WASTE MANAGEMENT AND GROUND

WATER PROTECTION

AMALKRISHNA.K.L.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
 The Millennium Development Goals...Water
has a key role in strategies for achieving all of
the MDGs, which include a target to reduce by
half the proportion of people without access to
a safe water supply and a commitment to
ensure environmental sustainability.
The world’s hidden water resource

Water is essential for life, and groundwater is

estimated to constitute more than ninety five
percent of the global, unfrozen freshwater reserves.
The remaining freshwater supplies are found in lakes,
rivers and wetlands, and the atmosphere.
Groundwater is a renewable resource which, when
managed properly, ensures a perpetual supply.
What is Groundwater?

The water that lies beneath the

Earth’s surface. Accumulates chiefly from precipitation,
rainfall and melting snow and seeps through the soil.
Gravitational force pulls the water downward .Travels very
slowly through rock and soil particles Water seeps through
openings then fills the pores and cracks of underground rocks
and the spaces between the soil particles and becomes
groundwater. The porous layer of materials that yield useful
amounts of groundwater is called an aquifer.
ATTRIBUTES OF GROUNDWATER

There is more ground water than surface water

Ground water is less expensive and economic
resource.
Ground water is sustainable and reliable source of
water supply.
Ground water is relatively less vulnerable to pollution
Ground water is usually of high bacteriological purity.
Ground water is free of pathogenic organisms.
Ground water needs little treatment before use.
Ground water has no turbidity and colour.
Ground water has distinct health advantage as art
alternative for lower sanitary quality surface water.
Ground water is usually universally available.
Ground water resource can be instantly developed and
used.
There is no conveyance losses in ground water based
supplies.
Ground water has low vulnerability to drought.
Ground water is key to life in arid and semi-arid
regions.
 Although groundwater is not easily
contaminated, once this occurs it is difficult to
remediate, and in the developing world, such
remediation may prove practically
impossible…
 Water pollution

Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged

directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to

remove harmful compounds.

“Water pollution is a major problem in the global context. It has
been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and
diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000
people daily. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a
proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness
every day.”
(Wikipedia ,accessed on27 October 2010)
 In many of the developing countries like India,
uncontrolled land disposal of municipal solid waste is
a common practice even today. The unregulated waste
dumps and landfills cause a number of environmental
and human health hazards, the most
significant of them being the
groundwater contamination
DETERMINATION OF GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION HAZARD
POTENTIAL OF WASTE DUMPS AND LANDFILLS

In any hazard assessment, three hazard components;

source, pathway, and receptor are required to be
evaluated. In case of groundwater contamination
from the landfills, the source refers to the candidate
landfill and is characterized by a number of
parameters that influence landfill leachate quantity
and quality. The pathway refers to the travel route of
leachate contaminants migrating away from source,
and is characterized by different pathway media
parameters that govern the contaminant transport. The
receptor is the groundwater and its users including
the human beings, livestock, crops, sensitive
environment etc.
• Point source pollution
Point source pollution refers to contaminants that enter
a waterway through a discrete conveyance, such as a
pipe or ditch
---oil refinery wastewater discharge outlet
• Non-Point source pollution
Non-point source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse
contamination that does not originate from a single
discrete source. NPS pollution is often the cumulative
effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a
large area.
---agricultural areas draining into a rive
contamination sources
Natural

Groundwater contains some impurities, even if it is unaffected by human

activities.

Impurities depend on the nature of the geological material through which the
groundwater moves and the quality of the recharge water.

Groundwater moving through sedimentary rocks and soils may pick up a

wide range of compounds such as magnesium, calcium, and chlorides.
Some aquifers have high natural concentration of dissolved constituents
such as arsenic, boron, and selenium.
Agricultural
Pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and animal waste are
agricultural sources of groundwater contamination.

Industrial

One of the major sources of groundwater pollution is

industries . Groundwater pollution occurs when used water
is returned to the hydrological cycle.
Residential
Residential wastewater systems can be a source of
many categories of contaminants, including bacteria,
viruses, nitrates from human waste, and organic
compounds. Injection wells used for domestic
wastewater disposal are of particular concern to
groundwater quality if located close to drinking
water wells.
For protecting groundwater…
RAIN WATER HARVESTING AND ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE

 Groundwater recharge is an important part of the hydrologic cycle.

 Any man-made scheme or facility that adds water to an aquifer may be

considered to be an artificial recharge system.

Methods of artificial recharge in urban areas :

• Water spreading
• Recharge through pits, trenches, wells, shafts
• Rooftop collection of rainwater
• Induced recharge from surface water bodies.
• Reduce OVEREXPLOITATION of groundwater.

