1. “Qualitative and Quantitative Water Scarcity
Issues in Bihar, India”
ASHOK GHOSH
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT & WATERDEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT & WATER
MANAGEMENT
A.N.COLLEGE, PATNA

2. Water Quality and Quantity
"Water quality and
quantity is going to be
the biggest challenge
in coming years to
human beings on
planet Earth.......Many
persons have survived
without love, but none
without water"

3. if lOur Life Style ???
If everyone on Earth
continue our current life
style, it would take
more than 7 Earths to
support human
population by the end of
this century.

4. THE
ONLYONLY
ONE
WEWE
KNOW
OFOF…
…TO
DATE !DATE !

5. Changes in the present century: GlaciersGangotri Glacier
(NASA)
g
– Receding since
1870 when data
gathering began
– 1,147 meters
melted away
during the 61 years
between 1936 andbetween 1936 and
1996 (19 meters
per year)per year)
– Receded 850
meters during theg
25 years between
1975 and 1999 (34
)meters per year)

6. Bihar- A Water Resource Hub
• Playground of perennial Himalayan
and seasonal Peninsular Streams
• Abundance of aquifers at all levelsq

7. NEPAL
Satellite
view of
E t BihEast Bihar
Plains
RR.
Ganges Indian Craton

8. Aquifers of Bihar

9. GANGA‐
MEGHNA‐
BRAMHAPUTRA
GMB Plains -Area 569 thousand sq km
Population >500 million
RIVER BASINS

10. Annual Per Capita Availability of WaterAnnual Per Capita Availability of WaterAnnual Per Capita Availability of WaterAnnual Per Capita Availability of Water
in the Eastern Plains of Indiain the Eastern Plains of India
2,300
Precipitation : 4,000 km3
Wh l di
2,100
2,200 Adequate Water Where are we leading
to ?
1,800
1,900
2,000
Water Scarcity
1,600
1,700
,
1,500
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

11. WATER RESOURCE THE - CURRENT SITUTATIONWATER RESOURCE THE CURRENT SITUTATION
i h d d d• High dependence on ground
water (85%)
O t ti f d t• Over extraction of ground water
for irrigation
• Uncontrolled deforestation• Uncontrolled deforestation
• Neglect of traditional practices
and systems including rain waterand systems, including rain water
harvesting
• Inadequate integrated waterdequ e eg ed w e
management and watershed
development
• Emerging water quality problems

12. WATER QUANTITYWATER QUANTITY
Shrinking Wetlands of Bihar- Current
Climatic and Tectonic Changes? (Ghosh etg (
al,2004)

13. Projection of Climate Change on Water
Availability
• The gross per capita water availability in Bihar
will decline from about 1,950 m3/yr in 2001 towill decline from about 1,950 m /yr in 2001 to
as low as about 1,170 m3/yr in 2050
• Bihar will reach a state of water stress before
2020 when the availability of clean water falls
below 1000 m3 per capitabelow 1000 m per capita

14. Remote Sensing Image - 1984

15. Remote Sensing Image - 2004

16. Current Status ofCurrent Status of
“Surplus River Water” State – Bihar
• Surface water coverage in Ghagra-Gandak
& G d k K i Z d d b 43 4%& Gandak-Kosi Zones decreased by 43.4%
and 37.8% respectively
M i di t ti l di t• Massive sedimentation leading to near
obliteration of water bodies, including
channel flowschannel flows
• Increase in surface water area in Kosi Fan
by 7 65%by 7.65%
• Eastward shift in mid-section of the Kosi.

17. • Impact on ground water rechargep g g
• Impact on fish culture and “makhana”
cultivationcultivation
• Shrinkage and disappearance of wetland
lecology
• Shrinking Kabar Tal is a proposedg p p
Ramsar Site. It covered 6786.05 hectares
in 1984, but in 2004 revealed shrinkage, g
to 5043.825 hectares.
• Seismotectonic changes were indicatedSeismotectonic changes were indicated
by our studies in North Bihar

18. CHANGES IN MAJOR LAND USE CATEGORIES IN BIHAR
[Based on 1984 & 2004 remote sensing images]
1984 2004
Land use types
1984
[Fig. in
Hectares]
2004
[Fig. in Hectares]
Change [in %]
W tl d 4023 91 2409 86 40 11Wetlands 4023.91 2409.86 -40.11
Forests, 4812.63 5773.54 19.96,
including
plantations
Cropped Area 27148 52 24764 96 -8 78Cropped Area 27148.52 24764.96 -8.78
Fallow 18653.12 20956.63 12.35
Sand and
Cloud
978.53 1373.12 40.32
cover/Haze
Unclassified
land
521.52 860.12 64.93
land
TOTAL 56138.23 56138.23 -

19. S l il bilitSeasonal availability
of surface waterof surface water
declined by 43% fordeclined by 43% for
the state of Bihar as athe state of Bihar as a
whole.

