VULNERABILITY OF LOW-ARSENIC AQUIFERS TO MUNICIPAL PUMPING IN BANGLADESH. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Sandy aquifers deposited >12,000 years ago, some as shallow as 30 m, have provided a reliable supply of low-arsenic (As) drinking water in rural Bangladesh. This study concerns the potential risk of contaminating these aquifers in areas surrounding the city of Dhaka where hydraulic heads in aquifers >150 m deep have dropped by 70 m in a few decades due to municipal pumping. Water levels measured continuously from 2012 to 2014 in 12 deep (>150m), 3 intermediate (90-150 m) and 6 shallow (<90 m) community wells, 1 shallow private well, and 1 river piezometer show that the resulting drawdown cone extends 15-35 km east of Dhaka. Water levels in 4 low-As community wells within the 62-147 m depth range closest to Dhaka were inaccessible by suction for up to a third of the year. Lateral hydraulic gradients in the deep aquifer system ranged from 1.710-4 to 3.710-4 indicating flow towards Dhaka throughout 2012-2014. Vertical recharge on the edge of the drawdown cone was estimated at 0.210.06 m/yr. The data suggest that continued municipal pumping in Dhaka could eventually contaminate some relatively shallow community wells.

published proceedings

  • J Hydrol (Amst)

altmetric score

  • 0.75

author list (cited authors)

  • Knappett, P., Mailloux, B. J., Choudhury, I., Khan, M. R., Michael, H. A., Barua, S., ... van Geen, A.

citation count

  • 48

complete list of authors

  • Knappett, PSK||Mailloux, BJ||Choudhury, I||Khan, MR||Michael, HA||Barua, S||Mondal, DR||Steckler, MS||Akhter, SH||Ahmed, KM||Bostick, B||Harvey, CF||Shamsudduha, M||Shuai, P||Mihajlov, I||Mozumder, R||van Geen, A

publication date

  • January 2016