Add a Water Treatment Plant to Fully Exploit Your Borehole
Although we now have more efficient tools to perform the task, humans have been digging holes in the ground to access subterranean water sources for millennia. In settlements far from a river or lake, the village well has long been both a lifeline and a meeting point for the local population. In those days, borehole water would have needed little treatment beyond boiling to kill any microorganisms present. However, since then, expanding industrialisation and rampant consumerism have led to widespread pollution of both surface and groundwater sources. Consequently, additional actions are now frequently essential to ensure potability.
Geographically, much of South Africa is officially designated as semi-arid, while droughts are a nationwide feature to varying degrees. Drought periods are typically accompanied by conservation methods such as hose bans and interruptions to domestic supplies. To compensate, many South Africans have chosen to have a borehole installed to supply their water when municipal treatment plants are unable to, or there are restrictions in place.
Untreated, the product of underground aquifers is generally not safe for human consumption, but it has many other useful applications that justify the cost of installation. For example, it could be ideal for irrigating lawns and flower beds when there is a hose ban in place or, for that matter, as a permanent replacement for the garden hose. For a commercial venture such as a garden centre, the savings could be considerable.
However, to enjoy the full potential of borehole water will require treatment to ensure that it tastes good and is safe to drink. Once the correct processes are applied, the underground source can be safely integrated into the domestic supply if required. Alternatively, owners can choose to access it separately.
If you are planning to augment your potable supply from an underground source, it will first be necessary to run some tests to determine the composition of the supplementary source. With the data obtained from the testing, an engineer can evaluate the various types of water treatment that your borehole will require. As well as killing any harmful microorganisms present, the goals of pre-treating the supply are to remove suspended solids or colloids and any dissolved chemicals that might spoil its taste such as manganese and iron. In some areas, other harmful substances might be present and could require special measures to remove them.
The methods used for borehole water treatment closely parallel those employed in municipal plants, albeit on a much smaller scale. These could include aeration, filtration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and chlorination. To discover how you could benefit from these effective water purification technologies chat with the specialists at WaterIcon.