20. Therefore lesser availability of surfaceTherefore lesser availability of surface
water accounted for decline in the
seasonal cropped area in west Biharseasonal cropped area in west Bihar.
Conversely in the middle plains,
h i ki l dshrinking wetlands gave way to new
arable land in their outer confines.
The eastern segment is subject to rising
water tables and swamping of the arablewater tables and swamping of the arable
lands

21. WATER QUALITYWATER QUALITY

22. Water Disease Triangle Source of Health Hazardate sease a g e Sou ce o ea t a a d
Lack of
Clean Water
Lack of
Safe Sanitation
Lack of
Hygiene Safe SanitationHygiene
Source: WHO/UNICEF, 2009

23. Surface Water DeteriorationSurface Water Deterioration
Due to Climatic changes andg
Anthropogenic activities

24. f l hStatus of Water Quality in Bihar
• Surface water pollution –
B t i l i l d Ch i lBacteriological and Chemical
• Ground water contamination – IronGround water contamination Iron,
Arsenic, Fluoride and Nitrate…….

25. The Ganges is theg
longest river in South
Asia. With a total
length of 2,640 km

26. Ganga at Gomukh

27. Ganga at Gangotri

28. Ganga in UPGanga in UP

29. Ganga at PatnaGanga at Patna
Bihar

30. Ganga at Patna
…and also, a morgue…

31. G t P tGanga at Patna

32. Herniation in Zooplanktons
The Ganga water has become highly polluted with
very high bacterial contaminationvery high bacterial contamination
the growing urbanization and industrialization
h i d h ll i l d di h d ihave increased the pollution load discharged into
the River Ganga resulting in loss of the river’s
i il i iassimilative capacity.
Very high rate of herniation has been detected in
Ganga Water in Bihar

33. Herniation: Cladocera Bosmina
Bosmina Herniation%
0.6
0.7
ntage(%)
Bosmina Herniation%
0.3
0.4
0.5
ionPercen
0
0.1
0.2
Herniat
0 5 10 15
Serial Numbers
bosmina
herniati…

34. Herniation: Nauplius
Nauplius Herniation %
0.7
0.8
0.9
ntage(%)
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
tionPercen0.1
0.2
0.3
Herniat
0
0 5 10 15
Serial NumbersSerial Numbers
Nauplius…

35. GROUNDGROUND
WATER DETERIORATIONWATER DETERIORATION

36. ARSENIC IN GROUND WATER
OF BIHAROF BIHAR

37. Tibet PlateauTibet Plateau
Himalayay
Ganga GMB Plain
Area 569749 sq km
Population >500 million
Bay of Bengal

38. West Champaran
Arsenic Map of Bihar ‐2010
Ch Sheohar
p
East Champaran
Sitamarhi
Madhubani
Supaul
Araria
Kishanganj
Muzaffarpur
Sheohar
Siwan
Gopalganj
Purnia
Darbhanga
Muzaffarpur
Saran
Siwan
Vaishali Samastipur Saharsa
Madhepura
KatiharBhojpur
Rohtas
Buxar
Patna
Jehanabad
Nalanda MungerSheikhpura
Begusarai
Bhagalpur
Khagaria
Rohtas
Kaimur
Jehanabad
GayaAurangabad
Nawada
Jamui
Banka
Lakhisarai
16 Arsenic Affected Districts
Source Data: Dept. of EWM, A.N.C ollege, Patna

39. NEPAL
BIHAR -BIHAR
Play Ground
of
Rivers
Arsenic in
Bihar ‐
hlHighly
Arsenic
f d Ganga
Indian Craton
Infested

40. BIHAR FINDINGS (Ghosh et al 2008)BIHAR FINDINGS (Ghosh et.al.‐2008)
• More than 30 thousand hand pumps p p
tested – 32 % of tested sources had
arsenic contaminated water of>10
ppb.
• Highest As. Value Recorded – 1861 ppb
• A total of 16 Bihar districts ( 57 blocks)
are affected by high level of arsenic in
the groundwaterthe groundwater
• Trivalent arsenic 87 % in ground water
of Biharof Bihar
• Worst‐affected districts are Bhojpur,
Bhagalpur, Samastipur, and Khagaria,Bhagalpur, Samastipur, and Khagaria,

41. Th H tt t A i H d P f BihThe Hottest Arsenic Hand Pump of Bihar
Krishna Kumar Panday,Pandaytola,Bhojpur – Owner of hand pump
with highest recorded
Arsenic Concentration of 1861 ppb in Bihar

42. Maize:Total As -0.24 ug As g-1
Arsenic in foodArsenic in food
chain of Bihar
Food ChainRice - 0.36 ug As g-1
Irrigation Tube well =As 980 ppb

43. Gift of home coming………………..g
Ram Ashan Panday – Ex Army Man – Developed Symptoms after his
Return to native village - Panday Tola,Bhojpur

44. Gift of home coming………………..g
Kisan Panday –
Ex Army Man – DevelopedEx Army Man Developed
Symptoms after his
Return to native villageReturn to native village –
Panday Tola,Bhojpur

45. Arsenic Patients – Bhaglpur- PirpaintiArsenic Patients Bhaglpur Pirpainti

46. Arsenic Patients – Bhaglpur- Kahalgaon

47. hArsenic Patients – Khagaria

48. FLUORIDE IN
GROUND WATER OF
BIHAR

49. FLUORIDE CONTAMINATED
WATER SOURCES
Fluoride contaminated aquifers in dry areas of
following southern districts of Bihar isfollowing southern districts of Bihar is
confirmed:–
• Gaya
• Nawada
• Rohtas
• Katihar• Katihar
• Munger
• Bhagalpur

50. West Champaran
Bihar - Fluoride in
Ground Water
Ch Sheohar
East Champaran
Sitamarhi
Madhubani
Supaul
Araria
Kishanganj
Muzaffarpur
Sheohar
Siwan
Gopalganj
Purnia
Darbhanga
Muzaffarpur
Saran
Siwan
Vaishali Samastipur Saharsa
Madhepura
KatiharBhojpur
Rohtas
Buxar
Patna
Jehanabad
Nalanda MungerSheikhpura
Begusarai
Bhagalpur
Khagaria
Rohtas
Kaimur
Jehanabad
GayaAurangabad
Nawada
Jamui
Banka
Lakhisarai
Fluoride affected Districts

51. Our Fluuride Reserch …
• We have initiated study on Fluoride contamination
in Nawada District
• Fluoride level up to 6.8 ppm has been detectedp pp
against the permissible limit of 1.5 ppm
• Majority of water sources of many villages haveMajority of water sources of many villages have
very high concentration of Fluoride
• Hundreds of persons with symptoms of Fluorosis• Hundreds of persons with symptoms of Fluorosis
have been identified

52. Clinical Outcomes of Endemic Fluorosis
• Dental Fluorosis in Children
• Skeletal Fluorosis in Adults
• Non Skeletal Fluorosis• Non Skeletal Fluorosis

53. Children of Kachariya Dih, Nawada

54. Trauma of Kachariya Dih, Nawada

55. Kachariya Dih Nawada: DeterioratingKachariya Dih, Nawada: Deteriorating
water quality striking humanity

56. Dental Fluorosis

57. Kachariya Dih, Nawada: WE arey
allowing this happen to our children

58. Nature vs. Man
Will water crisis becomeWill water crisis become
endemic in thisendemic in this
“WATER SURPLUSWATER SURPLUS
STATE”?STATE ?

59. Faced with Such a Complex and ExpansiveFaced with Such a Complex and Expansive
Challenge, Where Do We Begin?
Priorities
1. Control of indiscriminate ground water usage.
2. Match specific water demand to
quality needed
3. Maximize use of reclaimed
water at sitewater at site
4. Sustained resources for technology,
training, infrastructureg
5. Enforce healthy land use policy
6. Attention on agriculture and industry
7. Emphasis on water education, water as ultimate human
resource

60. Path Forward
1 6
Development and
1.4
1.6
Projections
Development and
application of
more sustainable
technologies
1.2
Number of Earths Used by Humanity
Target
of Earths
0.8
1.0
Number of Earths Available
Target
pathway
Opportunities for
Number
0.6
Opportunities for
innovation
0.4
Today
0.2
1980 2000 20201970 1990 2010 2030

61. YES Water resource
ttmatters
b i lbecause survival
of thisof this
civilization
matters !
THANKS