Interactive Local Driller Mapping for Different Hydrogeological Areas of Bangladesh : Enabling Access to Information

Abstract: Exposure to arsenic in drinking water can cause several types of cancer and numerous cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. A country that suffers from widespread contamination of arsenic in drinking water is Bangladesh, where the contamination has been classified as the largest mass poisoning of a population in history. Around 90 percent of the existing tubewells used for drinking water in Bangladesh were installed by the private sector and local drillers, which makes their knowledge on drinking water contamination crucial in order to make them contributory for scaling up access to safe drinking water. The aim of the thesis was to develop an interactive map model to enhance the access to information for the local governments, communities, and private sector in three upazilas (sub- districts) of Bangladesh: Assasuni, Daudkandi, and Gowainghat, regarding how they can access safe drinking water in their local areas. The interactive map model for this thesis was developed in ArcGIS with supporting information from local drillers’ survey and Arsenic Safe Union project implementation data. The resulting maps contain information such as wells located in the upazilas, drillers’ working areas, years of working experience, contact information, certification and driller hubs (hardware shops). The map model is expected to be operationalised by creating a digital water platform through a mobile application, in a stand-alone website, or to be integrated in a government information centre to enable access for the community, local technocrats, the private sector and other concerned stakeholders. Moreover, the map can easily be scaled-up in the future to include additional areas with similar hydrogeology and arsenic or trace elements contamination problems, in other regions of South Asia, Africa and Latin America.