Developing Sustainable Models of Arsenic-Mitigation Technologies in the Middle-Ganga Plain in India

Abstract

This study seeks to understand factors that guide the decision-making process to adopt and implement the available arsenic-mitigation technologies in rural areas in the middle-Ganga Plain in India. A total of 340 households comprising 2500 people were surveyed. Socio-economic and demographic factors, water and sanitation status, time spent and distance travelled to collect water, arsenic awareness, willingness to pay (WTP) for arsenic-free water, people's trust in others and in institutions, social capital in communities, and preferences for sustainable arsenic-mitigation options were investigated. Arsenic treatment units (filters) and piped water supply systems were the most preferred sustainable arsenic-mitigation options in the surveyed villages. Less preferred arsenic-mitigation options include deep tube wells, dug wells, and rainwater harvesting systems. Binary logistic regression models for each arsenic-mitigation option were produced. Arsenic awareness, WTP, trust in agencies, trust in institutions and social capital were found to be the most significant factors for decision-making for preferring one arsenic-mitigation technology over the others. We recommend a mixed model of two arsenicmitigation options for the studied individuals, which could be a sustainable arsenic-mitigation option for them, considering their socio-economic and demographic conditions. Existing institutions should be strengthened, agencies empowered, and communities enlightened about arsenic problems.

Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in the Ganga River Basin: A Future Health Danger

“…Under continued depletion of the deeper aquifer due to increasing irrigation demands, the current rigorous effort to provide deep tube wells for arsenic-safe drinking water may not achieve sustainability. The existing safe tube wells require monitoring every six months to track the possibility of arsenic contamination as we have discovered that previously safe tube wells in West Bengal now show arsenic contamination [ 73 ]. Installation of new tube wells should be strictly regulated.…”

Environmental arsenic in a changing world

“…1). Detailed description of the survey administration, arsenic contamination, and socioeconomic models of arsenic mitigation are provided in other studies Singh et al, 2016Singh et al, , 2017, in brief, the surveyed populations were randomly selected and stratified by the variable of caste, as the castes (forward, backward, and scheduled caste) are the sub-groups of the people in the project area, which are internally homogeneous, but externally heterogeneous (UNSD, 2008).…”