Arsenic in groundwater of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh: Distribution, field relations, and hydrogeological setting

Arsenic contaminates groundwater across much of southern, central and eastern Bangladesh. Groundwater from the Holocene alluvium of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers locally exceeds 200 times the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline value for drinking water of 10 µg/l of arsenic. Approximately 25% of wells in Bangladesh exceed the national standard of 50 µg/l, affecting at least 25 million people. Arsenic has entered the groundwater by reductive dissolution of ferric oxyhydroxides, to which arsenic was adsorbed during fluvial transport. Depth profiles of arsenic in pumped groundwater, porewater, and aquifer sediments show consistent trends. Elevated concentrations are associated with fine-sands and organic-rich sediments. Concentrations are low near the water table, rise to a maximum typically 20–40 m below ground, and fall to very low levels between about 100 and 200 m. Arsenic occurs mainly in groundwater of the valley-fill sequence deposited during the Holocene marine transgression. Groundwater from Pleistocene and older aquifers is largely free of arsenic. Arsenic concentrations in many shallow hand-tube wells are likely to increase over a period of years, and regular monitoring will be essential. Aquifers at more than 200 m below the floodplains offer good prospects for long-term arsenic-free water supplies, but may be limited by the threats of saline intrusion and downward leakage of arsenic.