Socio Economic Factors Responsible for Groundwater Consumption in Purba Bardhaman District of West Bengal

Groundwater is the biggest freshwater reservoir in the world. More than 95% of the unfrozen water comes from groundwater. Factors responsible for groundwater consumption by rice growers have been included in the study. For the study, Purba Barddhaman district was selected purposively considering the pattern of agriculture and extent groundwater use in the state. One community development block from the district has selected based on crop diversity, type of irrigation, amount of water extraction for irrigation purposes. From the selected block a big parcel of cultivating land (Math) were again selected randomly keeping the consideration of homogeneity in lad type, soil type, type of crops, variety and seasons. Farmers’ knowledge level, farmers’ attitude towards irrigation, economic motivation, improved water extraction mechanism and method of irrigation are the major contributing factors in predicting the amount of groundwater consumption when crop and land situation are constant.

Development of IoT Real-Time Groundwater Monitoring System

Internet of Things (IoT) Real-Time Groundwater Monitoring System is a system built to monitor groundwater extraction and consumption. Groundwater scarcity has become a major threat to the government especially water utility company. Water theft, inaccuracy meter reading & lock out access are some problems contributing to water scarcity. In this research, data obtained from the groundwater consumption using flow sensor will be sent to the server where all this data will be recorded for future analysing by respective authorities. The system has been tested thoroughly using of Long Range (LoRa) communication module together with Thingspeak cloud and mobile application. The results showed promising coverage with Line of Sight (LOS) is tested at 900m maximum while for Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) is at 600m. A very small standard deviation up to 4.93 was observed for received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) value for LOS and NLOS. Compared with the existing manual method, the proposed IoT system will water authority to monitor water consumption effectively through real time and better coverage.

Groundwater in New Valley and kidney disease

Background This study was performed to assess the possible association between groundwater and kidney disease in new valley governorate . Methods This hospital-based cross-sectional observational study was conducted at the Department of Nephrology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, during the period from August 2018 to January 2019. After obtaining verbal consent from all participants; the general information of each participant was recorded, full history taken and general examination was done for each participant, then urine samples and serum blood samples taken for urine analysis, serum urea and serum creatinine, then estimated glomulurar filtratin rate (eGFR) was calculated for healthy subjects groups using MDRD Equation; after that three different groundwater samples and Nile water sample collected and analyzed for different solutes and heavy metals contents. Result Our data suggests that rural community as in Eldakhla; which depends on groundwater supply may affected by more risk of CKD than urban community as in Cairo city, which depends on Nile water supply. Conclusion there are increased prevalence of CKD in New Valley governorate and this may be due to groundwater consumption .

Analysis of Spatiotemporal Groundwater-Storage Variations in China from GRACE

In China, where some regions are over-reliant on groundwater, groundwater consumption is faster than replenishment, which results in a continuous decrease in the groundwater level. Here, we applied spatial and temporal methods to analyze the spatiotemporal variations in groundwater in China from GRACE, GRACE-FO, and GLDAS data. From a national perspective, groundwater storage showed a decreasing trend in northern China and an increasing trend in southern China. The results showed that the rates of groundwater depletion in North China, the Loess Plateau, and Northwest China were −10.09 ± 0.94, −10.05 ± 1.05, and –4.91 ± 0.28 mm y−1 equivalent height of water from 2003 to 2019, respectively. Furthermore, the groundwater in South China, the middle-lower Yangtze River, and the Ch-Yu region had a positive trend, with rates of 7.26 ± 1.51, 7.73 ± 1.35, and 3.61 ± 0.53 mm y−1 equivalent height of water, respectively. We also found that groundwater storage fluctuated slightly before 2016 on the Qinhai-Tibet Plateau and in Northeast China and decreased significantly after 2016. The Yun-Gui Plateau had a fluctuating trend. Investigating the spatiotemporal variation in groundwater storage in China can provide data for initiating regional ecological and environmental protection.

