Sustainability of arsenic mitigation in Bangladesh: Results of a functionality survey

Abstract

Arsenic contamination of shallow groundwater in Bangladesh is a major public health problem; the main response to date has been installing alternative water supplies. A survey of the functional status of a statistically representative sample of water supplies was undertaken in 2005 to assess whether these provide a sustainable water supply to arsenic-affected communities. A questionnaire was administered in communities containing a total 1060 water supplies. Eight percent of water supplies could not be located and only 64% of those located were working at the time of the survey. When weighted for the numbers of different technologies across the country, the results indicate 76% of alternative water supplies would be working. Water supplies working at the time of the survey often broke down. Community contributions were found to be important in determining whether a water supply would be functional. Recommendations are made for revisions of the current mitigation strategy.

Development and implementation of water safety plans for small water supplies in Bangladesh: benefits and lessons learned

“…The NGOs suggested that the involvement of these committees can be vital in ensuring that caretakers continue to follow best practice. Other work in Bangladesh, however, points to the limited impact of committees on ensuring that water supplies installed for arsenic mitigation remain functional (Kabir & Howard 2007 There are some key challenges for scaling up WSPs. The biggest challenge is the scale of activity required, given that there are between 7.5 and 10 million shallow tubewells in the country, most of which are owned by households.…”

Personal, social, and situational factors influencing the consumption of drinking water from arsenic-safe deep tubewells in Bangladesh

“…As a mitigation option for our study, we chose deep tubewells because they have been the most frequently implemented safe water option in Bangladesh to date and have proven more sustainable with respect to operation and maintenance problems than other options (Kabir and Howard, 2007). Deep tubewells provide safe water by tapping deeper, arsenic-free aquifers.…”

Developing Sustainable Models of Arsenic-Mitigation Technologies in the Middle-Ganga Plain in India

“…These include but are not limited to low arsenic removal efficiency and interference generated by iron, high sludge volume, high costs for capital, operation, maintenance and failure to remove other contaminants such as phosphate and iron present in groundwater [13][14][15] . Additionally, beneficiaries have to pay for arsenic removal filters, but most of the arsenic-mitigation technologies are not designed according to the geographical needs of the intervention areas.…”