Hand pump water full of iron content in Bangana

Rajesh Sharma

Una, April 5

Hand pumps, installed by the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department in Bangana block of Una district, are pumping out excessive contents of iron in water.

Consequently, the department has started putting up signboards cautioning people not to use this water for drinking purposes.

Bangana block lies in the higher reaches of the district, where groundwater is very deep and consequently, there are very few deep bore lift schemes for drinking water.

Hand pumps installed in the hamlets are the major source of drinking water to residents here.

According to data available, there are as many as 686 hand pumps in the block, of which about 18 are non-functional due to various reasons.

More than half of the functional hand pumps have reported iron and manganese contents more than the prescribed limit.

Water from these sources is checked frequently at the IPH lab in Una. While safe limits of iron in water is between 0.05 and 0.1 micro gram per litre, water in some hand pumps is reporting more than 2 to 5 micro gram of iron per litre.

Former Chief Medical Officer and medical specialist, Dr Satinder Chauhan said increased contents of iron in water disturbs the digestive system and if taken for a prolonged time period, can cause damage to the liver and pancreas.

Very high content of the metal, if absorbed by the intestine, can also cause cancer. Local residents had reported about the foul smell from water and when stored the water formed a brownish layer in containers.

As per a study, there is a class of bacteria that lives and draws energy from iron and manganese dissolved in water. These bacteria, known as Thiobacillus and Leptospirillum, have their habitat in water having excessive content of iron and manganese.

The bacteria, termed as ‘Iron Bacteria’, forms a slimy layer on water in containers and when this water is used for washing, clothes and utensils also get stained.

Locals have also been complaining of yellow and red stains on their washed clothes and utensils.

When contacted, Assistant Engineer of the IPH Department at Bangana, NM Sheikh said signboards telling people not to use water for consumption have been put up on about 35 hand pumps and more such boards would be put up soon.

He said it was not sure whether the high iron content was due to rusting in iron pipes or due to high percentage of iron in ground water of Bangana block.