HR Research

Arsenic in alluvial groundwater systems in the Bengal Basin

Since 1990, arsenic has been found to be present extensively in shallow groundwater across the densely populated floodplains of SE Asia, at concentrations many times the WHO guideline limit for drinking water. Throughout the region, shallow hand-pumped tubewells are used by the majority of the rural population. In Bangladesh and West Bengal alone some 70 million people are affected. Irrigation of the dry- season rice crop by groundwater since the 1980s has made Bangladesh self-sufficient in food production, but there is increasing concern over human exposure to arsenic in rice irrigated with arsenic-contaminated water. With collaborators from the region, we have researched the the distribution, transport and fate of arsenic in the Bengal Basin, proposed a hydrogeological synthesis of arsenic occurrence, and developed models of arsenic concentration at shallow pumping wells.

People:

Dr. W.G. Burgess, UCL | Dr. M. Shamsudduha, IRDR | Professor K.M. Ahmed, Dhaka University

Past students: Dr. M.A. Hoque, Dr. A. Carruthers, M. Burren, H. Cheetham, J. Cobbing, Dr. M. Cuthbert, S. Mather, E. McCarthy, R. Nickson, Dr. J. Perrin

Selected papers:

• Burgess, W. G., Ahmed, K. M., Carruthers, A., Cheetham, H., Cobbing, J., Cuthbert, M., Mather, S., McCarthy, E. (2007). Trends in Arsenic concentration at tubewells in Bangladesh: conceptual models, numerical models and monitoring proxies. In Bhattacharya, P., Mukherjee, A., Zevenhoven, R., Bundschuh, J., Loeppert, R. (Eds.). Arsenic in Soil and Groundwater Environments: Biogeochemical Interactions, Health Effects and Remediation. (Volume 9 pp.63-84). Elsevier B.V. (Series Editor: Jerome O. Nriagu)
• Ravenscroft, P. R., Burgess, W. G., Ahmed, K. M., Burren, M., Perrin, J. (2005). Arsenic in groundwater of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh: distribution, field relations, and hydrogeological setting. Hydrogeology Journal 13(5-6), 727-751
• Burgess, W. G., Burren, M., Perrin, J., Ahmed, K. M. (2002). Constraints on sustainable development of arsenic-bearing aquifers in southern Bangladesh. Part 1: A conceptual model of arsenic in the aquifer. In: Hiscock, K.M., Rivett, M.O. & Davison, R.M. (eds.) Sustainable Groundwater Development. Geological Society of London Special Publication 193, 145-163
• Cuthbert, M. O., Burgess, W. G., Connell, L. (2002). Constraints on sustainable development of arsenic-bearing aquifers in southern Bangladesh. Part 2: Preliminary models of arsenic variability in pumped groundwater. In: Hiscock, K.M., Rivett, M.O. & Davison, R.M. (eds.) Sustainable Groundwater Development. Geological Society of London Special Publication 193, 165-179
• Burgess, W. G., Ahmed, K. M., Cobbing, J., Cuthbert, M. O., Mather, S. E., McCarthy, E., Chaterjee, D. (2002). Anticipating changes in arsenic concentration at tubewells in alluvial aquifers of the Bengal Basin. XXXII IAH and VI ALHSUD Congress, Mar del Plata, Argentina. (pp.365-371).
• Nickson, R., McArthur, J., Burgess, W.G., Ahmed, M., Ravenscroft, P., Rahman, M. (1998). Arsenic poisoning of Bangladesh groundwater. Nature 395, 338-338

Deep groundwater in the Bengal Basin as a resource free of excessive arsenic

eeper than about 150 m in the Bengal Basin, groundwater is mostly free of excessive arsenic, so installation of deep wells has become the most popular private and public mitigation response to the crisis and there are pressures for deep wells also to supply the enormous demand for irrigation of the dry-season rice crop. We have investigated the potential for deep groundwater, free of excessive arsenic, to provide a safe alternative water supply. We have disseminated research findings at national meetings and workshops in Bangladesh, including 'Deep groundwater in Bangladesh: UCL research in support of policy development' jointly convened by UCL, Dhaka University and Bangladesh’s Policy Support Unit (PSU).

