Geogenic Groundwater Pollution

A workshop on naturally occurring pollutants affecting water quality in India was organized recently. The main objective was to initiate a dialogue between scientists, policy makers and the general public and influence decision making at the regional level. S. K. Satheesh (Divecha Centre for Climate Change (DCCC), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru) in his opening remarks indicated that the sustainable water future programme, a core activity of the Water Solutions Lab of DCCC, addresses water-related science and policy. R. Srinivasan (DCCC, IISc) provided the context for the workshop. Water resources are becoming more and more difficult to sustain with tremendous pressure on the quality of water resources in the country. The aim of the workshop was to develop an updated geographical map of areas affected by natural pollutants, identify the possible sources of contamination, understand the disease burden in such areas, take stock of existing practices for minimizing the effects of pollutants and construct a roadmap for developing methods to overcome the effects of pollutants.