Ground Water Contamination - II

Pollution of groundwater resources has become a major problem today in India. The pollution of air, water, and land has an affect on the pollution and contamination of groundwater. The solid, liquid, and the gaseous waste that is generated, if not treated properly, results in pollution of the environment; this affects groundwater too due to the hydraulic connectivity in the hydrological cycle. For example, when the air is polluted, rainfall will settle many pollutants on the ground, which can then seep into and contaminate the groundwater resources. Water extraction without proper recharge and leaching of pollutants from pesticides and fertilizers into the aquifers has polluted groundwater supplies. In addition, leachates from agriculture, industrial waste, and the municipal solid waste have also polluted surface- and ground-water. Some 45 million people the world over are affected by water pollution marked by excess fluoride, arsenic, iron, or the ingress of salt water.

It is important to realize that groundwater is not a resource that could be utilized unmindfully simply because it is available in abundant quantities. Problems and issues such as water logging, salinity, agricultural toxins, and industrial effluents, all need to be properly looked into. Other than legislation and checks to conserve and improve the quality of groundwater, society itself plays a very important role. During the last decade there has been a rising awareness among the common people on the need for conservation and development of groundwater. Water use has to be integrated effectively with water regeneration, as was done in many traditional technologies.

The above information has been quoted from the site edugreen.teri.res.in