Groundwater and health

Research into groundwater and health at BGS is focused on a number of themes, such as the impact of urbanisation on groundwater quality in the developing world, and a range of water-quality issues, such as heavy metal concentrations and pathogens.

We work on groundwater and health both in the UK and internationally with a wide range of partners, including government departments and international aid agencies.

Groundwater and health research themes include:

• effects of industrial activity
• the impact of agriculture
• the impact of urbanisation in the developing world

Specific health risks

Specific health risks linked to contaminated groundwater include:

• arsenic
• biological pathogens
• fluoride
• molybdenum
• uranium

Bottled water from the British Isles

We published a survey of the inorganic chemistry of bottled water from the British Isles.

WaterAid factsheets

BGS and the WaterAid charity worked together to characterise the inorganic quality of groundwater in the countries in which WaterAid works.

The factsheets produced by BGS for WaterAid are:  

• by country: these information sheets aim to identify inorganic constituents of risk to health that may be present in groundwater 
• by element: these information sheets aim to explain the nature of the health risk for each element, their origin and occurrence in groundwater, the means of testing and available methods of mitigation

There are also information sheets on agriculture, industry and urbanisation, which complement previous information sheets on specific groundwater quality parameters and for target WaterAid countries, and should be read in conjunction with them.

Contact

Please contact Pauline Smedley for further information.