under JPOA (Joint Plan of Actions) with UNICEF.Sl. no. Type of schemeNo. ofschemesPopulationNos. of Mouzaas per 2001covered. census ,(lakh)Populationcovered(lakh)Estimated Cost(Rs. lakh)1 Surface water based scheme 8 1266 38.510 58.875 125420.3823New groundwater basedscheme with ARPNew groundwater basedscheme without ARP361 1579 44.710 68.97 74976.0721 39 0.924 1.433 1380.074ARP in existing groundwater based scheme165 663 28.840 36.62 8269.23TOTAL 555 3547 112.984 165.898 210045.754.1.7 Rain Water Harvesting/Watershed ManagementRain water harvesting and conserving, by appropriate conservation structure tofacilitate collection on ground or recharging to aquifer in order to use it later, is being practicedsuccessfully in many water scarce regions of the country. Rain water harvesting, by watershedmanagement practices in arsenic affected areas, where groundwater withdrawal has been restrictedby overexploitation of the aquifer, can prove to be a promising alternative for managingwater demand. This approach, besides increasing surface water accumulation and reduction ofstresses on the use of groundwater, will enhance to recharge the underneath aquifer, that in turnwill arrest decline of groundwater table. Water conservation, by this practice, will also requirefiltration and disinfections before put into use for public supply. Artificial recharge of rain waterinto overexploited/ overstressed aquifers through suitable recharging structures may also be afavorable proposition for permissible hydro-geological conditions.4.1.8 Social Responses and ImpactsSocial responses, in terms of socio-economic, socio-culture and socio-compositestructure consequent to the affect of groundwater arsenic contamination, in the arsenic infestedareas have not been worked out quantitatively in scientific terms. Few non-governmentalorganizations have made some qualitative analyses, which are as follows:• Number of arsenic infected patients was more in the past (during eighties & early partof nineties) as compared to the number being reported in the later periods.• Economically under privileged persons in the arsenic affected areas are more affected.This could be because of their low intake of protein & vitamin through food items.NIH & CGWB 69
Mitigation and Remediation Update from West Bengal and Bihar : Studies and Projects InitiatedSupply and usages of arsenic free water, and the awareness, generated through variouscampaigns and awareness programmes, are helping people in the affected areas toovercome the adverse impact on their health to a large extent.• Earlier people suffering from arsenic related diseases used to get indifferent treatmentfrom the rest of the people in the area as the disease was considered to be an infectiousone. Based on this baseless apprehension that prevailed for a long time, even the marriage alliance to a family, having arsenic patient, was rejected. Gradually, with the helpof social and health awareness programmes, people started believing that the disease ispurely water borne and not infectious; this in turn, helped people to re-store socialacceptability .• With the help of awareness programmes and water quality analysis facilities, people canbe identified having arsenic related disease by the local health workers. They can alsodifferentiate the tube wells yielding arsenic free water with blue mark.4.2 BiharGroundwater arsenic contamination in Bihar first surfaced in the year 2002 from twovillages, Barisbhan and Semaria Ojhapatti in the Bhojpur district located in the flood-prone belt ofSone-Ganga. A number of scientific studies, focusing mainly on physicochemical analyses ofarsenic contaminated groundwater, assessment of extent, mobilization pathways, and possibilityof tapping deeper aquifers, arsenic in food chains and its effect on health, were initiated by stateand Central government organizations and by different academic institutions working in theState. In addition to R & D studies and exhaustive investigations, Govt. of Bihar, has started anumber of schemes, as the precautionary measures to ensure supply of risk-free potablegroundwater particularly, in community based localities, and as counteractive steps to combatprobable arsenic related threats. As an outcome of scientific investigations and surveys, by 2008,out of 38 districts in the state, 15 districts covering 57 blocks, have been identified as groundwaterarsenic contamination above 50 µg/L. No studies, so far, have been initiated, exclusively onarsenic mitigation, except deriving insight of tapping alternative arsenic-safe aquifers andunderstanding of physicochemical and hydrogeological behaviors of arsenic contaminatedgroundwater. Findings of some of the studies carried out by CGWB-MER, Patna are givenbelow:(i)From investigations, carried out to understand the pattern and extent of arsenicdistribution in groundwater, physicochemical constituents of groundwater, lithologiccharacteristics and hydraulic properties of the aquifer materials, in the arsenic affectedareas, it is observed that spatial variability in arsenic contamination have patchiness indistribution around the affected wells (Hand Pumps), with depth wise variation withintop 50m bgl. Only newer alluvial deposits are found to have been arsenic affected, andthe Pliestocene deposits are free from arsenic contamination. In the Sone-Ganga intefluves region covering Bhojpur and Buxar districts, the deeper aquifer of depth ranges70NIH & CGWB
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe Government of In
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nearly 33 villages in 4 districts i
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(iii) Whether ex-situ removal techn
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6.4 Experiences during Arsenic Remo
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List of FiguresFigure no. Figure ca
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List of TablesTable no. Table Capti
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Mitigation and Remedy of Groundwater Arsenic Menace in India

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