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Suitability of Groundwater for Irrigation and Arsenic for Drinking Purposes at Phulpur of Mymensingh in Bangladesh

A.K.M. Adham
Department of Irrigation and Water Management, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh

M.M.R. Khan
Department of Irrigation and Water Management, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh2202, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

An experiment was conducted at Payari union of Phulpur upazila (AEZ # 9) under Mymensingh district to determine the groundwater quality for irrigation and drinking water quality in relation to arsenic contamination. The EC of water samples were excellent to good, SAR was normal, residual sodium bi-carbonate (RSBC) was satisfactory and permeability index (PI) was in good category. pH was neutral to slightly alkaline and total hardness (TH) values were in soft to very hard classes. Soluble sodium percentage (SSP) was within the range of permissible to doubtful. The maximum water samples were found .harmful to soil with respect to magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR) and Kelly's ratio (KR). Ion concentrations were far below the recommended upper limit of irrigation water except magnesium indicating restricted irrigation use. Most of the water quality parameters were found to be correlated with each other and soluble sodium percentage (SSP) and permeability index (PI) were found to be highly correlated. In the study area, 11 groundwater samples showed presence of arsenic beyond the safe limit (>0.05 mg1:1).

Keywords: Groundwater, Irrigation water quality, Arsenic and Drinking water quality

Location: Phulpur of Mymensingh in Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Postharvest and Agro-processing

Commodity: Water management, Drinking water, Arsenic

Objectives:

Arsenic contamination in our country was first detected in 1993 although it was identified as early as 1983 in West Bengal and donor agencies in India might have known about it. About 95 million people are vulnerable as the groundwater in 47 districts out of 64 is contaminated by arsenic. The study was carried out in order to determine the groundwater quality for irrigation purpose and drinking water quality in relation to arsenic contamination during April 2002 to August 2002.

Methodology:

The study was conducted during April 2002 to August 2002 at Payari union of Phulpur upazila under Mymensingh district. In total 25 water samples were collected, 14 were collected from shallow tubewell (STW), 5 from deep tubewell (DTW) and the rest from hand tubewell (HTW). Thirty water samples were also collected from HTW to determine arsenic contamination for drinking by Arsenic Kite Box Merck (Model 1.10026.0001). The water samples were collected in 500 mL plastic container from each tubewell for determining suitability of irrigation. The samples were transferred to the Hamboldt Soil Testing Laboratory, Department of soil Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh for chemical analyses of pH, EC, Na, K, Ca, Mg, S, CO3, HCO3, NH4-N and NO3 to determine the groundwater quality.

Source of Information: J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 2(1): 151-157,2004 ISSN 1810-3030

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The groundwater of the study area used for irrigation were excellent to good in EC, normal in SAR, satisfactory in rasidual sodium bi-carbonate (RSBC), good in permeability index (PI), practically neutral to slightly alkaline in pH, soft to very hard in total hardness (TH) and permissible to doubtful in respect of soluble sodium percentage (SSP). The maximum water samples were found harmful to soil with respect to magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR) and Kelly's ratio (KR). Ion concentrations were far below the recommended upper limit of irrigation water except magnesium and KR indicating some restriction for irrigation use. Most of the water quality parameters were found to be correlated with each other and correlation between soluble sodium percentage (SSP) and permeability index (PI) were found to be highly correlated. In view of arsenic 11 groundwater samples showed presence of arsenic beyond the safe limit and rest of the water samples were, either permissible limit or arsenic free.

Knowledge Management: Journal