The geological setting of arsenic enrichment in groundwater of the shallow aquifers of the Tista Floodplain, Rangpur, Bangladesh

  • Authors

    • Sudip Saha University of Rajshahi
    • A. H.M. Selim University of Rajshahi
    • Mrinal Kanti Roy University of Rajshahi
    2020-10-22
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijag.v8i2.31116
  • Arsenic, Groundwater, Topography, Grain Size, Factor Analysis and Silicate Minerals.

  • Arsenic is present in water samples within the studied active floodplain areas of the Tista river, Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. All the water samples contain less arsenic than the WHO prescribed limit of 10 μg/L. 93.33% groundwater samples have higher Mn content than the permissible limit of 0.01 mg/L of WHO. The heavy metal concentrations of water can be expressed as Fe>Mn>Zn>As on the basis of their mean content. The heavy metals are negatively correlated with the well depth which is indicative of the influence of the anthropogenic activities on the concentrations of heavy metals. The arsenic concentration in water samples is higher in the central part of the study area. The coarser grain size, dominance of physical weathering, elevated topography and the effective flushing of groundwater resulted low concentration of arsenic in the groundwater. The EDS study reveals that arsenic occurs as coating materials of the silicate minerals. The river waters also have arsenic content lower than WHOs permissible limit. The factor analysis reveals that the iron and arsenic is released by the chemical weathering of arsenic bearing minerals like pyrite and arsenopyrite. The Fe and Mn derived in the groundwater by the chemical weathering of iron and manganese bearing minerals such as iron rich clay, silicate minerals and iron sulfides.

     

     

  • References

    1. [1] Ahmed KM, Bhattacharya P, Hassan MA, Akhter SH, Alam SMM, Bhuyian MAH, Imam MB, Khan, AA, Sracek O (2004) Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater of the Alluvial aquifers in Bangladesh: An Overview. Applied Geochemistry 19: 181–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2003.09.006.

      [2] Ayotte JD, Montgomery DL, Flanagan SM, Robinson KW (2003) Arsenic in Groundwater in eastern New England: Occurrence, controls and human health implications. Environ. Sci. Technology 37: 2075-2083. https://doi.org/10.1021/es026211g.

      [3] Aziz Z, van Geen A, Stute M, Versteeg R, Horneman A, Zheng Y, Goodbred S, Steckler M, Weinman B, Gavrieli I, Hoque MA, Shamsudduha M, Ahmed KM, (2008) Impact of local recharge on arsenic concentrations in shallow aquifers inferred from the electromagnetic conductivity of soils in Araihazar, Bangladesh. Water Resour. Res. 44: W07426. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006000.

      [4] Bhattacharyya D, Mukherjee PK (2008) Contamination of shallow aquifers by arsenic in upper reaches of Tista river at Siliguri-Jalpaiguri area of West Bengal, India. Environmental Geology 57(7): 1687-1692. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1450-6.

      [5] CSIRO, WARPO, BWDB, IMW, BIDS, CEGIS (2014) Bangladesh Integrated Water Resources Assessment: final report. CSIRO, Australia.

      [6] DPHE-BGS (2001) Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh. British Geological Survey and Department of Public Health Engineering, Govt. of Bangladesh: rapid investigation phase, Final Report.

      [7] Fendorf S, Michael HA, van Geen, A (2010) Spatial and Temporal Variations of Groundwater Arsenic in South and Southeast Asia. Science 328(5982): 1123–1127. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172974.

      [8] Hoque MA, Burgess WG and Ahmed KM (2017) Integration of aquifer geology, groundwater flow and arsenic distribution in deltaic aquifers - a unifying concept. Hydrological Processes. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11181.

      [9] Hussain, M.M., Abdullah, SKM (2001) Geological Setting of the Areas of Arsenic Aquifers, Ground Water Task Force, Interim Report No.1, Local Government Division, Minitry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives, Bangladesh, pp. A 1-A 45. http://fineprint.com.

      [10] Islam K, Rahman MS, Ali MH, Hossain AFMA, Alam MJ, Zahid A (2016) Evaluation of the Aquifer System and Groundwater Quality of the North-Western districts of Bangladesh for Development Potential. BRAC University Journal XI (2): 85-100.

      [11] Katsoyiannis IA, Katsoyiannis AA (2006) Arsenic and Other Metal contamination of Groundwaters in Industrial Area of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 123: 393-406.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-9204-y.

      [12] Luzati S, Beqiraj A, Goga EB, Jaupaj O (2016) Iron and Manganese in Groundwater of Rrogozhina Aquifer, Western Albania. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering B 5: 276-285. https://doi.org/10.17265/2162-5263/2016.06.002.

      [13] Majumder RK, Halim MA, Saha BB, Ikawa R, Nakamura T, Kagabu M, Shimada J (2011) Groundwater flow system in Bengal Delta, Bangladesh revealed by environmental isotopes. Environmental Earth Sciences 64 (5): 1343-1352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0959-2.

