Groundwater Management for Safe Drinking Water

Groundwater is the main source of drinking water for billions of people worldwide. Hence, contamination of groundwater is a matter of grave concern that can have a devastating effect on the health of people for whom it is the main source of daily water supply. Proper groundwater management involves cleaning and filtering of the groundwater to make it fit for consumption.

Causes of groundwater pollution

Although groundwater is considered one of the freshest and safest sources of water by many, in the past decades excess use of chemicals in agriculture has contributed significantly to groundwater contamination. Through the soil, the agricultural contaminants may seep into the groundwater, thereby increasing the concentration of the pollutants in the water.

In urban areas, leaking sewers and seepage of wastewater through the soil into the groundwater are common causes of degradation of groundwater. Despite strict environmental regulations, the role of effluents discharged by industrial units in polluting the groundwater cannot be overlooked. The industrial pollutants usually contain mercury, zinc, cadmium, chromium and other toxic substances that are extremely hazardous for the health.

Presence of excess iron and arsenic in groundwater is another area that needs to be addressed through groundwater management. Both iron and arsenic occur naturally in the aquifers. Drilling deep wells may destruct the underlying rocks, resulting in transportation and dissolution of these metals in the groundwater. Groundwater with high concentration of iron has an unpleasant taste and is orange in color. Although, iron is not considered a health risk, water containing large amounts of iron is unsuitable for laundry and increases staining and blocking of pipes and plumbing fixtures.

Drinking water contaminated with arsenic is extremely hazardous for the health. Discoloration and thickening of the skin, chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, loss of sensation in hands and legs, partial paralysis and vision loss are common in areas where people consume water with high concentration of arsenic. Arsenic contamination is linked to several cancers.

Groundwater management

An effective filtering system can remove these contaminants including iron and arsenic from the groundwater. In most countries, the law requires the water to be processed before consumption. Several options are available for cleaning the groundwater. Common filtering technologies include pump and treat, a process in which the groundwater is first lifted to the surface and then treated with chemicals or biological ingredients to remove the contaminants. The common chemical treatment methods include purifying the water with oxygen or ozone, ion exchange, membrane separation, carbon absorption and chemical precipitation.

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Different Dewatering Methods

For people living in low-lying areas, water logging is a common problem following heavy rains. Even after the rain subsides, in the absence of a dewatering system, the water may stand in a locality or around a building for several hours or even days. The ground is also inundated during subsurface excavation carried out for lowering the water table to strengthen the foundation of a building. In either case, water logging can be avoided by installing a dewatering system that rapidly drains the groundwater.

Different methods of dewatering

There are several ways of draining the excess water from the ground. Dewatering can be implemented in an area by boring deep wells, installing a pumping system or wellpoints. Although industries and builders are the main users of the commercial dewatering systems, the designs of these ground water removal systems can be modified to suit the individual needs of residential properties.

Deep wells

Constructing a deep well is the most popular form of dewatering. In construction sites, where swift draining of the ground water is essential for creating a stable working environment, rings of deep wells are constructed to dry up the excavation site speedily.

A borehole, an electrically powered submersible pump and a slotted liner are the three components of a deep well. Given the mathematical equations involved in designing a deep well, the job can only be done by an expert. Most of these formulas are based on empirical evidence, which rarely fails in similar situations. When the work of implementing a dewatering system is undertaken by an experienced firm, the practical knowledge of its experts reinforces the mathematical formulae, significantly boosting the performance of the dewatering project.

Wellpoints

Wellpoints can promptly drain a large amount of water from an area in a few minutes. This dewatering system comprises of tubes, approximately 50mm in diameter. The slots present at the bottom of the tubes are inserted in the ground, and attached to a wellpoint pump. The vacuum produced by the pump helps to siphon the groundwater from the flooded area. Wellpoints are usually effective in lowering the water table of shallow aquifers. Given the limitation of vacuuming water from deeper excavation sites, wellpoints are constructed in stages to enable them to drain water gradually from deep aquifers. In practice, in a single stage, a wellpoint can reduce the groundwater level by up to six meters. The dewatering system is usually installed around the edge of the flooded site.

If you live in an area that has regularly receives heavy rainfall and dewatering. Welcome to Groundwater Control - Leaders in groundwater management, offer all common methods of sludge dewatering.


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Dewatering With Deep Well vs. Wellpoint

Dewatering or removal of groundwater from the soil is the only solution for draining the excess water from excavation sites and areas that are frequently flooded after heavy rains. Deep well and wellpoint are the two methods of dewatering. However, to a layperson unaware of the differences between the two dewatering systems, selecting the best dewatering system can be quite difficult. Although, a dewatering expert can guide you through the process, knowledge of the pros and cons of each of these dewatering methods and the relative advantages of one over the other can help you to implement the appropriate dewatering system.

Deep well

Deep well comprises of a borehole, a slotted liner and a submersible pump. This versatile dewatering system can drain large volumes of water. A single deep well can speedily remove water from smaller areas. However, where the water table needs to be lowering significantly, several deep wells are needed to dry up the deluged surface.

Advantages

Although the performance of a deep well system depends upon the permeability of the soil, this dewatering system can work in a wide range of soil condition. They are especially recommended where the soil is highly permeable such as in sandy areas, where the groundwater recharges at a faster rate. They are more suitable for excavation sites where the water table needs to be lowered by 100 or more feet in a single stage.

When the excavation job requires removal of large volumes of water at a fast speed, a powerful submersible pump of a deep well dewatering system can pump tens and thousands gallons of water per minute. An individual deep well can dewater 21 to 3000 gallons of water each minute, while the combined groundwater drainage capacity of a dewatering system can be up to 60,000 gallons per minute.

Disadvantages

The deep well dewatering system can be implemented only by an expert. The dewatering project is more expensive than the wellpoint system

Wellpoint

All the well points in a wellpoint dewatering system are joined to a common header, which is connected to one or multiple well point pumps. The vacuum generated by the pump helps to drain water from a particular area

Advantages

It is the most economical dewatering system for removing water where not more than 6m of groundwater needs to be dewatered.

If you live in an area that has regularly receives heavy rainfall and dewatering. Welcome to Groundwater Control - Leaders in groundwater management, offer all common methods of sludge dewatering.

 

And here you can read my Articles Ben Bradshaw Articles and read my Bookmarks Ben Bradshaw Bookmarks.