Qualitative and Quantitative Water Scarcity Issues in Bihar, India

ASHOK GHOSH
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT & WATER MANAGEMENT A.N.COLLEGE, PATNA

Water Quality and Quantity

"Water quality and quantity is going to be the biggest challenge in coming years to human beings on planet Earth.......Many persons have survived without love, but none without water"

Our Life Style ??? if l

If everyone on Earth continue our current life style, it would take more than 7 Earths to support human population by the end of this century.

THE ONLY ONE WE KNOW OF OF

TO DATE !

Changes in the present century: g Glaciers Gangotri Glacier

Receding(NASA) since 1870 when data gathering began 1,147 meters melted away during the 61 years between 1936 and 1996 (19 meters per year) Receded 850 meters during the g 25 years between 1975 and 1999 (34 meters per year) )

Bihar- A Water Resource Hub

Playground of perennial Himalayan and seasonal Peninsular Streams Abundance of aquifers at all levels q

NEPAL

Satellite view of East Bihar E t Bih Plains

R. Ganges

Indian Craton

Aquifers of Bihar

GANGA MEGHNA BRAMHAPUTRA RIVERBASINS

GMB Plains -Area 569 thousand sq km Population >500 million

Annual Per Capita Availability of Water in the Eastern Plains of India

Precipitation : 4,000 km3
2,300 2,200 2,100 2,000 1,900 1,800 , 1,700 1,600 1,500 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Where are we l di leading Adequate Water Wh to ? Water Scarcity

WATER RESOURCE THE - CURRENT SITUTATION

High dependence on ground i hd d d water (85%) O Over extraction of ground water t ti f d t for irrigation Uncontrolled deforestation Neglect of traditional practices and systems including rain water systems, harvesting Inadequate integrated water dequ e eg ed w e management and watershed development Emerging water quality problems

WATER QUANTITY
Shrinking Wetlands of Bihar- Current g (Ghosh et Climatic and Tectonic Changes? ( al,2004)

Projection of Climate Change on Water Availability

The gross per capita water availability in Bihar will decline from about 1,950 m3/yr in 2001 to as low as about 1,170 m3/yr in 2050 Bihar will reach a state of water stress before 2020 when the availability of clean water falls below 1000 m3 per capita

Remote Sensing Image - 1984

Remote Sensing Image - 2004

Current Status of Surplus River Water State Bihar

Surface water coverage in Ghagra-Gandak &G d k K iZ Gandak-Kosi Zones decreased by 43 4% d d b 43.4% and 37.8% respectively M i sedimentation leading to near Massive di t ti l di t obliteration of water bodies, including channel flows Increase in surface water area in Kosi Fan by 7 65% 7.65% Eastward shift in mid-section of the Kosi.

 Impact on ground water recharge p g g Impact on fish culture and makhana cultivation Shrinkage and disappearance of wetland ecology l Shrinking Kabar Tal is a proposed g p p Ramsar Site. It covered 6786.05 hectares in 1984, but in 2004 revealed shrinkage , g to 5043.825 hectares. Seismotectonic changes were indicated by our studies in North Bihar

CHANGES IN MAJOR LAND USE CATEGORIES IN BIHAR [Based on 1984 & 2004 remote sensing images]
Land use types

1984
[Fig. in Hectares]

2004
[Fig. in Hectares]

Change [in %] -40.11 40 11 19.96

Wetlands W tl d Forests, , including plantations Cropped Area Fallow Sand and Cloud cover/Haze Unclassified land TOTAL

4023.91 4023 91 4812.63

2409.86 2409 86 5773.54

27148.52 27148 52 18653.12 978.53

24764.96 24764 96 20956.63 1373.12

-8.78 -8 78 12.35 40.32

521.52 56138.23

860.12 56138.23

64.93 -

Seasonal availability S l il bilit of surface water declined by 43% for the state of Bihar as a whole.

Therefore lesser availability of surface water accounted for decline in the seasonal cropped area in west Bihar Bihar. Conversely in the middle plains, shrinking wetlands gave way to new h i ki l d arable land in their outer confines. The eastern segment is subject to rising water tables and swamping of the arable lands

WATER QUALITY

Water Disease Triangle ate sease a ge

Lack of Clean Water

Sou ce o Health Hazard Source of ea t a ad

Lack of Hygiene

Lack of Safe Sanitation

Source: WHO/UNICEF, 2009

Surface Water Deterioration g Due to Climatic changes and Anthropogenic activities

Status of Water Quality in Bihar f l h

Surface water pollution Bacteriological d Ch i l B t i l i l and Chemical Ground water contamination Iron Iron, Arsenic, Fluoride and Nitrate.

