Groundwater recharge influencing the arsenic enrichment in the aquifer of west Bengal

  • Authors

    • Neha Singh The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat
    • Ratan Sen Jawaharlal Nehru University
    • Chandrashekhar Azad Vishwakarma Jawaharlal Nehru University
    • Harshita Asthana Jawaharlal Nehru University
    • Saumitra Mukherjee Jawaharlal Nehru University
    2016-08-22
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijag.v4i2.6456
  • Arsenic, Groundwater, Rainfall, Water level, Weightage.

  • Abstract

    Arsenic contamination, a very serious issue, has a detrimental effect on the living being. Arsenic contamination is found in the Gangetic plains, with West Bengal as the most affected state. In the present study, an attempt has been made to use weighted overlay analysis for arsenic hazard zonation based on the factors that influence the groundwater in a terrain. Weighted overlay analysis was done for mapping the arsenic contamination zone by assigning weightage and rating to geomorphology, land use/land cover, soil type, cropping intensity, slope and drainage density in North 24 Parganas. The whole region has been formed by the sedimentation from the river, and soil at the surface contains higher concentration of arsenic. Arsenic may get released from the sediment by various mechanism and transport downward along with the infiltration of rainwater. Thus, arsenic contamination in groundwater is influenced by the arsenic rich sediments, slope, and drainage pattern of the area. The arsenic concentration in collected groundwater samples shows the same result as obtained from the weighted overlay analysis except in the area with deeper water level. Thus, weighted overlay analysis along with water level data can be an effective method for determining the risk of arsenic in an area.

  • References

    1. [1] Acharyya SK, Chakraborty P, Lahiri S, Raymahashay BC, Guha S, & Bhowmik A (1999) Arsenic poisoning in the ganges delta. Nature 401, 545. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/44052.

      [2] Acharyya SK & Shah BA (2007) Arsenic-contaminated groundwater from parts of Damodar fan-delta and west of Bhagirathi River, West Bengal, India: influence of fluvial geomorphology and Quaternary morphostratigraphy. Environmental Geology 52, 489-501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0482-z.

      [3] Acharyya SK & Shah BA (2007) Groundwater arsenic contamination affecting different geologic domains in India—a review: influence of geological setting, fluvial geomorphology and Quaternary stratigraphy. Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A 42, 1795-1805. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10934520701566744.

      [4] Acharyya SK, Lahiri S, Raymahashay BC & Bhowmik A (2000) Arsenic toxicity in groundwater in parts of Bengal Basin in India and Bangladesh: role of Quaternary stratigraphy and Holocene sea-level fluctuation. Environmental Geology 39, 1127–1137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002540000107.

      [5] Alam M, Alam MM, Curray JR, Chowdhury MLR & Gani MR (2003) an overview of the sedimentary geology of the Bengal Basin in relation to the regional tectonic framework and basin-fill history. Sedimentary Geology 155 (3 – 4), 179 – 208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(02)00180-X.

      [6] 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 Resources Research 44 (7), W07416 (1-15).

      [7] Bhattacharya P, Chatterjee D & Jacks G (1997) Occurrence of As-contaminated groundwater in alluvium aquifers from delta plains, Eastern India: options for safe water supply. Water Resources Development 3, 79–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07900629749944.

      [8] Bhowmick S, Nath B, Halder D, Biswas A, Majumder S, Mondal P, Chakraborty S, Nriaqu J, Bhattacharya P, Iglesias M, Roman-Ross G, Guha Mazumder D, Bundschuh J & Chatterjee D (2013) Arsenic mobilization in the aquifers of three physiographic settings of West Bengal, India: Understanding geogenic and anthropogenic influences. Journal of Hazardous Materials 262, 915-923. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2012.07.014.

      [9] Biswas B (2010) Geomorphic controls of arsenic in groundwater in Purbasthali I and II Blocks of Burdwan District, West Bengal, India. International Journal of Environmental Sciences 1(4), 429-439.

      [10] Brannon JM & Patrick WH (1987) Fixation, transformation and mobilization of arsenic in sediments. Environmental Science and Technology 21,450–459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es00159a005.

      [11] Breit GN (2001) Early diagenetic ferric oxide accumulations along redox gradients: examples from modern and ancient fluvial sedimentary units. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Boston, Nov 1–10, Abstracts Volume 33, No 6.

      [12] Bunnell JE, Finkelman RB, Centeno JA & Selinus O (2007) Medical geology: A globally emerging discipline. Geologica Acta 5(3), 273–281.

