Delimiting the shallow aquifer characteristics using Vertical Electric Soundings (VES) and hydrochemical variability in a region with high arsenic groundwater in southeastern Bangladesh

摘要

Groundwater in Holocene fluvio-deltaic sediments in BengalBasin has been reported as highly contaminated with arsenic (As), and is well-recognized problem and a big threat to public health (Ahmed et al., 2004). A wide gap existing between the number of exposed people and the pace of mitigation programs is the main problem for providing safe drinking water. Among all possible options, drinking water options based on tubewells has emerged as the most feasible and socially accepted option (von Bromssen et al., 2007). The main challenge is to develop a sustainable mitigation option based on community-driven initiatives to target safe groundwater as sustainable mitigation strategy for the rural and disadvantaged group of population in the affected areas.