Why Kerala’s groundwater is increasingly at risk of contamination | Explained

The groundwater resources of Kerala have been under severe stress due to changes in rainfall pattern following climate change, high population density as well the fact that approximately 62% of the population relies on groundwater from an estimated 6.5 million open wells for their domestic needs. The State’s fragmented wastewater management system and the unscientific construction of septic tanks and pit latrines at homes close to shallow and open wells have resulted in persistent faecal contamination of ground water in the State, which has been documented by several studies.

A 2024 study in the Journal of Environmental Management reported that 7.4% of the State’s population could be making do with poor quality of groundwater and estimated that 0.59 million people in 252 local self government bodies in the State could be continuously exposing themselves to health risks from consuming ground water from wells which may not be chlorinated regularly.