The Ganges is the g longest river in South Asia. With a total length of 2,640 km

Ganga at Gomukh

Ganga at Gangotri

Ganga in UP

Ganga at Patna Bihar

Ganga at Patna

and also, a morgue

Ganga at Patna G tP t

Herniation in Zooplanktons
The Ganga water has become highly polluted with very high bacterial contamination the growing urbanization and industrialization have i h increased the pollution load discharged into d h ll i l d di h di the River Ganga resulting in loss of the rivers assimilative capacity. i il i i Very high rate of herniation has been detected in Ganga Water in Bihar

Herniation: Cladocera Bosmina

Bosmina Herniation%
Herniation Percen ntage (%) 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 5 Serial Numbers bosmina herniati 10 15

Herniation: Nauplius
Nauplius Herniation %
Herniat tion Percen ntage (%) 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 5 10 15

Serial Numbers Nauplius

GROUND WATER DETERIORATION

ARSENIC IN GROUND WATER OF BIHAR

Tibet Plateau

Himalaya y

Ganga

GMB Plain
Area 569749 sq km Population >500 million

Bay of Bengal

ArsenicMapofBihar2010
West Champaran p

East Gopalganj

Sheohar Champaran Ch Sitamarhi

Madhubani
Supaul Araria

Kishanganj

Siwan

Muzaffarpur
Darbhanga Madhepura

Saran Buxar
Rohtas

Vaishali Samastipur
Begusarai

Purnia Saharsa

Bhojpur

Patna
Jehanabad

Khagaria Bhagalpur
Banka

Katihar

NalandaSheikhpura Munger Lakhisarai

Nawada Jamui

Kaimur
Aurangabad

Gaya

16ArsenicAffectedDistricts
SourceData:Dept.ofEWM,A.N.College,Patna

NEPAL

BIHAR Play Ground of Rivers

Arsenicin Bihar Highly hl Arsenic Infested f d

Ganga

Indian Craton

BIHARFINDINGS(Ghoshet.al.2008) BIHAR FINDINGS (Ghosh et al 2008)

Morethan30thousandhandpumps p p tested 32%oftestedsourceshad arseniccontaminatedwaterof>10 ppb. HighestAs.ValueRecorded 1861ppb Atotalof16Bihardistricts(57blocks) areaffectedbyhighlevelofarsenicin thegroundwater the groundwater Trivalentarsenic87%ingroundwater ofBihar of Bihar WorstaffecteddistrictsareBhojpur, Bhagalpur,Samastipur,andKhagaria, Bhagalpur, Samastipur, and Khagaria,

The H tt t A Th Hottest Arsenic Hand Pump of Bihar i H dP f Bih

Krishna Kumar Panday,Pandaytola,Bhojpur Owner of hand pump

with highest recorded

Arsenic Concentration of 1861 ppb in Bihar

Maize:Total As -0.24 ug As g-1

Rice - 0.36 ug As g-1

Arsenicinfood Arsenic in food chainofBihar FoodChain

Irrigation Tube well =As 980 ppb

Gift of home coming.. g

Ram Ashan Panday Ex Army Man Developed Symptoms after his Return to native village - Panday Tola,Bhojpur

Gift of home coming.. g

Kisan Panday Ex Army Man Developed Symptoms after his Return to native village Panday Tola,Bhojpur

Arsenic Patients Bhaglpur- Pirpainti Bhaglpur

Arsenic Patients Bhaglpur- Kahalgaon

Arsenic Patients Khagaria h

FLUORIDE IN GROUND WATER OF BIHAR

FLUORIDE CONTAMINATED WATER SOURCES

Fluoride contaminated aquifers in dry areas of following southern districts of Bihar is confirmed: Gaya Nawada Rohtas Katihar Munger Bhagalpur

West Champaran

Bihar - Fluoride in Ground Water

East Sheohar Champaran Ch Sitamarhi

Gopalganj

Madhubani
Supaul Araria

Kishanganj

Siwan

Muzaffarpur
Darbhanga Madhepura

Saran Buxar
Rohtas

Vaishali Samastipur
Begusarai

Purnia Saharsa

Bhojpur

Patna
Jehanabad

Khagaria Bhagalpur
Banka

Katihar

NalandaSheikhpura Munger Lakhisarai

Nawada Jamui

Kaimur
Aurangabad

Gaya

Fluoride affected Districts

Our Fluuride Reserch

We have initiated study on Fluoride contamination in Nawada District p ppm Fluoride level up to 6.8 pp has been detected against the permissible limit of 1.5 ppm Majority of water sources of many villages have very high concentration of Fluoride Hundreds of persons with symptoms of Fluorosis have been identified

Clinical Outcomes of Endemic Fluorosis

Dental Fluorosis in Children Skeletal Fluorosis in Adults Non Skeletal Fluorosis

Children of Kachariya Dih, Nawada

Trauma of Kachariya Dih, Nawada

Kachariya Dih, Nawada: Deteriorating Dih water quality striking humanity

Dental Fluorosis

Kachariya Dih, Nawada: WE are y allowing this happen to our children

Nature vs. Man

Will water crisis become endemic in this WATER SURPLUS WATER STATE ? STATE?

Faced with Such a Complex and Expansive Challenge, Where Do We Begin?

Priorities
1. Control of indiscriminate ground water usage. 2. Match specific water demand to quality needed 3. Maximize use of reclaimed water at site 4. Sustained resources for technology, training, infrastructure g 5. Enforce healthy land use policy 6. Attention on agriculture and industry 7. Emphasis on water education, water as ultimate human resource

Path Forward
1.6 16

Projections
1.4 NumberofEarthsUsedbyHumanity 1.2

NumberofEarths

1.0 0.8

Target Target pathway NumberofEarthsAvailable Opportunitiesfor Opportunities for innovation

Developmentand Development and applicationof moresustainable technologies

0.6 0.4

0.2

Today 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

YES

Waterresource matters tt

becausesurvival b i l ofthis of this civilization matters!

THANKS