SANGUEM – GOA: Concerns over ground water contamination in Sanguem and nearby villages have intensified after a study by the Global Centre for Human Health & Research (GCHHR) detected microplastics, pesticide-related chemicals, and other pollutants in groundwater sources and local water bodies.
The non-profit organisation GCHHR initiated the study after residents from the region raised repeated complaints regarding the quality of ground water in the area. Water samples were collected from different ground water sources and water bodies including wells, across the Sanguem belt during April and May and later examined by experts from the organisation, as well as third party experts.
The findings revealed contamination levels that experts described as alarming. Prof. Ashley de Melo, who was part of the GCHHR team that carried out the survey and testing, said the concentration of microplastics and pollutants found in wells and groundwater reserves was far beyond acceptable standards.
He noted that while Sanguem has long been identified as part of Goa’s mining region, this was the first occasion on which traces of microplastics and pesticide chemicals had been discovered in groundwater samples from both rural and urban parts of the taluka. According to Prof. de Melo, similar studies conducted by the organisation in 2020 did not indicate such severe contamination. He attributed the worsening situation largely to sewage and waste seeping into underground water systems.
Local social activist and youth leader Mithil Naique Desai also voiced concern over the deteriorating condition of the region’s natural water resources. He explained that sewage infiltration has begun affecting traditional groundwater aquifers, with contaminated surface water gradually entering underground rainwater storage systems.
Mithil warned that the increasing presence of microplastics and pollutants in groundwater poses a serious threat to public health and the environment. He further pointed out that bacterial and microbial contamination in the water has also risen sharply over the years.
Recalling the past condition of the region’s water sources, Mithil said that people in Sanguem once relied directly on well water for drinking purposes. However, he claimed that the level of contamination today has made water from most wells unsafe for human consumption.
The GCHHR report also mentions the increase in the presence of various kinds of microbes and bacteria in the water. “Twenty years ago, one could directly drink the water from many wells in Sangeum, but today it’s impossible to do so. The groundwater reservoirs are contaminated to such an extent that drinking water from most wells is dangerous,” claims Mithil.
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