ABSTRACT
Indiscriminate use of rivers and other surface water bodies, in post-colonial Indian subcontinent, for disposal of sewage and industrial waste has rendered them non-potable. Hence, to provide pathogen-free drinking water, deep Public Water-Supply (PWS) wells drilling began in West Bengal state (India) in the mid-1970s. Drilling of these wells coincided with the installation of deep irrigation wells for dry-season rice production, which began in the 1960s. The detection of arsenic (As) enrichment in shallow groundwater (more than the (WHO) safe drinking water standard) used for drinking between 1978 to 1984 provided further impetus for installation of deep PWS wells
Bengal (western Bengal basin) containing acutely As-contaminated shallow groundwater. More than 95% of the present 317 PWS schemes (as of 2004) within the study area (excluding major urban centers), with >700 large-diameter (150-300-mm) wells, are abstracting this deeper groundwater for community uses.
