Coastal areas of Bangladesh are especially vulnerable due to their physiographic location and exposure to natural calamities. Around 35 million people living in coastal areas have no access or limited access to safe drinking water. Contamination of water sources by salinity, arsenic or iron are the principal causes of water scarcity. Rising sea levels and unevenness of climatic events due to climate change will exacerbate the situation in coastal areas, especially in the southwestern coastal zone. This study examines one of the vulnerable coastal upazila Tala at Satkhira (an “upazila” is a medium level administrative unit in Bangladesh) in the southwestern zone of Bangladesh to understand the gravity of the problems. The study develops a GIS based multi-criteria analysis to identify suitable options and locations of fresh water as part of a current and future solution to the problems and further deterioration. To fulfill the objectives, a questionnaire-based GPS guided field survey was conducted to collect details of field level conditions in order to find a suitable solution. Because aquifers are considered the primary source of drinking water, field data have been analyzed for two distinct aquifers, one relatively shallow and one deeper, to understand aquifer quality. Potentiality of different water sources the socioeconomic status of communities, types of water use and corresponding sources and water demand are also evaluated. The analysis finds that alternative water sources that are safe are difficult to find, because both surface and groundwater-based sources are already contaminated, and there are no nearby, easily accessible safe sources. Groundwater-based sources are contaminated by arsenic, iron or salinity, and surface water-based sources are not in use due to maintenance and management issues. In some cases, surface water sources are polluted by flash flooding of high saline water during storm surges or seepage from saline water-based aquacultures. Multiple limitations identified during field observations and field data analysis were considered as an analytical parameter A GIS based multi-criteria analysis incorporated field data, including Geo-spatial and socioeconomic information for road networks, settlement locations, number of households, quality and quantity of existing water sources, water demand and business opportunities. The analysis found some potential options in distributed locations which are consistent with community demand. Suggested options made use of technologies that are already understood and commonly used by communities, like deep tubewells, PSFs (Pond Sand Filter) and WTPs (Water Treatment Plant). In the study area, PSF is the most commonly used method and to make this surface water-based technology sustainable some precautionary measurements are suggested.
Sajidur RAHMAN, ZHAO Junkai
. Optimum Solution for the Safe Drinking Water Crisis in Tala Upazila, Bangladesh[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2020
, 11(2)
: 213
-222
.
DOI: 10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2020.02.009
1 Abedin M A, Habiba U, Shaw R.2014. Community perception and adaptation to safe drinking water scarcity: Salinity, arsenic, and drought risks in Coastal Bangladesh.International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 5(2): 110-124.
2 ADB (Asian Development Bank). 2011. Adapting to climate change: Strengthening the climate resilience of the water sector infrastructure in Khulna, Bangladesh. Mandaluyong City, Philippines.
3 Ahmed M F.1999. Rainwater harvesting potentials in Bangladesh. Integrated development for water supply and sanitation, Addis Ababa: Ethiopia: 25th WEDC Conference.
4 Amin M N, Paul C K, Parvez A, et al.2011. Context and prospect of water
5 safety plans in Bangladesh. Journal of Environmental Science and Natural Resources, 4(2): 61-71.
6 CCC (Climate Change Cell). 2016. Assessment of sea level rise on Bangladesh Coast through trend analysis. Department of Environment, Environment and Forests, Bangladesh.
7 Farhana S.2011. Suitability of pond sand filters as safe drinking water solution in storm surge prone areas of Bangladesh: A case study of post-AILA situation in Shyamnagar, Satkhira District, Khulna. Postgraduate Programs in Disaster Management (PPDM), BRAC University.
8 Gadgil A.1998. Drinking water in developing countries.Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 23: 253-286.
9 IPCC WGII (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II). 2014. Climate Change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: Global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. New York: Cambridge University Press.
10 Jha M, Chowdary V, Chowdhury A.2010. Groundwater assessment in Salboni Block, West Bengal (India) using remote sensing, geographical information system and multi-criteria decision analysis techniques. Hydrogeology Journal, 18: 1713-1728.
11 Mondal I, Bandyopadhyay J.2014.Coastal zone mapping through geospatial technology for resource management of Indian Sundarban, West Bengal, India.International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications, 4(2): 103-111.
12 MWR (Ministry of Water Resources). 2005. Coastal zone policy. WARPO, Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh: 12.
13 Rahman S, Rahman H, Shahid S, et al., 2017. The impact of Cyclone Aila on the sundarban forest ecosystem.International Journal of Ecology and Development, 32(1): 87-97.
14 Rikalovic A, Cosic I, Lazarevic D.2014. GIS based multi-criteria analysis for industrial site selection.Procedia Engineering, 69: 1054-1063.
15 Shahid S, Khairulmaini O S.2009. Spatio-temporal variability of rainfall over Bangladesh during the time period 1969-2003.Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmosphereic Sciences, 45(3): 375-389.
16 Shahid S.2010a. Rainfall variability and the trends of wet and dry periods in Bangladesh.International Journal of Climatology, 30(15): 2299-2313.
17 Shahid S.2010b. Recent trends in the climate of Bangladesh.Climate Research, 42(3): 185-193.
18 Shahid S.2011.Trends in extreme rainfall events of Bangladesh.Theoretical & Applied Climatology, 104(3-4): 489-499.
19 Shannon M A, Bohn P W, Elimelech M, et al.2008. Science and technology for water purification in the coming decades.Nature, 452(7185): 301-310.