People:

Dr. W.G. Burgess | Professor R. Taylor, Dept. Geography | Dr. M. Shamsudduha, IRDR | Professor K.M. Ahmed, Dhaka University | Dr. Anwar Zahid, Bangladesh Water Development Board | Professor Abhijit Mukherjee, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 

Past students: Dr. M.A. Hoque, H. Cheetham, J. Cobbing, Dr. M. Cuthbert, S. Mather, E. McCarthy

Grants

'Delivering guidance on arsenic-safe, sustainable groundwater supplies for Bangladesh' 
EPSRC BEAMS Enterprise Award to WGB (PI), Knowledge Transfer KTA 40461. 2012. £58,169

Groundwater Resources in the Indo-Gangetic Basin: resilience to climate change and pumping, Case Study ‘Deep groundwater in Bangladesh’
DfID CRISSA award, BGS to UCL to RGT and WGB (joint PI). 2012-2014. £91,900

'Models for managing the deep aquifer in Bangladesh.' 
Commonwealth' Scholarship to Mohammad Hoque, 2006-2010, with £5K research support.

Selected papers:

• UCL (2013). The security of deep groundwater in southeast Bangladesh: recommendations for policy to safeguard against arsenic and salinity invasion. Final Report, EPSRC/UCL-BEAMS Knowledge Transfer Project. London.
• Hoque, M. A. and Burgess, W.G. (2012). 14C dating of deep groundwater in the Bengal Aquifer System, Bangladesh: Implications for aquifer anisotropy, recharge sources and sustainability. Jour. Hydrol. (444-445), 209-220.
• Burgess, W. G., Hoque, M. A., Michael, H. A., Voss, C. I., Breit, G. N., Ahmed, K. M. (2010). Vulnerability of deep groundwater in the Bengal Aquifer System to contamination by arsenic. Nature Geoscience (2), 83-87
• Hoque, M.A. and Burgess, W.G. (2009). Provenance and travel time of groundwater pumped from 'arsenic-safe' depths in the aquifer of southern Bangladesh: aquifer representations to assess security of supply. AGU Chapman Conference ‘Arsenic in Groundwater of southern Asia’, Seam Reap, Cambodia, 24 Mar 2009 - 27 Mar 2009. Editors: van Geen A, Fendorf S. Arsenic in Groundwater of southern Asia. p.13.
• Burgess, W. G., Ahmed, K. M., Cobbing, J., Cuthbert, M. O., Mather, S. E., McCarthy, E., Chaterjee, D. (2002). Anticipating changes in arsenic concentration at tubewells in alluvial aquifers of the Bengal Basin. XXXII IAH and VI ALHSUD Congress, Mar del Plata, Argentina. (pp.365-371).

Fluoride in crystalline bedrock / regolith aquifers (East Africa, India)

More than 200 million people worldwide rely on groundwater-sourced drinking water with fluoride (F-) concentrations above the WHO guideline. We have researched the mineralogical sources of F in Arusha, Tanzania, and determined the mass balance of F removal from its primary bedrock sources during weathering and regolith development in Andhra Pradesh, the most severely affected Indian state.

People:

Dr. W.G. Burgess | Dr. E. Valsami-Jones, Birmingham University | Past students: Dr. B. Hallett, Dr. D. Parkinson

Grants

Mineralogical and hydrogeological controls of fluoride in groundwater
EPSRC EngD award (sub-total £66K) with NHM (sub-total £24K). WGB as PI. 2007-2011. £90,000.

Selected papers:

• Hallett, B.M., Burgess, W.G. and Valsami-Jones, E. (2011). Mineralogical distribution of F and sources of groundwater fluoride in the gneissic bedrock/regolith aquifer of Andhra Pradesh, India. 2011 GSA Annual Meeting in Minneapolis (9–12 October 2011), Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 43, No. 5, p. 674.
• Hallett, B.M., Burgess, W.G. and Valsami-Jones, E. (2009). Mineralogical sources and controls of fluoride in groundwater in granitic hard rock aquifers of Andhra Pradesh, India. Geol. Soc. London, William Smith Meeting 2009.

Limits to the sustainability of bedrock / regolith aquifers in southern Africa

Fourty per cent of sub-Saharan Africa is underlain by weathered and fractured ‘basement complex’ bedrock containing groundwater in its weathered regolith and rock fractures on which the rural population depends for its water supply. We are testing implications for the UN Millennium Development Goals of a reconnaissance analysis in Malawi which suggests basement complex groundwater resource is becoming limited. We are developing a new estimate of resource limitation in Zimbabwe, and are collaborating with academics, government ministries and NGOs to make a wider investigation of groundwater resource limitation across sub-Saharan basement complex regions.