      [13] Buschmann J, Berg M, Stengel C & Sampson ML (2007) Arsenic and manganese contamination of drinking water resources in Cambodia: coincidence of risk areas with low relief topography. Environmental Science and Technology 41, 2146–2152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es062056k.

      [14] CDAP (Comprehensive District Agriculture Plan for North 24 Parganas)

      [15] Central Ground Water Board (1999) High incidence of arsenic in groundwater in West Bengal. Central Ground Water Board, India, Ministry of Water resource, Government of India.

      [16] Chakraborti D, Das D, Samanta BK, Mandal BK, Chowdhury T, Chanda CR, Chowdhury PP & Basu GK (1996) Arsenic in groundwater in six districts of West Bengal, India. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 18, 5–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01757214.

      [17] Chowdhury TR, Basu GK, Mandal BK, Biswas BK, Samanta G, Chowdhury UK, Chanda CR, Lodh D, Roy SL, Saha KC, Roy S, Kabir S, Quamruzzaman Q & Chakraborti D (1999) Arsenic poisoning in the Ganges Delta. Nature 401,545–546.

      [18] Ckakraborty S, Paul PK & Sikdar PK (2007) Assessing aquifer vulnerability to arsenic pollution using DRASTIC and GIS of North Bengal Plain. A case study of English Bazar Block. Malda District West Bengal, India. Journal of Spatial Hydrology 7(1), 10 – 121.

      [19] Department of Public Health Engineering report (2000). Groundwater studies for arsenic contamination in Bangladesh, supplemental data to final report, Rapid Investigation phase. Government of Bangladesh, British Geological survey (BGS), 2000

      [20] Finnegan PM & Chen W (2012) Arsenic Toxicity: The Effects on Plant Metabolism. Frontiers in Physiology 3, 182. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2012.00182.

      [21] Hoque MA, Khan AA, Shamsudduha M, Hossain MS, Islam T & Chowdhury SH (2008) Near surface lithology and spatial variation of arsenic in the shallow groundwater: southeastern Bangladesh. Environmental Geology 56(8), 1687-1695. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1267-3.

      [22] Lovley DR (1987) Organic matter mineralization with the reduction of ferric iron: a review. Journal of Geomicrobiology 5, 375–399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01490458709385975.

      [23] Mandal BK, Chowdhury TR, Samanta G, Mukherjee DP, Chanda CR, Saha KC & Chakraborti D (1998) Impact of safe water for drinking and cooking on ï¬ve arsenic-affected families for 2 years in West Bengal, India. The Science of Total Environment 218, 185–201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(98)00220-4.

      [24] Milliman JD & Meade RH (1983) World-wide delivery of river sediments to the oceans. Journal of Geology 91, 1–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/628741.

      [25] Mirza MMQ, Warrick RA, Ericksen NJ & Kenny GJ (2001) Are floods getting worse in the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna basins? Environmental Hazards 3(2), 37â€48. http://dx.doi.org/10.3763/ehaz.2001.0305.

      [26] Mukherjee A, Fryar AE & Howell PD (2007) Regional hydrostratigraphy and groundwater flow modelling in the arsenic-affected areas of the western Bengal basin, West Bengal, India. Hydrogeology 15(7), 1397-1418. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10040-007-0208-7.

      [27] Mukherjee A, von Brömssen M, Scanlon BR, Bhattacharya P, Fryar AE, Hasan A, Ahmed KM, Chatterjee D, Jacks G & Sracek O (2008) Hydrogeochemical comparison and effects of overlapping redox zones on groundwater arsenic near the Western (Bhagirathi sub-basin, India) and Eastern (Meghna sub-basin, Bangladesh) margins of the Bengal Basin. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 99, 31-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2007.10.005.

      [28] Mukhopadhyay B, Mukherjee PK, Bhattacharyya D & Sengupta S (2006) Delineation of arsenic-contaminated zones in Bengal Delta, India: a Geographic Information System and fractal approach. Environmental Geology 49, 1009–1020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00254-005-0139-3.

      [29] Neidhardt H, Berner Z, Freikowski D, Biswas A, Winter J, Chatterjee D & Norra S (2013) Influences of groundwater extraction on the distribution of dissolved as in shallow aquifers of West Bengal, India. Journal of Hazardous Materials 262, 941-950 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.01.044.

      [30] Nickson R, McArthur J, Ravenscroft P, Burgess W & Ahmed KM (2000) Mechanism of arsenic poisoning of groundwater in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Applied Geochemistry 15, 403–413. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0883-2927(99)00086-4.

