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Impacts of Salinity Intrusion in Community Health: a Review of Experiences on Drinking Water Sodium from Coastal Areas of Bangladesh

Mashura Shammi
Correspondence:
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh

Md. Mostafizur Rahman
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh

Serene Ezra Bondad
Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan

Md. Bodrud-Doza
Climate Change Programme, BRAC, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Increasing salt intake has substantial negative impacts on human health and well-being. This article focused on the construction of the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework for drinking water sodium (DWS) followed by a review on the published studies regarding salinity intrusion, DWS, and their effects on health perspectives in Bangladesh. Saline water is an important factor for hypertension or high blood pressure in coastal areas. DWS can also lead women, especially pregnant women, to an increased risk of (pre)eclampsia, hypertension, as well as infant mortality. Several interventions, such as rainwater harvesting, pond sand filter (PSF) system, managed aquifer recharge (MAR), and pilot-scale solar-powered desalination plants, such as reverse osmosis (RO), were reviewed on the context of their effectiveness in controlling drinking water sodium. Although rainwater consumption has the positive impact of low or no sodium intake, it still possesses negative impacts from not having vital minerals. A steady increment in sodium concentration through the span of the dry season was observed in MAR. It is, subsequently, important to increase awareness on DWS intake by providing and adopting correct technological interventions and training communities on the maintenance of the adaptive measures.

Keywords: Salinity, Drinking water sodium, Hypertension, Managed aquifer recharge, Pond sand filter

Location: In Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Crop-Soil-Water Management

Commodity: Water salinity, Drinking water

Objectives:

To identify the available intervention mechanisms applied in the coastal communities and recognizes the effectiveness among the users.

Methodology:

We constructed a DPSIR framework of DWS based on the review of the literature and published case studies on the coastal regions of Bangladesh. We further analyzed available secondary salinity data and surveyed the effectiveness of the interventions. This section is a comprehensive review of the available literature concerned with the impacts of salinity intrusion in community health in order to construct the DPSIR framework. When we discuss the salinity intrusion in coastal areas, it automatically leads to the key point “Drinking or potable water salinity”, which is mainly caused by the presence of sodium in the drinking or potable water. The review is based on the published research through the use of scientific databases, such as Google Scholar, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, etc. We used keyword-based screening according to the texts in the abstracts and considered articles published in English. Unpublished data such as our own previous works were used as supporting material. To understand the area-wide distribution of salinization over two seasons in the study area, we used the IDW method for the spatial analysis of salinity data that we collected in earlier studies. We used ArcGIS version 10.1 to prepare the map. IDW uses the measured values surrounding the prediction location; wherein, greater weight is assigned to the points in proximity to the prediction location. We obtained user opinion on rainwater harvesting and solar-powered desalination plant from Nilganj and Khaprabhanga Union of Kalapara Upazila, Patuakhali District through a questionnaire survey. Patuakhali District is one of the severely salinity-affected area from the south-central part of Bangladesh. Rainwater harvesting and a solar-powered desalination plant in a pilot-scale is currently operating in the area. We have randomly collected 120 user opinions according to the method suggested by Cochran, taking 95% of confidence level and a 10% margin of error.

Source of Information: Healthcare 2019, 7, 50;

Article Link (Online Journal): doi:10.3390/healthcare7010050

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

DWS is a pressing issue in the present socio-economic, environmental, and climatic conditions in the coastal region of Bangladesh, where salinity and seawater intrusion are serious issues. Here, we reviewed the salinity scenario of Bangladesh and constructed the DPSIR framework of DWS. We further reviewed the health impacts of high salinity-contaminated potable water on local people’s health, maternal health, hypertension, and infant mortality in the coastal population of Bangladesh. Several key intervention mechanisms were also recognized to manage the saline water. The list of issues is inevitably extensive such as infant mortality, hypertension among adults, and (pre)eclampsia among pregnant women, which leads to millions of people being affected by heart diseases. Several interventions, such as rainwater harvesting, PSF system, MAR usage, and the integration of mixed sources, were reviewed on the content of DWS. While rainwater has the positive impact of low or no sodium intake on human health, it still possesses harmful impacts on human health for not containing essential micronutrients such as calcium and magnesium. Meanwhile, a gradual increase in sodium concentration over the course of the dry season was observed in MAR and is a serious risk factor for MAR failure. Similarly, RO and other desalination technologies are still in the pilot-scale study, which requires further exploration to apply to the mass scale. It is very important to identify the mechanisms by which the above-mentioned interventions may fail. Moreover, it is crucial for coastal people to have increased consciousness regarding DWS and to be involved in the maintenance of the technologies which could aid in the desalinization of water.

Knowledge Management: Journal