Groundwater Pollution:
Importance, Issues and Opportunities in Asia
Water Environment and Partnership in Asia (WEPA)
12th International Symposium on Southeast Asian Water Environment(SEAWE12)28‐30 November 2016, Hanoi, Viet Nam

Dr. Sangam Shrestha
Associate Professor, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
Fellow, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
1

Presentation Outline• Background• Groundwater availability (Global Vs Regional)• Groundwater use (Global Vs Regional)• Issues surrounding groundwater• Groundwater pollution• Industrial groundwater pollution• Case studies• Introduction of market-based policy instruments for pollution control(Philippines)• Multi-approach groundwater pollution remediation strategies(Germany)• Final reflections

2

Background3

Distribution of Earth’s Water

4

How much groundwater is available in Asia?
Groundwater discharge (km3/yr) Source: L'Vovich (1974)

Groundwater discharge (km3/yr) Source: IHD-USSR (1974)

4500

4000

Groundwater discharge (km 3/year)

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
EuropeAsia

AfricaNorth America

South America

Australasia• Asia has the highest groundwater availability after South America!

5

Why is groundwater so useful?
•

Aquifers are very convenient sources of water because they
are natural underground reservoirs and can have anenormous storage capacity, much greater than even thelargest man-made reservoirs;•

Many aquifers are also able to offer natural protection fromcontamination, so untreated groundwater is usually cleaner
and safer than its untreated surface water equivalent;•

Groundwater is relatively easy and cheap to use. It can bebrought on-stream progressively with little capital outlay andboreholes can often be drilled close to where the watersupply is needed;•

Groundwater is a resource that is organizationally easy todevelop; individuals can construct, operate and control theirown supply, often in their own land.
6

How groundwater is being used ?

Type of use
Continent
North America
Central America and Caribbean
South America
EuropeAfricaAsia
Oceania
World

Total

Irrigation (%) Domestic (%) Industrial (%)
71.1
30.2
48.8
36.4
64.7
75.6
48.5
70.1

23
56.9
31.5
45
31.7
16.3
48.1
21.2

5.9
12.9
19.7
18.6
3.6
8.1
3.4
8.7

Km3/yr

(%)

143
14
26
72
41
680
7
982

14.6
1.4
2.6
7.3
4.1
69.3
0.7
100

• Asia has the highest groundwater abstraction (70% of the total abstraction)!

7Top 15 countries with the largest estimated groundwater
extractions (2010)• 13 out of top 15 countries with largest estimated groundwater extraction
are in Asia!

8

Top 10 Asian countries with largest groundwater
abstraction for irrigation, domestic and industrial use
Country
United ArabEmirates (UAE)
Qatar
Oman
Azerbaijan
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Syrian Arab
Republic
India
Iran

Irrigation(%)

Domestic
Country(%)
98 Philippines
100 MaldivesIndonesia
93 Japan
99 Republic of Korea
83 Iraq
96
79 Malaysia
95 Russian Federation
Tajikistan
94
Georgia
66 Mongolia
94
Malaysia
62 Thailand
92
Thailand60 China
90 Turkmenistan
53 Kyrgyzstan
51 Russian
89 Jordan
50 Federation
87 Kyrgyzstan

Country

Industry
(%)
64
48
45
33
30
30
26
26
25
18

Source: J. Margat and J. van der Gun. 2013. Groundwateraround the World. Leiden, Netherlands: CRC Press/Balkema
9World population obtaining drinking water fromgroundwater (millions)
Urban

Rural

Total

1980

2010

% of
change

1980

2010

% of
change

1980

2010

% of
changeBoreholes

138

255

84.8

878

996

13.4

1,016

1,251

23.1

Dug wells

111

151

36

843

658

-21.9

954

807

-15.4

TOTAL

249

406

63.1

1,721

1,654

-3.9

1,970

2,058

4.5
(NGA, 2013)• The 4.5 % increase (from 1980 to 2010) is misleading because ofsignificant reduction in population depending on dug wells in rural areas.
• Groundwater continues to be an important source for meeting basic
10
human needs.

Population of megacities dependent* on groundwater
City

Pop.

City

Pop.

City

Pop.

