Vulnerability Assessment of Groundwater-Based Public Drinking Water Supply System of Kamrup District, Assam, India Considering Social Parameters

The work aims to assess the social vulnerability index of the groundwater-based public water supply system of Kamrup district of Assam, India. The primary factor responsible for the vulnerability of groundwater-based drinking water supply systems is the water quality of the supplied water. However, vulnerability is also related to social factors such as age, literacy, economic status, asset value, accessibility to drinking water sources. As such, this study considered the social factor along with the water quality index to provide an integrated vulnerability index. The water quality data of the study area have been collected from the Public Health Engineering Department of the State of Assam. The other factors are calculated from the 2011 census data of India. The weight for the parameters is obtained as per the opinion survey conducted among the experts. The results of the vulnerability index calculation show that only one block of the district has a high vulnerability value, whereas other blocks are at a medium and very low to low vulnerability level. The high value of vulnerability in the block is mainly due to the high value of the water quality index factor and the low value of accessible water source and asset factor. © 2023, The Institution of Engineers (India).