Closing Comments

     The main problem facing Bangladesh is the availability of safe water due to surface water contamination, naturally occurring arsenic in the groundwater, salt water intrusion, and seasonal variations.  Due to the seasonal variation and the extreme seasons the surface water availability varies greatly throughout the year.  During dry season there is not enough surface water and during the monsoon season all the available surface water is contaminated.  This contamination is due to the use of the surface water for various cultural practices such as bathing, washing clothes, washing animals, etc.  Groundwater contributes to the problem because there is naturally occurring arsenic in the groundwater, which causes forms of cancer and death.  The overuse of the ground water leads to salinization issues as well as the depletion of the water table.  In order to allow the water table to recharge, and rid the population of arsenic poisoning, clean surface water needs to be their source of water.

         We broke the Bangladesh population into three different regions, urban, rural, and coastal, because they all face different subsets of the main problem of the availability of safe water and because each region is going to require a different solution in order to be successful.  For our solutions to be successful we will have educational programs for each region.  We will also assume that funds and on the ground implementation will be provided by the governmental as well as different aid organizations.   In Urban Bangladesh we will implement water and wastewater treatment plants, small scale water treatment in the form of iodine tablets and chlorine tablets, grey water infrastructure, and public shower and compost toilet facilities.  We will help rural Bangladesh move away from ground water through rainwater capture and storage.  In coastal Bangladesh, we will build on their already strong emergency alert system by placing siren alert systems on stable structures that will warn people of extreme weather conditions.  It will take time to implement these solutions and educate the people however, once it is done, safe water will be available in Bangladesh. 

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