A Noida Authority hydrology survey has reportedly found arsenic, lead and chromium contamination in groundwater near the Hindon river, prompting the authority to halt plans for rainwells along the riverbank. The report says the groundwater cannot be treated as a safe source for use, but the depth of contamination requires clarification because the supplied report cites both about 150 feet and 150 metres.
According to Navbharat Times – Noida, the survey was conducted to assess whether rainwells could be installed along the Hindon on the lines of the system used near the Yamuna. The proposed wells were intended to provide a lower-total-dissolved-solids water source to areas that currently depend on tubewells when Ganga water supply is interrupted.
The Hindon runs for around 23 kilometres through Noida, from Bahalolpur near Sector 63 to the area opposite Sector 168, according to the report. Residential and urbanised areas around the river include Sector 63, Bahalolpur, Parthala, Sorakha and Sectors 121, 123, 146, 150 and 168.
The report says water from rainwells along the Yamuna does not reach these areas. When the supply of Ganga water from Ghaziabad is disrupted, tubewell water is supplied directly to residents and other users. The total dissolved solids level in this water is reported to range between 1,500 and 2,200, compared with 400 to 500 in water drawn from Yamuna-side rainwells.
That difference in water quality was one reason the Noida Authority considered developing rainwells near the Hindon. The plan has now been put on hold after the hydrology assessment reportedly detected hazardous levels of arsenic, lead and chromium in groundwater beneath the river’s floodplain or nearby areas.
R P Singh, the Noida Authority’s officer in charge of the water department and general manager, told the publication that the survey was undertaken specifically to examine the feasibility of rainwells along the Hindon. He said the water was found to be unsuitable for use at the surveyed depth and that arsenic, lead and chromium were present at dangerous levels.
The supplied report describes the contamination as extending to around 150 feet in one passage and to 150 metres in another. These are materially different depths, and the underlying survey report, sampling locations, laboratory results and applicable safety thresholds were not included in the material available for this draft. The findings should therefore be read as reported claims pending confirmation from the Noida Authority or the survey document.
The reported decision has immediate implications for water planning in Noida. A rainwell project could have reduced dependence on high-TDS tubewell water in neighbourhoods vulnerable to interruptions in the Ganga water network. The reported contamination means that a proposed groundwater solution cannot proceed without establishing the source, spread and treatment requirements of the pollutants.
The next confirmed step is the Noida Authority’s decision to stop or suspend the Hindon-side rainwell proposal after the hydrology survey. Further public details are needed on the survey methodology, the exact depth range tested, pollutant concentrations, affected locations and any alternative water-supply plan for the surrounding sectors.