People:

Dr. W.G. Burgess | Professor R. Taylor, Dept. Geography | J. Davies, British Geological Survey | Dr. N. Robins, British Geological Survey | M. Lewis, British Geological Survey | Professor S. Cairncross, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | Dr. J. Davies, Oxford University | Dr. G. Chavula, University of Malawi | D. Mdimbu, University of Harare, Zimbabwe | S. Sunguru, Zimbabwe National Water Authority

Selected papers:

• Davies, J. and Burgess, W. G. (2013). Can groundwater sustain the future development of rural Zimbabwe? Abstracts Volume. Geological Society of South Africa, Annual Conference 2013.
• Wright, E. P., Burgess, W. G. (Eds.) (1992). The Hydrogeology of crystalline basement aquifers in Africa. (66). The Geological Society Publishing House, UK: The Geological Society, London. 

Contaminant solutes in the double-porosity Chalk aquifer of the UK

In south and east England the Chalk aquifer provides more than 75% of water for public supply, and supports wetlands, springs and downland streams. The Chalk is fractured and porous - the quintessential double porosity aquifer – and the quality of mobile groundwater in fractures is substantially moderated by diffusive exchange with porewater. We have established the significance of the Chalk’s seasonally unsaturated zone as a long-term secondary source of contaminants by double-porosity diffusive diffusion. We have analysed the rates of pollutant transport and the extent of diffusive retardation and karstic dispersion in two Chalk catchments suffering the most extensive point source pollution in the UK. Modelling indicates that pollution will persist for many decades due to double-porosity diffusion. Results emphasise the importance of porewater chemical profiles for proper diagnosis and groundwater management where historical pollution sources exist.

People:

Dr. W.G. Burgess | Professor T. C. Atkinson | M. Davis, EngD Student | Dr. L. Maurice, British Geological Survey 

Past students: Dr. S. Quinn, Dr. C. Fitzpatrick, Dr. S. Cook, Dr. S. Watson, Dr. B. Fretwell

Grants:

Predicting contaminant migration in the Chalk aquifer: field scale transport parameters determined from tracer tests and analysis of an extensive pollution plume (Tilmanstone, Kent).
NERC Research Grant No.GST/2/1811 to WGB (joint PI with Prof. J.A. Barker and J.Dottridge) under the Environmental Diagnostics Programme. 1998‑2001. £151,525.

Contaminant attenuation in Chalk groundwater: a new approach using radio-chemistry. NERC Thematic Research Studentship to WGB (joint PI with Prof. T.C. Atkinson & Prof. J.A. Barker). 
NER/T/S/2002/00234 under the LOCAR Programme. 2003-2006. PhD Studentship + £25,148.

The hydrogeology of bromate movement in the Hertfordshire Chalk aquifer
EPSRC EngD awards (sub-total £132K) with Thames Water and Veolia Water (sub-total £78K). WGB as PI. 2005-2009. £210,000.

Selected papers:

• Watson, S.J., Burgess, W.G. and Barker, J.A. (2012) Re-evaluating dual-porosity effects at the site of a seminal groundwater modelling study: Tilmanstone, southern England, In: Shepley, M. G., Whiteman, M. I., Hulme, P. J. & Grout, M. W. (eds) 2012. Groundwater Resources Modelling: A Case Study from the UK. Geological Society, London, Special Publications (364), 227–248.
• Cook, S.J., Fitzpatrick, C.M., Burgess, W.G., Lytton, L., Bishop, P. and Sage, R. (2012) Modelling the influence of solution-enhanced conduits on catchment-scale contaminant transport in the Hertfordshire Chalk aquifer, In: Shepley, M. G., Whiteman, M. I., Hulme, P. & Grout, M. (eds) 2012. Groundwater Resources Modelling: A Case Study from the UK. Geological Society, London, Special Publications (364), 205–225.
• Quinn, S.A., Atkinson, T.C., Barker, J.A. and Burgess, W.G. (2008) Contaminant attenuation in a semi-karstic Chalk aquifer – a new approach using radiochemistry. 2008 GSA Annual Meeting in Houston (5-9 October 2008), Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 40, No. 6, p. 300.
• Fretwell, B. A., Burgess, W. G., Barker, J. A., Jefferies, N. L. (2005). Redistribution of contaminants by a fluctuating water table in a micro-porous, double-porosity aquifer: field observations and model simulations. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 78, 27-52 doi:10.1016/j.jconhyd.2005.02.004.