Groundwater In India Research Articles

Sensible measures to guard India's groundwater supply

Sensible measures to guard India's groundwater supply

Appraisal of highly fluoride zones in groundwater of Kurmapalli watershed, Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh (India)

Fluoride (F) contamination study had been carried out to see its allocation in Kurmapalli watershed, Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The study area is located about 60 km SE of Hyderabad city. The groundwater is the main source of water for their living. The groundwater in villages and its surrounding are affected by fluoride contamination and consequently the majority of the people living in these villages has health hazards and is facing fluorosis. The purpose of this study is to identify the wells with high F, raise awareness in people, study the water chemistry, and also find out the source of F in groundwater. A total of 32 groundwater samples were collected from different wells in both shallow aquifers and deeper fractures zones during October 2004. The chemical analysis of groundwater has been done. Fluoride values vary from 0.7 to 19.0 mg/l. It is noted that the maximum value (19.0 mg/l) is one of the highest values found in groundwater in India and 78% of the total samples show F concentrations that exceeds the permissible limit value (1.5 mg/l). The highest value of F is found at Madanapur bore well which is located at central part of the watershed. The F value of this bore well was monitored from October 2004 to October 2006. During this period the F concentration varies from 17.8 to 21.0 mg/l with mean 19.3 mg/l. There is no correlation of F with chemical parameters except calcium. The Ca has shown inverse proportional with F. Water–rock interaction studies were also carried out to understand the behavior of F in groundwater at prominent F affected areas. Rock samples were collected and analyzed, and found their enrichment of F. The anthropogenic possibility of F is almost negligible. The rocks of this area are enriched in F from 460 to 1,706 mg/kg. It is indicated that the rock–water interaction is the main source of F in groundwater. The highest values of F are found in middle part of the region and are related to the occurrence of fluoride rich rocks and their chemical kinetic behavior with groundwater.

Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Review on the Status and Stress Effects

‘Water is life,’ so central to human life, yet over one billion people across the world have no access to safe drinking water. Of late, there has been increasing global attention focused on resolving water quality problems especially in developing countries, as the lack of access to clean water denies the most essential of all rights, the right to life. The latest estimates suggest that around 200 million people, from among 25 nations the world over, are under the dreadful fate of fluorosis. India and China, the two most populous countries of the world, are the worst affected. India is plagued with numerous water quality problems due to prolific contaminants mainly of geogenic origin and fluoride stands first among them. The weathering of primary rocks and leaching of fluoride-containing minerals in soils yield fluoride rich groundwater in India which is generally associated with low calcium content and high bicarbonate ions. The unfettered ground water tapping exacerbates the failure of drinking water sources and accelerates the entry of fluoride into groundwater. Most of the scientific literature substantiates the benefits of low fluoride concentrations in preventing dental decay. However, as a surprising paradox, incidence of dental, skeletal and crippling skeletal fluorosis was reported in India with average fluoride concentrations as low as 0.5, 0.7 and 2.8 ppm respectively. Fluorosis, turns out to be the most widespread geochemical disease in India, affecting more than 66 million people including 6 million children under 14 years age. Though fluoride has spread its tentacles in 36,988 habitations and the number of people falling prey to fluoride poisoning have been steadily increasing, an exact exposure-health relationship is yet to be properly elucidated. There is an essential relation between poverty and fluorosis as malnutrition is found to play an aggressive role in its severity.

Association of hydrogeological factors in temporal variations of fluoride concentration in a crystalline aquifer in India

The major part of groundwater in India is found in granitic aquifers. Fluoride in groundwater from a crystalline aquifer in a semi-arid region of granitic rocks in India, known as Maheshwaram watershed, was analyzed for spatial and temporal variability during 1999-2002 to assess the effect of hydrogeological factors on fluoride concentration. Samples were collected from 32 representative wells in the area for the pre- and post-monsoon seasons and analyzed for F content. The CHESS computer program was used to calculate ionic activities of aqueous species and the mineral saturation index (SI) for calcite and fluorite. The GARDENIA computer program was used to calculate the recharge values in the study area. The influences of dissolution kinetics of fluoride minerals and recharge from rainfall on fluoride concentration were of interest and results clearly indicate that fluoride content in groundwater depends on the interaction period of groundwater with host rock. Results could also be utilized for designing remedial measures particularly with dilution method in an optimal way.

Spatial variability and concentration of arsenic in the groundwater of a region in Nadia district, West Bengal, India

Arsenic pollution in ground water in India and Bangladesh is considered to be the largest contamination problem in the world. About 15 – 18% of the area of West Bengal, India comes under the threat of arsenic (As) contamination and around 5.36 million people are exposed to this hazard. A detailed isoline map corresponding to variations in arsenic concentration and their spatial distribution was prepared for the study area, which comprised two villages Ghentugachi and Gotera in Nadia district, West Bengal and the total area covered was 808 hectares. The pattern of arsenic contamination was highly irregular and diverse. About 11.2% of the study area was affected most ( > 0.50 mg As l−1) with sample As values reaching 0.71 and 0.80 mg l−1. About 22.5% of the area had As content between 0.20 and 0.50 mg l−1 and 33.9% of study area had As content below the WHO guideline of 0.01 mg As/l. Thus the local population living around these areas is vulnerable and exposed to arsenic contamination. None of the water samples exceeded the allowable limit (1.0 mg As l−1) of As for water used in irrigation purposes. The spatial distribution map helped to determine zones with different As concentrations, making it possible to identify high-risk zones.