Groundwater Consumption, Quality and Economics in a Higher Education Institution: A Water Sustainability Initiative

The demand for groundwater in a Higher Education Institution is very imperative since it’s the only source of water, all were drawn from its deep wells and shallow wells. The land areas were all occupied by buildings and concrete roads, only two parks have spaces with soil. Thus, the groundwater consumption, quality, and economics of a Higher Education Institution were evaluated. The mixed methods of research were used, checklist, questionnaire, and secondary data from the different offices were made to gather data on the status of the groundwater consumption in terms of water supply facilities and fixtures, the microbiological and physicochemical properties of groundwater to monitor the water quality, the cost of the extracted and distributed groundwater for its economics, including the problems encountered by the stakeholders on water supply and the proposed groundwater sustainability management plan. The volume of groundwater consumption was computed based on the formulas in the Philippine Plumbing Code, the laboratory tests results were compared with the Philippine National Standard on Drinking Water, and the cost of water facilities and fixtures were taken from the office in charge of infrastructure development. The faculty members, non-teaching personnel, and students were interviewed about the problems encountered in the water supply, and based on the results of the study a Water Sustainability Management initial plan was proposed.

Human biomarkers associated with low concentrations of arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in groundwater in agricultural areas of Thailand

Human biomarkers were used to evaluate the lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) exposure of local people who lived in an agricultural area with intense agrochemical usage and who consumed groundwater. Although the heavy metals/metalloids in the groundwater were at low concentrations, they could cause adverse effects due to a high daily water intake rate over the long term. Biomarkers (hair, fingernails and urine) were collected from 100 subjects along with the local shallow groundwater and tap water, which is the treated deep groundwater, and investigated for the concentrations of As and Pb. Shallow groundwater had an average pH of 5.21 ± 1.90, ranging from 3.77 to 8.34, with average concentrations of As and Pb of 1.311 µg/L and 6.882 µg/L, respectively. Tap water had an average pH of 5.24 ± 1.63, ranging from 3.86 to 8.89, with the average concentrations of As and Pb of 0.77 µg/L and 0.004 µg/L, respectively. The levels of both As and Pb in the hair, fingernails and urine of shallow groundwater-consuming residents were greater than those in the hair, fingernails and urine of tap water-consuming residents. Interestingly, the As level in urine showed a linear relationship with the As concentration in groundwater (R2 = 0.91). The average water consumption rate was approximately two-fold higher than the standard; thus, its consumption posed a health risk even at the low As and Pb levels in the groundwater. The hazard index (HI) ranged from 0.01 to 16.34 (average of 1.20 ± 2.50), which was higher than the acceptable level. Finally, the concomitant factors for As and Pb in the urine, hair and nails from both binary logistic regression and odds ratio (OR) analysis indicated that groundwater consumption was the major concomitant risk factor. This study suggested that direct consumption of this groundwater should be avoided and that the groundwater should be treated, especially before consumption. In conclusion, urine is suggested to be a biomarker of daily exposure to As and Pb, while for long-term exposure to these metals, fingernails are suggested as a better biomarker than hair.

Avaliação da qualidade da água subterrânea em poços urbanos considerando os efeitos da sua evolução temporal em parte da cidade de Maceió-AL

<span class="fontstyle0">Groundwater consumption is increasing in Brazil. However, the disordered urban expansion of Brazilian cities has provoked significant impacts on the water sources that supply these localities. The analysis of the water quality used for human consumption from public artesian wells is very important. Chemical analyses of the underground water were performed from march to July 2018. Nitrate, ammonia and pH were analyzed and compared with data obtained from the last 15 years. It was possible to observe a high acidity in all studied locations. 33% of the water samples presented high levels of nitrate and ammonia. The temporal analysis showed a deterioration of water quality in the studied. These results indicated that the water quality is decreasing, and this degradation process has been going for a long time.</span><br /><br />