      [31] Nickson R, McArthur JM, Burgess WG, Ahmed KM, Ravenscroft P & Rahman M (1998) Arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh groundwater. Nature 395, 338. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/26387.

      [32] Nimick DA (1998) Arsenic hydrogeochemistry in an irrigated river valley—a reevaluation. Ground Water 36, 743–753.

      [33] Peterson ML & Carpenter R (1986) Arsenic distribution in pore waters and sediments of Puget sound lake, Washington, the Washington coast and saanich Inlet BC. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 50, 353–369. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.1998.tb02191.x.

      [34] Public Health Engineering Department (1993) First phase Action Plan Report on Arsenic Pollution in Groundwater in West Bengal, Arsenic Investigation Project, Government of West Bengal, pp46.

      [35] Polizzotto ML, Harvey CF, Sutton SR & Fendorf S (2005) Processes conducive to the release and transport of arsenic into aquifers of Bangladesh. Proceedings of National. Academy of Sciences 102, 18819–18823. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0509539103.

      [36] Polya DA, Gault AG, Diebe N, Feldman P, Rosenboom JW, Gilligan E, Fredericks D, Milton AH, Sampson M, Rowland HAL, Lythgoe PR, Jones JC, Middleton C & Cooke DA (2005) Arsenic hazard in shallow Cambodian groundwaters. Mineralogical Magazine 69, 807–823. http://dx.doi.org/10.1180/0026461056950290.

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

      [38] Richards JA (1993) Remote sensing digital image analysis: an introduction (second edition). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-88087-2.

      [39] Safiullah S, Tareq SM, Rahman SH & Alam FR (2001) Speciation and spatial distribution of arsenic in groundwater in Meghna basin (Sonargaon), Bangladesh. Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences 25 (2), 165-169.

      [40] Shamsudduha M, Marzen LJ, Uddin A, Lee MK & Saunders JA (2006) A GIS-based spatial analysis on topographic elevation, slope and groundwater arsenic in alluvial aquifers of Bangladesh: 3rd annual GIS Symposium, Auburn University, Alabama, USA

      [41] Shamsudduha M, Marzen LJ, Uddin A, Lee MK & Saunders JA (2009) Spatial relationship of groundwater arsenic distribution with regional topography and water-table fluctuations in the shallow aquifers in Bangladesh. Environmental Geology 57, 1521-1535. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1429-3.

      [42] Singh N, Singh RP, Mukherjee S, McDonald K & Reddy KJ (2014) Hydrogeological processes controlling the release of arsenic in parts of 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. Environmental Earth Sciences 72(1), 111-118 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2940-8.

      [43] Smedley PL & Kinniburgh DG (2002) A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of arsenic in natural waters. Applied Geochemistry 17, 517–568. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0883-2927(02)00018-5.

      [44] Smedley PL, Edmunds WM & Pelig-Ba KB (1996) Mobility of arsenic in groundwater in the Obuasi gold-mining area Ghana: some implications for human health. In: Appleton, J.D., Fuge, R., McCall, G.J.H. (Eds.), Environmental Geochemistry and Health vol. 113. Geological Society Special Publication, London, 163–181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/gsl.sp.1996.113.01.13.

      [45] Tareq SM, Safiullah S, Anawar HM, Rahman MM & Ishizuka T (2003) pollution in groundwater: a self-organizing complex geochemical process in the deltaic sedimentary environment, Bangladesh. The Science of the Total Environment 313, 213-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00266-3.

      [46] Varsanyi I & Kovacs LO (2006) Arsenic, iron and organic matter in sediments and groundwater in the Pannonian Basin, Hungary. Applied Geochemistry 21, 949–963. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2006.03.006.

      [47] Williams MAJ & Clarke MF (1984) Late Quaternary environments in north-central India. Nature 308,633–635. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/308633a0.

      [48] Xia Y, Wade TJ, Wu K, Li Y, Ning Z, Le XC, He X, Chen B, Feng Y & Mumford JL (2009) Well water arsenic exposure, arsenic induced skin-lesions and self-reported morbidity in inner Mongolia. International Journal of Environment Resource Public Health 6, 1010–1025. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph6031010.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Singh, N., Sen, R., Vishwakarma, C. A., Asthana, H., & Mukherjee, S. (2016). Groundwater recharge influencing the arsenic enrichment in the aquifer of west Bengal. International Journal of Advanced Geosciences, 4(2), 82-91. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijag.v4i2.6456

    Received date: 2016-07-06

    Accepted date: 2016-08-08

    Published date: 2016-08-22