Drinking water treatment plant in West Bengal

adelphi's Safe Water Chatra project has been extended for another two and a half years. adelphi is now building a drinking water treatment plant in India in accordance with a needs analysis and feasibility study.

In the district of North 24-Parganas in West Bengal (India), an estimated 52% of 7.3 million inhabitants drink arsenic-contaminated water from tube wells every day. The negative effects on health caused by the consumption of the water include pathological skin disorders; effects on the nervous, renal and respiratory system; cancer; and the impaired neonatal development.

In an effort to address this problem, adelphi launched the Safe Water Chatra (SaWaCha) project in partnership with Indienhilfe e.V., a humanitarian organization. The aim of the project is to build a sustainable drinking water supply for the population in Chatra most affected by arsenic contamination. After carrying out a needs analysis and feasibility study, adelphi was commissioned to build a drinking water treatment plant that will be handed over to the local community within the next two years.

The plan calls for supplementing the surface-water-based drinking water supply with the treatment of groundwater over the long term (for example, proven oxidation of arsenic and innovative sub terrestrial adsorption). Through a dual system of surface and groundwater treatment, the municipal water supply is made more resilient and secured from weather-related events such as drought or flooding.

This project stands as an example for other municipalities in West Bengal that face similar challenges in terms of drinking water supply.