Health and Environmental Risks Related to Water Supply and Sanitation in the Socio-environment of Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Ensuring safe water supply and proper sanitation is a basic requirement for maintaining public health and safety, as well as the foundation of sustainable development. Although arsenic contamination mitigation from tube wells is an urgent issue related to public health in Bangladesh, a significant portion of the population still subsists on arsenic contaminated water. One of the primary reasons for this is the difficulty involved in accessing safe water, even in areas where arsenic mitigation facilities exist. As for sanitation, although coverage of sanitary facilities has been increasing in the country, existing toilets have various disadvantages; one of which is that improper human excreta management is causing surface water pollution, hindering the use of this water as an alternative drinking water source. To maintain soil quality and food productivity in the future, it is expected that human excreta will be used to fertilize agricultural land. In this chapter, socio-environmental problems and the risks related to water supply and sanitation will be identified and their interrelationships will be discussed. Additionally, the factors considered during the selection of technical options aimed at reducing risks will be discussed based on the authors’ sanitation improvement-related field activities.