A New Genus and Species of the Family Diosaccidae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from the Groundwaters of India

The recent renewed interest in the Indian stygofauna has led to the discovery of another interesting copepod representative, from the almost exclusively marine family Diosaccidae Sars, 1906. Neomiscegenus n. gen. and Neomiscegenus indicus n. sp., from the subterranean freshwaters of the Krishna River at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, are described. The new genus belongs to that evolutionary line of Diosaccidae that encompasses the genera Amphiascoides Nicholls, 1941; Paramphiascella Lang, 1948; Paramphiascoides Wells, 1967; and Miscegenus Wells, Hicks, and Coull, 1982. The genus Miscegenus has the highest number of synapomorphies with Neomiscegenus, including the shape of the caudal rami and the armature formula of the swimming legs. A peculiar shape of the genital field in the female and the armature of the antennal exopod in both sexes are the most important autapomorphies of the new genus, while the fine structure of the sexually dimorphic second leg in the male is probably plesiomorphic. The phylogenetic position of the new genus is briefly discussed.

Chemistry of chromium in soils with emphasis on tannery waste sites.

Worldwide chromium contamination of soils has arisen predominantly from the common practice of land-based disposal of tannery wastes under the assumption that the dominant species in the tannery waste would be the thermodynamically stable Cr(III) species. However, significant levels of toxic Cr(VI) recently detected in surface water and groundwater in India, China, Australia, and elsewhere raise critical questions relating to current disposal criteria for Cr-containing wastes. It now appears that despite the thermodynamic stability of Cr(III), the presence of certain naturally occurring minerals, especially Mn oxides, can enhance oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) in the soil environment. This factor is of public concern because at high pH, Cr(VI) is bioavailable, and it is this form that is highly mobile and therefore poses the greatest risk of groundwater contamination. A review of the current literature indicates that extensive research has been performed on the speciation of Cr in soil, the effect of pH on soil solution concentrations of Cr(III) and Cr(VI), soil adsorption phenomenon of Cr species, redox reactions, and transformation of Cr(II) and Cr(VI) together with remediation strategies to decontaminate Cr-contaminated soils. Most of the studies were conducted using an uncontaminated soil artificially spiked with Cr, and very limited research has been conducted in the contaminated soil environment. Furthermore, studies on tannery waste contaminated soils are limited, and obviously a serious gap of knowledge exists in understanding the influence of long-term tannery waste contamination on Cr behavior in soil.

A new genus and species of the family Ectinosomatidae (Crustacea : Copepoda : Harpacticoida) from the groundwaters of India

Rangabradya n. gen. and Rangabradya indica n. sp. from the subterranean freshwaters of India axe described. The new genus belongs to a group of genera in the family Ectinosomatidae Sars, 1904 possessing fusiform body shape and it is very similar to the genus Halectinosoma Lang, 1944. The new genus has the exopodite and basiendopodite of the fifth leg completely fused, without surface seta, as well as a characteristic appearance of the antennula, antenna and maxilla. The position of the genus Rangabradya n.gen. within the family Ectinosomatidae is discussed.

Towards a new groundwater institution for India

This paper argues for a new institutional framework for the management of groundwater in India. It makes a case for separating (de facto) rights in groundwater from rights to land overlying it and conferring (de jure) rights in groundwater to local communities. It further argues for a greater interface between policy and technical communities and coordination among the institutions engaged in managing groundwater. It also suggests how some recently introduced policy interventions can be made more effective.

Declining groundwater levels in India

The decline of groundwater levels in India by 5–10 m is usually explained as a result of the increased number of tubewells and a decline in average annual rainfall. This article argues that the decline is the product of the destruction of indigenous systems for storing runoff water, which are essential because rainy days are very few and erratic. Futher, the disbanding of organizations concerned with indigenous systems for the management of natural resources, especially catchment areas, has weakened the ability to retain rainwater beyond the rainy season — another factor in the decline of India's groundwater levels.

Geochemistry and Genesis of Fluoride‐Containing Ground Waters in India

ABSTRACTThe fluoride content of ground water in India varies considerably. Among factors which control the concentration of fluoride are the climate of the area and the presence of the accessory minerals, fluorite and (or) apatite in the rock mineral assemblage through which ground water is circulating. Regional and tectonic factors also play some part in affecting the fluoride concentration of ground waters. In general, there is a negative correlation between calcium and fluoride concentrations and a positive correlation between fluoride and bicarbonate concentration in ground waters with high fluoride content. Thermodynamic calculations show that some of these high fluoride ground waters are supersaturated with respect to fluorite.In water sources from Rajasthan, high fluoride concentrations are generally accompanied by high nitrate concentrations. A solution‐evaporation‐base exchange hypothesis is put forward to explain the genesis of these ground waters.In some parts of India, the fluoride content of ground waters is below 0.5 mg/1, indicating that fluoridation of water supplies may be desirable in these places.

Trainees Told Groundwater in India, Libya and Nepal

Trainees Told Groundwater in India, Libya and Nepal