A Keynote Presentation on

DM 06 - 880

Soumyadeep Mukherjee, M.ScTeam Leader

World Bank Project

M.Tech (4th Semester),

Safety & Occupational Health Engg,

BESU, Shibpur

What is DM 06 – 880 ?

• It is the code number of a World Bank funded project: Subterranean Arsenic Removal-Experiment to Delivery

• Here, a hundred year old German technique for removal of iron & manganese from groundwater has been applied for arsenic removal in West Bengal.

• RKVM-IAS came out winner in the Global Development Marketplace Competition, 2006 with this project. It has 4 European Partners in this project viz. QUB, ISWA-Stuttgart, CML-The Netherlands & UMH-Spain.

• In 2004, a consortium of Indian & European Institutes experimented the effectiveness of this technology in a TiPOT Project, funded by EU, at Kasimpore, West Bengal.

• This technology is capable of reducing groundwater arsenic concentration from 0.29 mg/l to 0.01 mg/l within 6 weeks.

• While filtration techniques provide instantaneous curative measure for a limited time period, this technology provides long term curative as well as preventive measures.

Development Marketplace Winner’s Trophy

Basic Outline of the Project

• Ground Water is pumped up by a submersible pump using electricity.

• Then this oxygenated water is recharged back into the aquifer.

• The ground water is then brought into active contact with the oxygen of air by the help of showerheads. No chemical is used at all.

• This treatment, when carried out for a few weeks, produce arsenic & iron free drinking water as per WHO guideline.

• Also, if this treatment is carried on for a few years, then it has the capacity of treating the aquifer up to a considerable distance around the plant.

• This treatment method is very simple & the O&M part can be performed by the villagers alone. Only basic training is needed.

Advantages of this Technique

• Provides a permanent solution to the arsenic problem in the long run, provided the plant is run regularly.

• The SUSTAINABLE way of treating arsenic contaminated water. This process not only removes arsenic & iron from the water pumped out through the system, but also treats the contaminated aquifer water.

• The easiest technology around. No costly chemicals & complex tray systems & delicate filters. Its all about pump set & showerheads.

• Easy Operation & Maintenance – Low cost, Simple.

• More there is iron in water, more effective is the process. Luckily, in the Bengal delta region, the iron concentration in the ground water is fairly high.

• Part time job generation.

Advantages of this Technique

• Unlimited supply of Arsenic free water can be obtained by running the treatment cycle for more than once per day. (one cycle will generate 4000lt drinking water & will recharge back 4000lt of water to the aquifer)

• Very little amount of iron sediment is produced every month. So, waste disposal is not a problem.

Relevance of this Project in the present Scenario

• Sustainability: This technique ensures sustained arsenic free water supply to the community. It not only withdraws water, also it drains back some oxygenated water in the aquifer thus improving the water quality.

• Minimum maintenance cost signifies that these are not going to be another costly showpiece at the side of the village roads.

• Low cost will help the communities to run it for a significantly long period of time even in the time of inflations & economic turbulence. (ie even when alumina & chemicals can cost them a fortune)

Relevance of this Project in the present Scenario

• The character of the soil has been changed by excessive withdrawal of water & heavy usage of inorganic fertilizers & pesticides. This technology tries to reverse this effect.

• A few village boys/girls will get a part time job. The self-help groups can pay them money on hour basis work. (One cycle takes around 2 hrs to complete to produce 4000lt of safe water)

Our Activity during the Project Period

• 6 plants were installed at villages of Gobardanga, Basirhat, Nilgunj, Chakdah & Ranaghat.

• Each of the project sites were selected very carefully after doing extensive socio-economic survey, WTP analysis & food safety research.

• Each of these plants have started delivering water to the people within 2 months of their installation.

• Continuous monitoring of water quality has been carried out by the research assistants at the laboratory for the last one year to ensure the quality of the delivered water.

• The village operators & technicians have been involved in the maintenance jobs so that they will be able to troubleshoot any mechanical problem in future.

Photographs of the Plant

Gobardanga PlantChakdaha Plant

Photographs of the Plant

Basirhat Naihati PlantBasirhat Merudandi Plant

Photographs of the Plant

Nilgunj Plant

Ranaghat Plant

The Showerheads

Our Productions

• A Documentary Film with the Title: “Subterranean Arsenic Removal – Delivering Drops of Life”

• A project website: www.insituarsenic.org

• A number of Paper Publications from UMH, QUB & CML

Technology Transfer Letter

Cost of Construction, Operation & Maintenance

Functional Steps Item Cost (approx)

In Rs Comment

ConstructionBuilding, Plumbing,

Electrical equipments & wiring

Rs 1,50,000This is a one-time

cost. (Funding Agencies may bear this cost)

Operation

Personnel (2hrs per day in part time basis) Rs 1000 per month

The recurring cost is Rs 1300 per month which can be collected if the water is given @ 10p per litre. (Alternatively,every household can contribute a fixed amount of money per month)

Electricity Bill Rs 200 per month

MaintenancePipes leakage, Pumps,

Tank, Coloring of iron parts, Electrical parts

Rs 100 per month

Limitations

• High iron content in the groundwater and efficient aeration processes are pre-requisites for this technology to work.

• Electrical connection will produce most desirable condition because, in that case, submersible pump can be used for pumping up ground water.

• Earlier, this type of in-situ treatment technology was used in Bangladesh, but in that case, hand pump was used. The aeration was insufficient & the experiment didn’t yield expected result.

• Regular operation is needed to maintain the oxidation zone of the aquifer in good condition. That’s why this process is a long term one.

• No instantaneous solution can be achieved from this technology. A minimum time of 45 days is to be allowed initially to produce the desired result. After that, regular operation will produce good quality water for the coming ten years or more.

Scope of Future Research

• The best intermission recharging time & water quantity to be withdrawn in Bengal delta region for highest level of oxidation.

• Whether this technology is applicable to saline soils of Sunderbans & rugged hilly regions or not.

• The rate & extent of treatment of aquifer by this technique.

• Best practices & amount of water drawn suitable for Bengal delta region for maximum level of sustainability.

Future of this Project

• To “make it large”, we have to involve Panchayats and Self-Help groups so that maintenance & WTP will not be a problem.

• If large no of this type of plants are being installed in rural areas, then the aquifers will definitely revert back to their original quality within a few years.

• NGOs which are highly accepted among the mass (even religious bodies) to be involved in this work for larger acceptance & awareness generation.

• The NGO approach model will be very much ideal for Bangladesh while a mixed Panchayat-NGO-Institute model will be best for West Bengal.

T h a n k Y o u