Mexico City

25.8

Buenos Aires

13.2

Cairo

11.1

Calcutta

16.5

Jakarta

13.2

Bangkok

10.7

Teheran

13.6

Dhaka

11.2

London10.5

Shanghai

13.3

Manila11.1

Beijing

10.4

Estimated population in 2000 (UNEP, 1991; UNFPA, 1991)
Megacity: A metropolitan area with a total population of more than 10 million
people (UN)* Groundwater dependency definition: The city’s water supply (public andprivate domestic, industrial and commercial) could not function without thewater provided by a local urban or peri-urban aquifer system. Typicallygroundwater would provide at least 25 per cent of the water supply to such acity.
• 80% of World mega cities are in Asia and all of them are highly dependent on
groundwater! By 2025, Asia alone will have at least 30 megacities.
11Issues surrounding groundwater•••

Groundwater depletion
Climate change impact on groundwater
Groundwater pollution (natural & anthropogenic)

12Increase in groundwater stress13

Increase in groundwater stress

Source: IGRAC (2014). IGRAC (International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre).

• An estimated 20% of the world’s aquifers is being over-exploited(Gleeson et al., 2012)14

Groundwater storage decline

Water storage declines (mm equivalent water height) in several of
the world’s major aquifers. (NASA, 2014)15

Groundwater table decline

Annual averagegroundwater levels in
Lahore City, Pakistan

The average depth ofgroundwater level below
the surface in qp1 aquiferof Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam(Shrestha et. al 2016)16

Groundwater table decline

Annual averagegroundwater levels in the
Mi-Huai-Shun Districts in
Beijing, China

Trend of groundwaterlevel at different
observation wells inTokyo Metropolitan Area,
Japan(Shrestha et. al 2016)17

Climate change and Groundwater
Climate change impacts on long-term average groundwater recharge(renewable groundwater resources) Döll and Flörke (2005)

18

Groundwater Salinity(IGRAC)

19

Distribution of groundwater salinity in the top 200 m of the Indogangtic
Basin (IGB aquifer). Data from WAPDA 2001, IWASRI 2005, Quereshi
2008, CGWB 2010, Ravenscroft et al. 2009 DPHE/BGS 2001

20

Groundwater Arsenic

Summarised world distribution of documental problems of excessive arsenic ingroundwater (concentrations >50μ/l) [Source: British Geological Survey]

21

Groundwater Arsenic
[A]

[B]

(Fig.: [A] Map of population
density within regions where
groundwater As concentrations
are potentially elevated. [B]Distribution of As in groundwater
as a function of depth within fiveareas indicated by white
rectangles in [A]. The verticaldashed line marks the WHO
guideline of 10 μg/L. Sources
include Shrestha et al. (2004),
Nickson et al. (2007),
BGS/DPHE (2001), Bushmann etal., (2008), Winkel et al. (2011),
Guo et al., (2003), Guo et al.
(2008), Deng et al., (2009), Han
et al., (2010), and Gao et al.,(2010).) [International
Continental Scientific Drilling
Program,ICDP, 2012]22

Arsenic contamination in groundwater of Kandal, Prey Veng, andKampong Cham Province in Cambodia (Source: IGES)

Groundwater Fluoride

Modeled global probability of fluoride concentration in groundwater exceeding the
WHO guideline for drinking water of 1.5 mg/L. (Amini et al. 2008a)24

Fluoride contamination in
confined aquifer of Tianjin,
China (IGES, 2009)

Fluoride concentrations ingroundwater of Lamphun
Province, Chiang Mai, Thailand(Takeda and Takizawa, 2008)

In Tianjin, groundwater contains highconcentration of fluoride and dental
fluorosis rate is 41% in urban area (Xuet al. 2008).
25

Groundwater Nitrate

Global map with the presence of zones with high nitrate in groundwater(source: IGRAC, 2012)26

Sources of groundwater pollution27

Sources of groundwater pollution

28

Sources of groundwater pollution
Summary of groundwater pollution sources by origin
Category

Naturalsources

Agriculture&
ForestryUsual
character

Source type
•
•
•
•
•

Inorganic substances
Trace metals
Radionuclides
Not applicable
Organic compounds
Microorganisms

•
•
•
•
•
•

Fertilizers
Pesticides
Animal waste
Animal feedlots
Irrigation return flow
Stockpiles• Diffuse• Diffuse•

Diffuse/point• Point• Diffuse• Point

Normal location

Not applicable

•
•
•
•
•
•

Surface
Surface
Surface/unsat.
Surface
Surface
Surface29Sources of groundwater pollution

