Tanwer, N., Arora, V., Kant, K., Singh, B., Laura, J. S., & Khosla, B. (2024). Chapter 17 – Prevalence of Uranium in groundwater of rural and urban regions of India. In S. Madhav, A. L. Srivastav, S. C. Izah, & E. van Hullebusch (Eds.), Water Resources Management for Rural Development (pp. 213–234). Elsevier.
Abstract: Abnormally high uranium (U) prevalence in groundwater is a neoteric subject of concern throughout the world because of its direct impact on human health and well-being. Groundwater is used as the most preferred choice for drinking because of its good quality and ease of availability in rural and urban parts of India, and also in different parts of the world. India is an agriculture-dominant country and its 50–80% irrigational requirement is met by groundwater, besides this nearly 90% of rural and 50% of urban water needs are fulfilled by groundwater. The uranium concentration in groundwater in different parts of India namely Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, etc. found to be varying from 0 mg/L to 1443 mg/L, and in different parts of the world, it is found up to 1400 mg/L in the countries like United States, Canada, Finland, Mongolia, Nigeria, South Korea, Pakistan, Burundi, China, Afghanistan, etc. Various natural factors such as geology, hydro-geochemistry, and prevailing conditions as well as anthropogenic factors including mining, nuclear activities, erratic use of fertilizers, and overexploitation of groundwater resources are responsible for adding uranium in groundwater. Groundwater is considered a primary source of uranium ingestion in human beings as it contributes 85% while food contributes 15%. Uranium affects living beings as a two-way sword, being a radioactive element, causing radiotoxicity, and on the other hand as a heavy metal, it causes chemotoxicity. The main target organs affected by the consumption of uranium-contaminated water are kidneys, bones, lungs, etc. It can cause renal failure, impair cell functioning and bone growth, and mutation in DNA. Although, its toxic effects, being a heavy metal, are more severe than its radiotoxicity. Various techniques are available for the efficient removal of uranium from the groundwater such as bioremediation, nanotechnology-enhanced remediation, adsorption, filtration, etc. This chapter entails a comprehensive investigation of uranium contamination in groundwater of rural and urban parts of India their probable sources, health impacts, treatment, and mitigation techniques available to manage groundwater resources.
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Hdeib, R., & Aouad, M. (2023). Rainwater harvesting systems: An urban flood risk mitigation measure in arid areas. Water Science and Engineering, 16(3), 219–225.
Abstract: Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems have been developed to compensate for shortage in the water supply worldwide. Such systems are not very common in arid areas, particularly in the Gulf Region, due to the scarcity of rainfall and their reduced efficiency in covering water demand and reducing water consumption rates. In spite of this, RWH systems have the potential to reduce urban flood risks, particularly in densely populated areas. This study aimed to assess the potential use of RWH systems as urban flood mitigation measures in arid areas. Their utility in the retention of stormwater runoff and the reduction of water depth and extent were evaluated. The study was conducted in a residential area in Bahrain that experienced waterlogging after heavy rainfall events. The water demand patterns of housing units were analyzed, and the daily water balance for RWH tanks was evaluated. The effect of the implementation of RWH systems on the flood volume was evaluated with a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model. Flood simulations were conducted in several rainfall scenarios with different probabilities of occurrence. The results showed significant reductions in the flood depth and flood extent, but these effects were highly dependent on the rainfall intensity of the event. RWH systems are effective flood mitigation measures, particularly in urban arid regions short of proper stormwater control infrastructure, and they enhance the resilience of the built environment to urban floods.
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Akter, A., Tanim, A. H., & Islam, M. K. (2020). Possibilities of urban flood reduction through distributed-scale rainwater harvesting. Water Science and Engineering, 13(2), 95–105.
Abstract: Urban flooding in Chittagong City usually occurs during the monsoon season and a rainwater harvesting (RWH) system can be used as a remedial measure. This study examines the feasibility of rain barrel RWH system at a distributed scale within an urbanized area located in the northwestern part of Chittagong City that experiences flash flooding on a regular basis. For flood modeling, the storm water management model (SWMM) was employed with rain barrel low-impact development (LID) as a flood reduction measure. The Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) inundation model was coupled with SWMM to observe the detailed and spatial extent of flood reduction. Compared to SWMM simulated floods, the simulated inundation depth using remote sensing data and the HEC-RAS showed a reasonable match, i.e., the correlation coefficients were found to be 0.70 and 0.98, respectively. Finally, using LID, i.e., RWH, a reduction of 28.66% could be achieved for reducing flood extent. Moreover, the study showed that 10%–60% imperviousness of the subcatchment area can yield a monthly RWH potential of 0.04–0.45 m3 from a square meter of rooftop area. The model can be used for necessary decision making for flood reduction and to establish a distributed RWH system in the study area.
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Tröger, U., Dias, C. L., Guillaumon, J. R., Iritani, M. A., Külls, C., & Schuler, G. (2004). Remarks and new data about the recharge of the Guarani Aquifer System. In XXXIII IAH Congress, Abstracts, IAH, Mexico.
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