Up-scaling of Managed Aquifer Recharge for Providing Community Water Supplies in Saline Area’ (MAR Project)

Short description of Project:

The Southwest Coastal Region of Bangladesh is a part of the Ganges flood plain and has a rich biodiversity. Geographical location has given it a brackish water regime and made it vulnerable to natural disasters. Under natural conditions, aquifers are primarily recharged by the infiltration of rainfall and to a positive extent through surface water bodies and neighboring aquifers. Most of the part of this region has lost or less than active the natural conditions of an artificial recharge system. Persistent human interventions and the adverse impact of climate change kept a negative impact on the water regime, causing reduce upstream freshwater flows, increase salinity, contaminated surface water bodies by toxic chemicals and metals. Besides, population growth and the accompanying land and open water bodies occupied for urbanization in this region, which have created one of the main obstacles for the natural infiltration process.  Around, 43% of people haven’t access to safe drinking water, besides lack of adequate knowledge and information on optimum use of water resources, effective management system and proper health hygiene practices, which are combined increasing water scarcity and health risk. As a result, human lives and livelihoods have become more vulnerable.

In this context, few areas of this region, artificial recharge techniques could be effective solutions for maintaining or enhancing the water-bearing capacity of the saline-affected aquifers by the MAR system.

The joint initiative is being implemented with the cooperation of the Department of Geology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Acacia Water, The Netherlands, and UNICEF Bangladesh WASH Section.

Key activities: Social mobilization, capacity development of communities, develop community-based MAR management and maintenances, regular water quality monitoring of MAR sites, linkage development with DPHE, LGIs, Upazila administration and relevant government agencies. 

Key Achievements: MAR sites have handed over to community and develop community based management mechanism. Enhanced skills and capable of care taker groups to proper maintenance of MAR site. During the project period a total of 27607.30 thousand litter fresh water have infiltration and inject into aquifers of MAR site and total abstraction have 775.40 thousand litter by community in dry season for drinking water purpose.