Methods of land
application ofmunicipal wastewater:a) Irrigationb) Infiltrationpercolationc) Overland flow30

Sources of groundwater pollution
Summary of groundwater pollution sources by origin
Category

Urbanization

Source type
•
•
•
•

•

Solid waste sites
On-site sanitation
Wastewater, effluent
Salvage and junkyards
Leaking undergroundstorage tanks

Usual character
•
•
•
•
•
•

Point
Point
Point and line
Point
Point
Point

Normal location• Surface/unsaturat
ed zone• Unsaturated zone
• Surface•

Mining/Industry

•
•
•
•
•

Mine tailings
Mine water
Solid waste
Wastewater, effluent
Injection wells

•
•
•
•
•

Point
•
Point and line•
Point
Point and line
•
Point
•

Surface/unsat.
zone
VariousSurface/unsat.
zone
Surface/unsat.
zone
Below water table31

Sources of groundwater pollution
Urbanization

Shallow groundwater pollution caused by rapid urbanization withinduced downward leakage to deep aquifers in Santa Cruz, Bolivia(UNEP, 2003)

32

Sources of groundwater pollution
Petroleumproducts orcrude oil

Dry cleaning,
aviation,
automobile(chlorinatedsolvents)

Example contaminant release scenarios: A) Light non-aqueous phase liquid (NLAPLs)
release, B) Dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNLAPLs) release33

Sources of groundwater pollution
Summary of groundwater pollution sources by origin
Category

Water
mismanagement

•
•
•
•

•
•

Miscellaneous

Usual
character

Source type

•
•
•
•
•

Well-field design
Upconing
Seawater intrusion
Faulty wellconstruction
Abandoned wells
Irrigation practices
Airborne sources
Surface waterTransport sector
Natural disasters
Cemeteries

Normal location

•
•
•
•
•
•

Point
Point
Line
Point
Point
Diffuse

•
•
•
•
•
•

Below water table
Below water table
Below water table
Below water table
Below water table
Surface•••

DiffuseLine
Point andline
Point and
line
Point

•
•
•

Surface
Below water table
Surface/unsat.
zone
Surface/unsat.
zone
Unsaturated zone

•
•

•
•

34

Sources of groundwater pollution
Sea water intrusion

35

Industrial groundwater pollution

36

Potential groundwater contaminants from common
industrial operations
Industry type orindustrial process•

Adhesives•

Electricalcomponents•

Explosives•

Fabrics••

Fertilizer
Foods andbeverages•

Inks and dyes•

Laundry/drycleaning
Metalsproduction andfabrication•

Representative potential groundwater contaminants

Acrylates, aluminum, chlorinated solvents, formaldehyde, isocyanates, mineralspirits, naphthalene, phenol, phthalates, toluene
Acids, aluminum, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, caustics, chlorinated solvents,
cyanides, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium
Ethyl acetate, high melting explosive (HMX), methanol, nitrobenzenes,
nitroglycerine, nitrotoluenes, Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN),
cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), tetrazene, tetryl, 1,3-dinitrobenzene (1,3-DNB)
Acetic acid, acetone, acrylates, ammonia, chlorinated solvents, copper,
formaldehyde, naphthalene, nickel, phthalates
Ammonia, arsenic, chlorides, lead, phosphates, potassium, nitrates, sulphur
Chlorine, chlorine dioxide, nitrate/nitrite, pesticides, biogenic amines, methane,dioxins, general organic wastes
Acrylates, ammonia, anthraquinones, arsenic, benzidine, cadmium, chlorinatedsolvents, chromium, ethyl acetate, hexane, nickel, oxalic acid, phenol, phthalates,
tolueneCalcium hypochlorite, dichloroethylene (DCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), Stoddard
solvent, trichloroethylene (TCE),vinyl chloride
Acids, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chlorinated solvents, chromium, lead,
mercury, mineral oils, nickel, sulphur
37

Potential groundwater contaminants from common
industrial operations
Industry type orindustrial process
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Representative potential groundwater contaminants