Groundwater decrease reduces transmissivity in water table

aquifers and the yield and specific yield of the wells. This is
more acute in thin heterogeneous aquifers and in fractured
rock aquifers. Well and water galleries have to be deepened or
redrilled. Pumping machinery becomes inadequate, works
outside the performance range or have to be replaced.
Septic system maintenance

• Septic systems are main sources of groundwater

contamination. So proper maintenance should be
given. Generally recommended that septic tanks be
plumbed out or the sludge and scum layers be
measured at least every three year. So that solids
don’t wash out into the soil treatment system.
Social Cost of GW Pollution?
Total pollution Load into Aquifers (mainly)

= Load from Industries + Load from

Agriculture + Load from Domestic waste
Fluorosis
• HydroFluorosis causes by consumption of high
Fluoride in water
• Not just Dental and Skeletal Fluorosis, but
variety of problems with brain, liver, kidney,
heart diseases
• Estimates vary from 10 to 65 million people
exposed
• DALY of 38.5 per 1000 population (NEERI, 2007)
• Source CGWB
In addition, you should test your well water for
contaminants if…

 the taste or odor of your well water changes

significantly

 your family experiences repeated, unexplained

gastrointestinal illnesses

you replace old pipes, or install a new well or pump

 you have a new baby, test specifically for nitrates

 your well is located near industrial sites, test for

lead, mercury, arsenic and nickel
A 1995 survey undertaken
by Central Pollution Control Board identified 22
sites in 16 states of India as critical for
groundwater pollution, the primary cause being
industrial effluents.
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and
Haryana reported traces of heavy metals such as
lead, cadmium, zinc and mercury.
ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER POLLUTION POTENTIAL
THROUGH REMOTE SENSING AND GIS
TECHNIQUE

DRASTIC index methodology helps in the assessment of

groundwater pollution potential. DRASTIC index uses a set of
seven hydrogeological parameters
D-depth to Groundwater table
R-recharge due to rainfall
A-aquifer media, S-soil media
T-topography
I-impact of vadose zone
C-hydraulic conductivity.
These parameters are weighed with respect to their relative
importance.
 All the DRASTIC parameter layers in spatial
formats are put into GIS. The layers were assigned
weights and ratings and they are combined
interactively in the computer system.. The DRASTIC
index map was generated on a minute grid and seven
categories of groundwater pollution potential zones
were identified.
BASIC APPROACH IN HAZARDOUS WASTE
MANAGEMENT
The Government of India has promulgated
the Hazardous Waste (Management &
Handling) Rules [HW (M&H)] in 1989
through the Ministry of Environment and
Forests (MOEF) under the aegis of
Environment (Protection) Act [E(P) Act],
1986. Under the HW (M&H) Rules.
Integrated management of groundwater resources to
meet the world's future needs necessitates are…

• Making the maintenance of hydrologic balance a long-

term goal of regional water-management strategies.
• Improving scientific, engineering, and applied
technological expertise in developing countries to
accomplish sustainable water resources management.
• Make aware of groundwater’s essential role in the
community and the importance of its responsible use.
• More comprehensive water-management strategies
that fully recognize groundwater’s important role in
the hydrologic cycle.
Please save water…

Groundwater Animation.flv
REFERENCES

• Jerry A.N.(2009), Basic Environmental Technology-watersupply,Waste management

and control, PHI Learning Private Limited, New Delhi, Pages 78-82, 135-138.
• Agarwal S.K.(2005),water Pollution , APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi,
Pages 301-314.
• Soji J.A.(2009),Wastewater Treatment for pollution and Reuse, Tata McGraw Hill
Education Private Limited, New Delhi , Pages 432-441.
• Kumar.A , Bohra.C, Sing.L.K.(2003), Environment Pollution and Management,
A.P.H. Publishing corporation, Pages 170-178.
• Tools for groundwater protection, http://environment-agency.resultspage.com/search?
p=Q&ts=ev2&w=tools+for+groundwater+protection&x=0&y=0,1accessed on 07-01-
11.
• Groundwater Contamination Hazard Potential Rating of Municipal
Solid Waste Dumps and Landfills, http://www.swlf.ait.ac.th/IntlConf/Data/
ICSSWM%20web/FullPaper/Session%20VI%20A/6_A1%20_RK
%20Singh_.pdf,accessed on 21-10-10.
REFERENCES
• Groundwater Pollution and Contamination in India, http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/iwmi-
tata/files/pdf/ground-pollute4_FULL_.pdf, pdf, accessed on 21-10-10.
• Water pollution, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_pollution, accessed on 21-10-10.

• Impact of poor solid waste management on ground water ,

http://www.springerlink.com/content/a77h6p61144l1443/, accessed on 21-10-10.
• GIS Techniques for Mapping Groundwater Contamination Risk ,
http://www.springerlink.com/content/j805567234120035/, accessed on 21-10-10.
• Groundwater Contamination Hazard Potential Rating of Municipal Solid Waste
Dumps and Landfills ,http://www.swlf.ait.ac.th/IntlConf/Data/ICSSWM
%20web/FullPaper/Session%20VI%20A/6_A1%20_RK%20Singh_.pdf, accessed on
21-10-10.
• Assessment of groundwater pollution potential through remote sensing and gis
technique a case study for anekal taluk, bangalore urban district, india.
http://www.isprs.org/proceedings/XXXIII/congress/part7/258_XXXIII-part7.pdf,
accessed on 21-10-10.
Thank you…