Geogenic Contamination

Arsenic (As) in groundwater is a major health concern in Asia and the risks from using shallow tube wells (STWs) for drinking-water are well- known. At present, twelve countries in the Asian region have reported high As levels in part of their groundwater resources.

The School of Environmental Studies - Jadavpur University (SOES-JU), has done path-breaking research in reporting and documenting the issue of Arsenic contamination in the country.

These two maps indicate the percentage of districts affected by fluoride, in each state of the country and also gives data of the range of fluoride concentration in drinking water in each state.

For Asia, this map indicates the probability of occurrence of excessive concentrations of fluoride in groundwater, on a scale of high-medium-low.

The aim of this report is to highlight the quality problems encountered in the groundwater in the state. The chemical parameters which are present in groundwater in excess of the prescribed norms and which are considered harmful beyond permissible limits are discussed in detail.

The Sachetana Drinking Water project of the Government of Karnataka covers 15 villages in each of the taluks of Bagepalli (Chikkaballapur), Mundargi (Gadag), Sira (Tumkur) and Pavagada (Tumkur).

The baseline survey covers a representative portion of the villages and families of the above and contains the following information:

This study by Carewater focuses on the large number of ‘cottage’ type  Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants that came to be marketed for supplying good and safe water to the consumers under ‘packed drinking water’ category, and a big market for which emerged in North Gujarat. For the purposes of this study, ‘fluoride-free water’ means treated water containing prescribed quantity of fluoride and not completely ‘fluoride-free’.  

The groundwater related issues and problems the distrcit include:

The School of Environmental Studies of Jadavpur University has studied the arsenic contamination for the last 19 years. Their website gives some of the details of their work -

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Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in the Ganga-Padma-Meghna-Brahmaputra Plain of India and Bangladesh.This report from the Jadhavpur University highlights the intensity and magnitude of the arsenic contamination in the Ganga-Meghna-Bramhaputra plain which includes states Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam covering an area of 569,749 sq km.