Solvents,
Carbon tetrachloride, chlorofluoroethanes, dichloroethylene, methylene chloride,
chlorinated
PCE, TCE, vinyl chloride, 1,1,1-trichloethane
Solvents
Acetates, alcohols, benzene, ethylbenzene, ketones, toluene, xylene(nonchlorinated)
Acetates, acrylates, alcohols, aluminum, cadmium, chlorinated solvents, chromium,
Paints andcyanides, glycol ethers, ketones, lead, mercury, methylene chloride, mineral spirits,
coatings
nickel, phthalates, styrene, terpenes, toluene, 1,4-dioxane
Paper
Acrylates, chlorinated solvents, dioxins, mercury, phenols, styrene, sulphur
manufacturing
Arsenic, carbamates, chlorinated insecticides, cyanides, ethylbenzene, lead,
Pesticides
naphthalene, organophosphates, phenols, phthalates, toluene, xylene
Petroleum
Alkanes, benzene, ethylbenzene, nickel, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, sulphur,refining
toluene, xylene
Pharmaceuticals Alcohols, benzoates, bismuth, dyes, glycols, mercury, mineral spirits, sulphur
Rubber andAcrylonitrile, antimony, benzene, butadiene, cadmium, chloroform, chromium,plastics
dichloroethylenes, lead, phenols, phthalates, styrene, sulphur, vinyl chloride
Wood
Ammonia, arsenic, chromium, copper, creosote, dioxins, polyaromatic hydrocarbons,preserving
pentachlorophenol, phenol, tri-n-butyltin oxide38A case study:
Industrial Effluent Fee Program –Laguna de Bay, Philippines[Source: Groundwater Partnership (GWP)]

39

Laguna de Bay, Philippines•

Location•

Laguna de Bay – second
largest inland water body in
SE Asia•

21 rivers flow into the
90,000 hectare lake•

A 3,800 km2 watershed Laguna de Bay region•

Uses - Inland fishery,
irrigation, power
generation, industrial
cooling, potential watersupply source

ManilaLaguna de Bay40

Laguna de Bay, Philippines
•

Issue
•

Rapid urban and industrial growth- Environmental degradation•

High concentration of industries –important to Gross National
Product growth•

Weaknesses in traditional waterpollution control regulations•

Industries in Laguna de Bay by
1994•

1,481 factories•

Occupying 20% land•

30% of the lake pollution ( 40% byAgriculture & 30% domestic
sewage)41

Events - Pre Fee Regulation
1966

Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) was created. Has
Authority to evaluate development plans in the Laguna de Bay area

1975

LLDA authorized to issue lake water use permits

1988

LLDA authorized to issue, deny and renew permits for wastewater
discharge into the lake

1993

World Bank’s Philippines Environmental Sector Study recommended
the country to adopt a system of economic incentives to promotewater pollution prevention – domestic and industrial sources

1994

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
commissioned a study to design a pollution charge program
Recommendation: Pollution charge program be
implemented nationwide (by LLDA) using a phased
approach – Phase 1: Laguna de Bay42

Laguna de Bay, Philippines
Effluent discharge fee model
Fixed Fee
(Volumetric rate ofdischarge)

Designed to cover LLDA
administration cost for thepermit program

Variable Fee(Pollution loading)

Designed such that fee ishigher for polluters
making more pollution
Note: Fixed fee only could end
up with polluters comfortably
paying all the time without
treatment effort

Total Fee

Always higher
than investment inpollution control
measuresMore firms end up
choosing pollution
control investment43

Laguna de Bay, Philippines
Effluent discharge fee model

US$1=P50(25 Nov, 2016)

Fixed Fee –Volumetric rate ofdischarge

Variable Fee –Pollution loading
Vol. rate ofdischarge*effluent
concentration

This makes the fee always higher than investment
in pollution control measuresMore firms end up choosing pollution control
investment to bring their effluent under P5 categoryEffluent meet the legal standard of 50 mg/L BOD

44

1
Obtaindischarge
permit from
LLDA

2

3

Invest on
pollution
controlmeasures

Quarterly
selfmonitoring
reports

Industry

5

4

Get thepermitrenewed –save money

Periodicmonitoring
inspections

Suspend or revoke permit and/or Cease andDesist Order (CDO) – halt further discharge

Laguna de Bay, Philippines
Failure tocomply withLLDA rules
andregulations
Failure to
pay effluent
discharge
fees
Actualeffluent
quantity/
qualitysignificantly
exceed theallowed45

