National drinking water assessments for Bangladesh do not reflect local variability, or temporal differences. This paper reports on the findings of an interdisciplinary investigation of drinking water insecurity in a rural coastal south-western Bangladesh. Drinking water quality is assessed by comparison of locally measured concentrations to national levels and water quality criteria; resident's access to potable water and their perceptions are based on local social surveys. Residents in the study area use groundwater far less than the national average; salinity and local rainwater scarcity necessitates the use of multiple water sources throughout the year. Groundwater concentrations of arsenic and specific conductivity (SpC) were greater than surface water (pond) concentrations; there was no statistically significant seasonal difference in mean concentrations in groundwater, but there was for ponds, with arsenic higher in the dry season. Average arsenic concentrations in local water drinking were 2-4 times times the national average. All of the local groundwater samples exceeded the Bangladesh guidance for SpC, although the majority of residents surveyed did not perceive their water as having a 'bad' or 'salty' taste.

BackgroundHigh salinity and arsenic (As) concentrations in groundwater are widespread problems in the tidal deltaplain of southwest Bangladesh. To identify the sources of dissolved salts and As, groundwater samples from the regional shallow Holocene aquifer were collected from tubewells during the dry (May) and wet (October) seasons in 2012–2013. Thirteen drill cores were logged and 27 radiocarbon ages measured on wood fragments to characterize subsurface stratigraphy.ResultsDrill cuttings, exposures in pits and regional studies reveal a >5 m thick surface mud cap overlying a ~30 m thick upper unit of interbedded mud and fine sand layers, and a coarser lower unit up to 60 m thick dominated by clean sands, all with significant horizontal variation in bed continuity and thickness. This thick lower unit accreted at rates of ~2 cm/year through the early Holocene, with local subsidence or compaction rates of 1–3 mm/year. Most tubewells are screened at depths of 15–52 m in sediments deposited 8000–9000 YBP. Compositions of groundwater samples from tubewells show high spatial variability, suggesting limited mixing and low and spatially variable recharge rates and flow velocities. Groundwaters are Na–Cl type and predominantly sulfate-reducing, with specific conductivity (SpC) from 3 to 29 mS/cm, high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 11–57 mg/L and As 2–258 ug/L, and low sulfur (S) 2–33 mg/L.ConclusionsGroundwater compositions can be explained by burial of tidal channel water and subsequent reaction with dissolved organic matter, resulting in anoxia, hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) reduction, As mobilization, and sulfate (SO4) reduction and removal in the shallow aquifer. Introduction of labile organic carbon in the wet season as rice paddy fertilizer may also cause HFO reduction and As mobilization. Variable modern recharge occurred in areas where the clay cap pinches out or is breached by tidal channels, which would explain previously measured 14C groundwater ages being less than depositional ages. Of samples collected from the shallow aquifer, Bangladesh Government guidelines are exceeded in 46 % for As and 100 % for salinity.

To identify the causes of salinization and arsenic contamination of surface water on an embanked island (i.e., polder) in the tidal delta plain of SW Bangladesh we collected and analyzed water samples in the dry (May) and wet (October) seasons in 2012–2013. Samples were collected from rice paddies (wet season), saltwater ponds used for brine shrimp aquaculture (dry season), freshwater ponds and tidal channels (both wet and dry season), and rainwater collectors. Continuous measurements of salinity from March 2012 to February 2013 show that tidal channel water increases from ~0.15 ppt in the wet season up to ~20 ppt in the dry season. On the polder, surface water exceeds the World Health Organization drinking water guideline of 10 μg As/L in 78% of shrimp ponds and 27% of rice paddies, raising concerns that produced shrimp and rice could have unsafe levels of As. Drinking water sources also often have unsafe As levels, with 83% of tubewell and 43% of freshwater pond samples having >10 μg As/L. Water compositions and field observations are consistent with shrimp pond water being sourced from tidal channels during the dry season, rather than the locally saline groundwater from tubewells. Irrigation water for rice paddies is also obtained from the tidal channels, but during the wet season when surface waters are fresh. Salts become concentrated in irrigation water through evaporation, with average salinity increasing from 0.43 ppt in the tidal channel source to 0.91 ppt in the rice paddies. Our observations suggest that the practice of seasonally alternating rice and shrimp farming in a field has a negligible effect on rice paddy water salinity. Also, shrimp ponds do not significantly affect the salinity of adjacent surface water bodies or subjacent groundwater because impermeable shallow surface deposits of silt and clay mostly isolate surface water bodies from each other and from the shallow groundwater aquifer. Bivariate plots of conservative element concentrations show that all surface water types lie on mixing lines between dry season tidal channel water and rainwater, i.e., all are related by varying degrees of salinization. High As concentrations in dry season tidal channel water and shrimp ponds likely result from groundwater exfiltration and upstream irrigation in the dry season. Arsenic is transferred from tidal channels to rice paddies through irrigation. Including groundwater samples from the same area (Ayers et al. in Geochem Trans 17:1–22, 2016), principal components analysis and correlation analysis reveal that salinization explains most variation in surface water compositions, whereas progressive reduction of buried surface water by dissolved organic carbon is responsible for the nonconservative behavior of S, Fe, and As and changes in Eh and alkalinity of groundwater.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12932-017-0042-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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