      [14] Majumder, RK., Shimada, J, and Taniguchi, M (2013) Groundwater flow systems in the Bengal Delta, Bangladesh, inferred from subsurface temperature readings. Songklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology 35 (1): 99-106.

      [15] Moni SA, Satter GS, Reza, AHMS and Ahsan MA, (2019) Hydrogeochemistry and Arsenic Contamination of Shallow Aquifers in Bidyananda and Nazimkhan Unions, Rajarhat Upazila, Kurigram, Bangladesh. Journal Geological Society of India 94: 395-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-019-1327-1.

      [16] Ravenscroft P (2001) Distribution of Groundwater Arsenic in the Bangladesh related to Geology. In: P. Bhattacharya, G. Jacks & A. A. Khan (Eds.), Groundwater arsenic contamination in the Bengal Delta Plain of Bangladesh. Proc KTH-Dhaka University Seminar, KTH Special Publication, pp. 4-56.

      [17] Ravenscroft P, Burgess WG, Ahmed KM, Burren M, Perrin, J. (2005) Arsenic in groundwater of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh: Distribution, field relations, and hydrogeological setting. Hydrogeology Journal 13: 727-751. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-003-0314-0.

      [18] Reza AHMS, Jean J–S., Lee M–K, Yang H-J, Liu C-C (2010c) Arsenic enrichment and mobilization in the Holocene alluvial aquifers of the Chapai-Nawabganj district, Bangladesh: a geochemical and statistical study. Appl. Geochem.25: 1280-1289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2010.06.006.

      [19] Saha S, Reza AHMS, Roy MK, (2020) Illite crystallinity index an indicator of physical weathering of the Sediments of the Tista River, Rangpur, Bangladesh: International Journal of Advanced Geosciences, 8(1): 27-32. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijag.v8i1.30551.

      [20] Saha S, Reza AHMS, Roy MK, 2019 Hydrochemical evaluation of the groundwater quality of the Tista floodplain, Rangpur, Bangladesh: Applied Water Science, 9,198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-019-1085-7.

      [21] Saha, S, Roy MK, Reza AHMS (2018) Clay Mineralogical studies to access Provenance in Riverine Sequences, the Tista River, Rangpur, Bangladesh. International Conference on Geosciences and Environment (ICGE 2018), September 8-9, 2018, Department of Geology & Mining, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. p. 48.

      [22] Shamsudduha M, Marzen LJ, Uddin A, Lee MK, Saunders JA (2009) Spatial relationship of arsenic distribution with regional topography and water-table fluctuations in the shallow aquifers in Bangladesh. Environmental Geology 57: 1521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1429-3.

      [23] Shamsudduha M, Taylor RG, Ahmed KM, Zahid A (2011) The impact of intensive groundwater abstraction on recharge to a shallow regional aquifer system: evidence from Bangladesh. Hydrogeology Journal 19 (4): 901-916. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-011-0723-4.

      [24] Smedley PL, Nicoli HB, MacDonald DMJ, Baros AJ, Tullio JO (2002) Hydrogeochemistry of arsenic and other inorganic constituents in groundwaters from La Pampa, Argentine. Applied Geochem. 17: 259-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-2927(01)00082-8.

      [25] Stute M, Zheng Y, Schlosser P, Horneman A, Dhar RK, Hoque MA, Seddique AA, Shamsudduha M, Ahmed KM, van Geen A. 2007. Hydrological control of As concentrations in Bangladesh groundwater. Wat. Resour. Res., 43: W09417. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004499.

      [26] UN Report (2001) United Nations Synthesis Report on Arsenic in Drinking Water.

      [27] Wasleker S (2013) Rivers of Peace Restructuring India-Bangladesh relationships. Strategic Foresight Group.

      [28] Weinman B, Goodbred SL, Jr., Zheng Y, Aziz Z, Steckler M, van Geen A, Singhvi AK, Nagar YC. 2008. Contributions of floodplain stratigraphy and evolution to the spatial patterns of groundwater arsenic in Araihazar, Bangladesh. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 120: 1567–1580. https://doi.org/10.1130/B26209.1.

      [29] WHO (2003) Iron in drinking-water, background document for development of who guidelines for drinking-water quality. WHO, Geneva.

      [30] WHO (2008) Guidelines for drinking water quality. Recommendations, 3rd edn. WHO, Geneva.

      [31] WHO (2011) Manganese in drinking-water, background document for development of who guidelines for drinking-water quality. WHO, Geneva.

      [32] Zahid A, Hassan MQ, Balke KD, Flegr M, Clark DW (2008) Groundwater Chemistry and Occurrence of Arsenic in the Meghna floodplain aquifer, southeastern Bangladesh. Journal of Environmental Geology 54:1247–1260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0907-3.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Saha, S., H.M. Selim, A., & Kanti Roy, M. (2020). The geological setting of arsenic enrichment in groundwater of the shallow aquifers of the Tista Floodplain, Rangpur, Bangladesh. International Journal of Advanced Geosciences, 8(2), 231-236. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijag.v8i2.31116