Events – Post Fee Regulation

1997

LLDA implemented the pollution charge
Number of firms covered by the regulation: 109 (1997), 293 (1998),
520 (1999) [top 5 polluting industries: food processing, piggeries &
slaughter house, beverages, dyes &textile and pulp & paper]
Over P34,000,000 collected as revenue from metro Manila industries
discharging water into the Laguna de Bay watershedOver P34,000,000 (~681,000 USD) from metro Manila industries
discharging water into the Laguna de Bay watershed
Enforcement led closure of ~ 50 companies for significant violations

1999

BOD in the effluent from the plants decreased by 88 %46

A case study:
Multi Source Contamination and In-situ
remediation schemes – Bitterfeld Germany[Wycisk et al., 2003]

47

Multi Source Contamination and In-situ remediation
schemes – Bitterfeld Germany•

In the NW of Bitterfeld…
•

present and past mining
activities• severely disturbed GW
conditions• abandoned opencast
mines used as landfills forchemical wastes• dumps were incompletely
sealed, leading to directcontamination

Overview of the Bitterfeld area with the
distribution of contamination sites and the
major groundwater-flow direction, 1995.
48

Multi Source Contamination and In-situ remediation
schemes – Bitterfeld Germany

Schematic geological and hydrogeological setting of the pathway ofcontaminants at the Bitterfeld area, which has been dominated by industrial
and mining activities for more than 100 years.

49

Multi Source Contamination and In-situ remediation
schemes – Bitterfeld Germany•

Monitoring for remediation
planning•

GW monitoring programby site owners since
1990• Dataset of 290 wells,
1200 samples, up to 180
contamination
parameters• Specific contamination
profile of the region
derived• BTEX, LHKW, CB

Regional distribution and total frequency of
selected organic compounds and substancesfrom the upper aquifer, like BTEX, volatilechlorinated organic compounds (LHKW), andchlorobenzene (CB). Groundwater contours fromthe year 2000.
50

Multi Source Contamination and In-situ remediation
schemes – Bitterfeld Germany•

Remediation
options•••

Pump and Treat
Reactive Walls
Monitored Natural
Attenuation (MNA)

Sketch of the long-distance related fate processes oforganic contaminants at megasites and alternative
remediation options for groundwater.
51

Multi Source Contamination and In-situ remediation
schemes – Bitterfeld Germany•

Pump and Treat•

Contains the spread of contaminants,
treated water is then channeled into surface
water• If pumping is large, GW flow regime alteredto prevent expansion of contaminated zone
• Barriers consisting of pumping wells stop theGW flow in N, NE and E direction in
Bitterfeld• e.g. NE barrier
In operation since 1994
• 20 pumping wells• 1.3 MCM contaminated water annually•52

Multi Source Contamination and In-situ remediation
schemes – Bitterfeld Germany•

Reactive Barriers•

Located in the main directionof contaminant flow
• Decreases the contaminantloading by e.g. adsorbing
rxns or redox rxns
• Depth specific contaminantdistribution and flux
information vital for costeffective placement of thereactive barriers
53

Multi Source Contamination and In-situ remediation
schemes – Bitterfeld Germany•

MNA – Monitored Natural
Attenuation•

For the downstream area to the
Bitterfeld megasite, MNA isapplied• MNA – variety of physical,
chemical or biologicalprocesses for reducing mass,
toxicity, mobility, volume orconcentration of contaminants• Long term monitoring – toensure the natural attenuation
54

Multi Source Contamination and In-situ remediation
schemes – Bitterfeld Germany
Bitterfeld, Germany

Pump & Treat(1994)

Underground andopen-cast mining since
1830

•
•
•

Groundwater
depletion
Groundwatercontamination
Contamination ofMulde river anddrinking water
wells

Multiapproach
remediation
strategy

Reactive Barriers

Monitored Natural
Attenuation (MNA)
55

Final reflections•

Globally groundwater is very important source of water fordomestic, agriculture and industrial use. Asian countries rely
heavily on groundwater.

•

Groundwater depletion, groundwater pollution (natural andanthropogenic) and climate change impact on groundwater
are major issues.

•

Groundwater pollution by industrial activities poses highhealth risk to communities and ecosystems (natural and manmade).

•

Integrated approach is essential to control and remediate
groundwater pollution by industrial activities.
•

For example, market-based policy instruments to complement existing
regulatory mechanism for pollution control;•

multi-approach remediation strategy to reduce the immediate risks tohuman health and ecosystems.

56sangam@ait.asia

57