Failure of Tube Well || Reasons – Corrosion & Incrustation

Failure of Tube Well

A tube well may fail for the following reasons:

  • Corrosion
  • Incrustation
Failure of Tube Well || Reasons - Corrosion & Incrustation
Failure of Tube Well

Corrosion of the Well Pipes

The Corrosion of the well pipes is caused by the presence of acid, chloride and sulphate in the groundwater. The following measures can be taken to reduce the corrosion of the well pipes.

  1.  Always thick pipes should be used.
  2.  Always galvanized or other anti-corrosion coated pipes should be used. 
  3.  Periodic cleaning of the well pipe should be performed with sulphuric acid.

Incrustation

The groundwater also holds calcium bicarbonate, magnesium, sulphate, etc. For a long duration, these components are deposited inside the tube wells pipes, this reduces the diameters of the pipe. This is known as incrustation. 
The incrustation can be detained as follows:

1. In order to determine the presence of alkali salts, the water of the tube well is tested in the laboratory. Salts responsible for incrustation may be removed by titration. 

Titration is performed by forcing sufficient doses of acid into the well. The water in the tube well is then washed by pumping.

2. The tube well should not be left unused for a long period.

Read Also:

 Methods of River Bank Protection