Abstract
Surface and groundwater chemistry being an important factor in urban planning and infrastructure development, present paper tries to present the problems of corrosiveness due to groundwater chemistry in Mekelle city. Iron corrosion in distribution systems and engineering structures are common problems in many urban areas. Corrosiveness of groundwater at different localities in Mekelle and its environs has been evaluated on the basis of AAS-UV spectrophotometer-generated hydro-geochemical data. Corrosiveness of water was estimated by using corrosion indices like Larson Index, LI and Aggressive Index, AI and total dissolved solids, total carbonate hardness, chloride and sulphate data were evaluated to estimate aggressiveness of the water samples on iron pipes. Analyses of the results have shown that most of the samples from boreholes and hand dug wells compared to spring samples, are potentially aggressive. The result shows that 66.7% spring, 81.3% shallow hand dug wells and 81% borehole water samples have a Larson index (LI) above 0.5, a threshold of corrosiveness of water. This study highlights the basic characteristics of surface and groundwater chemistry and its potential hazard for corrosion of pipes, and provides a baseline information and awareness to the city planners for urban management.
Highlights
With over one billion people worldwide lacking access to clean water and over 2 million deaths annually attributable to water-borne diseases, there has been massive increased reliance upon groundwater resources in many rapidly developing countries, including those of east, south-east Asia and Africa
The hydrogeological conditions and chemical composition of groundwater are important constraints and limiting factors in the future developments, type of materials used in water distribution systems and quality of constructions in the City
The paper highlights the importance of adequate groundwater studies in terms of dynamics and composition, for integration into design and city planning
Summary
With over one billion people worldwide lacking access to clean water and over 2 million deaths annually attributable to water-borne diseases, there has been massive increased reliance upon groundwater resources in many rapidly developing countries, including those of east, south-east Asia and Africa. The urban subsurface includes a network of pipes, conduits, metallic rods, reinforced concrete footings and other structures that modify the natural hydraulic conductivity of the geological materials and result in interaction with subsurface water. Being the major structural material used in the construction industry, steel corrosion problem has been attracting much attention only in developed countries (Hong et al, 2012). Surface water and groundwater system is one of the most important influencing factors in foundation engineering and urban development and is required for design of structures.
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