New sources of safe drinking water discovered in Bangladesh

An International Atomic Energy Agency-based study using isotopic techniques found a new source of fresh groundwater in the south-western Bangladesh, the IAEA stated.

It said that deeper groundwater in the Barguna and Patuakhali districts were free of arsenic and sea water intrusion, so they were a viable additional source of drinking water for the people of the region.

‘The Bangladesh government has given high priority to domestic water supply, including arsenic mitigation and sustainable groundwater management,’ said Nasir Ahmed, isotope hydrologist of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, which led the study.

‘The isotopic data collected during the study will be used to further guide the optimisation of sustainable groundwater management policies,’ he added.

With IAEA support, BAEC conducted the study from 2016 till 2019 to characterise groundwater recharge.

The data from the study revealed the existence of long-term high quality drinking water in the deeper 300-meter aquifers in Barguna and Patuakhali.

‘The study has provided a scientific basis to the present and future status of deep aquifers of Barguna and Patuakhali districts,’ said Nasir.

The Department of Public Health Engineering of Bangladesh had now installed wells 300 meters deep where the aquifer was found free of arsenic contamination and high salinity, to supply safe drinking water to the rural population of the south-western Bangladesh.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net