Sources of Groundwater Contamination: A Review

Abstract

Groundwater plays a vital role in sustaining human life and supporting public health. Numerous investigations into groundwater quality have been carried out on a global scale. Groundwater contamination is a widespread issue that adversely affects both ecological services and human health. Surface water contamination is different from groundwater contamination. Because contaminants are invisible and retrieving the resource is challenging with current technology. These contaminants in groundwater resources are usually colorless and odorless, making them difficult to detect. The main aim of this review is to focus on major sources of pollutants from natural and anthropogenic activities. Natural sources of groundwater contamination cause a wide range of problems with water quality problems, such as natural deposits of gypsum, minerals, salts, surface water with poor quality, seawater intrusion, and brackish water. Anthropogenic activities are industrial wastes (mining activities, solid and liquid wastes), agricultural sources (pesticides and fertilizers), urbanization (municipal wastes, land use practices, poor sanitary practice and landfill management), organic and inorganic components. This review revealed that it is necessary to generate and implement policies and regulations related to groundwater protection. This study also helps to understand contaminant sources better and reduce the effects of groundwater pollution for the public and governments. Keywords: Sources, Groundwater, contamination, Natural sources, Anthropogenic sources