How did the tsunami affect the water supply in coastal areas ?
Yes, there has been a major loss of water resources surrounding the affected coastal areas. In many cases the domestic water supply (wells) has been contaminated by salt water, dead bodies and pollutants from the disruption of chemical containers or other infrastructure. Many of the lagoon systems (physical linkage to the sea and chemical water balance) have been disturbed, if not destroyed. There are major concerns about the fresh groundwater lenses in the shallow islands of the Maldives . These lenses are fed by infiltration from natural precipitation through the sandy soil of the island. The risk is that the salt that has contaminated the upper layer of soil during the floods will filter down and infiltrate the fragile and thin groundwater system. In other words the natural cleansing of the soil will generate further problems regarding the domestic water supply.