Assessment of fresh water security in coastal Bangladesh: An insight from salinity, community perception and adaptation

Safe drinking water scarcity is an acute problem in the coastal regions of Bangladesh which is mainly caused by salinity intrusion. In this context, drinking water sources are severely affected, including adverse effects on agriculture, health, fisheries and the ecosystem. This research investigates i) selected water quality parameters ii) local people's perception on drinking water scarcity iii) how local people's cope with safe drinking water scarcity. This research was conducted using local water samples, questionnaire survey of 200 households and 4 focus group discussions (FDGs) in Shyamnagar and Tala sub-district of Satkhira district. The study of the water quality parameters exposed the extreme conditions of the drinking water sources in the area. The average values of total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC) and Chloride concentration (Cl−) were found respectively 4044.12 mg/L, 7186.7 μS/cm, and 3143.6 mg/L in Shyamnagar and 2313.60 mg/L, 4390.3 μS/cm, and 1402.1 mg/L in Tala. The result of community perception reveals that local people are aware of the safe water scarcity and nearly all of them perceive that salinity is the main reason behind it. Even though there are a number of socioeconomic factors, communities have their own adaptation technologies to cope with the problem. The study concludes with the development of a community based model defining the key responsibilities of the stakeholders, including local and central government, NGOs and community people to work in a well-coordinated manner which will be effective for reducing the scarcity of the safe drinking water.