GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

Department of Civil Engineering

GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

Ground water Water occupying all the voids in a geologic stratum A precious and widely distributed resource The largest source of freshwater on the surface of the earth many times the quantity of freshwater in all lakes, and reservoirs, stream channels

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World Water Resources

Total - 1357.5 M cu.km 97 % of this water is in the oceans Fresh water - 37.5 M cu.km Polar icecaps and glaciers - 29.00 M cu.km Groundwater (Very Deep) - 4.150 M cu.km Groundwater - 4.150 M cu.km Lakes, rivers, streams - 0.120 M cu.km
Remaining water soil moisture, atmospheric water vapour

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A major source of water for meeting the demands for irrigation, domestic, and industrial uses People depend largely if not entirely on this resource for meeting their water requirements

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Groundwater Indian Scenario Annually replenished by precipitation In India, this is entirely dependent on the monsoon Erratic behaviour of the monsoon makes planning and utilization of water resources important According to one estimate, the total groundwater potential of India is estimated as 67 Mham may go upto 85 Mham

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Groundwater Advantages Posesses natural qualities which conforms to standards prescribed for most applications including drinking and its low cost

IMPORTANT - MANAGING AVAILABLE RESOURCE AND PROTECTING ITS QUALITY

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GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

Problems Related to Groundwater Development In general, development is not very well planned Undesirable environmental impacts of unplanned development are irreversible Problems remain unnoticed till they advance to a critical stage Environmental problems related to unplanned and unrestricted groundwater development land subsidence, saline water intrusion, groundwater contamination, and water logging

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Types of contaminants

Synthetic organic chemicals Hydrocarbons Inorganic cations and anions Pathogens Radionuclides Most of these dissolve in water to varying degrees

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Water quality analysis Very expensive Cost of analysis increases as the detection limit decreases Quality of water must be considered with respect to the purpose of use

US SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT AND ITS AMENDMENTS directs the EPA to establish MCLGs and MCLs for drinking water

GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

MCLG A non-enforceable goal set at a level to prevent known or anticipated health effects with a wide margin of safety MCL Enforceable standards. Set as close as feasible to the MCLGs, taking available water treatment technologies and costs into consideration Primary health risk Secondary - aesthetics

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Risk assessment approaches generally uses upper bound estimates of various factors in the risk assessment Consequence calculated risks are very high, resulting in very expensive remediation driven by very low risks

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OTA of the US Congress lists more than 30 different potential sources of groundwater contamination Sources six categories

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Category 1 Sources designed to discharge substances

1.
2.

3.

Septic tanks and cesspools discharge domestic wastewater (above the water table) Injection wells discharge liquid wastes (below the water table) Land application treated or untreated municipal and industrial wastewater

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GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

Category 2 Sources designed to store, treat, and dispose of substances 1. Landfills - The NIMBY Syndrome 2. Open dumps unregulated 3. Residential Disposal 4. Surface impoundments pits, ponds, lagoons 5. Open incineration and detonation sites

GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION Category 2 (contd.) 6. Mine wastes 7. Material stockpiles 8. Graveyards 9. Animal burials 10. Above ground storage tanks 11. Underground storage tanks 12. Containers 13. Radioactive waste disposal sites

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Category 3 Sources designed to retain substances during transport 1. Pipelines 2. Material transport and transfer

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Category 4 Sources discharging substances as consequence of other planned activities 1. Irrigation 2. Pesticide and fertilizer application 3. Farm animal wastes 4. Salt application for deicing 5. Water softeners

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Category 4 (Contd.) 6. Urban runoff 7. Atmospheric pollutants 8. Mine drainage

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Category 5 Sources providing a conduit for contaminated water to enter aquifers 1. Production wells 2. Monitoring wells and exploration borings 3. Construction excavation

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Category 6 Naturally Occurring Sources whose Discharge is Created and/or Exacerbated by Human Activity 1. Groundwater-Surface water Interactions 2. Natural leaching 3. Saltwater intrusion

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Relative ranking of Groundwater Contamination Sources Major threats Underground storage tanks Septic tanks Agricultural activities Municipal landfills Abandoned hazardous waste sites

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GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION