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| More than half of south Asia's groundwater too contaminated to use – study | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Sixty per cent of the groundwater in a river basin supporting more than 750 million people in Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh is not drinkable or usable for irrigation, researchers have said. | Sixty per cent of the groundwater in a river basin supporting more than 750 million people in Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh is not drinkable or usable for irrigation, researchers have said. |
| The biggest threat to groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic Basin, named after the Indus and Ganges rivers, is not depletion but contamination, they reported in the journal Nature Geoscience. | The biggest threat to groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic Basin, named after the Indus and Ganges rivers, is not depletion but contamination, they reported in the journal Nature Geoscience. |
| “The two main concerns are salinity and arsenic,” the authors of the study wrote. | “The two main concerns are salinity and arsenic,” the authors of the study wrote. |
| Up to a depth of 200m (650ft), some 23% of the groundwater stored in the basin is too salty, and about 37% “is affected by arsenic at toxic concentrations”, they said. | Up to a depth of 200m (650ft), some 23% of the groundwater stored in the basin is too salty, and about 37% “is affected by arsenic at toxic concentrations”, they said. |
| The Indo-Gangetic basin accounts for about a quarter of the global extraction of groundwater – freshwater which is stored underground in crevices and spaces in soil or rock, fed by rivers and rainfall. | The Indo-Gangetic basin accounts for about a quarter of the global extraction of groundwater – freshwater which is stored underground in crevices and spaces in soil or rock, fed by rivers and rainfall. |
| Fifteen to twenty million wells extract water from the basin every year amid growing concerns about depletion. | Fifteen to twenty million wells extract water from the basin every year amid growing concerns about depletion. |
| The new study – based on local records of groundwater levels and quality from 2000 to 2012 – found that the water table was in fact stable or rising across about 70% of the aquifer. | The new study – based on local records of groundwater levels and quality from 2000 to 2012 – found that the water table was in fact stable or rising across about 70% of the aquifer. |
| It was found to be falling in the other 30%, mainly near highly populated areas. | It was found to be falling in the other 30%, mainly near highly populated areas. |
| Groundwater can become salty through natural and manmade causes, including inefficient farmland irrigation and poor drainage. | Groundwater can become salty through natural and manmade causes, including inefficient farmland irrigation and poor drainage. |
| Arsenic, too, is naturally present, but levels are exacerbated by use of fertilisers and mining. | Arsenic, too, is naturally present, but levels are exacerbated by use of fertilisers and mining. |
| Arsenic poisoning of drinking water is a major problem in the region. | Arsenic poisoning of drinking water is a major problem in the region. |