Water is essential to life and therefore good quality water will always be sought after. With the never ending demand for diverse water sources, there is continuously the need to explore various methods of attaining quality water without jeopardizing health and future supply. Artesian aquifers have been and continue to be a remarkable source of underground water although there are concerns about their sustainability as well as infringing threats to the quality of the water they hold.
What are artesian aquifers?
In simple terms, aquifers are reservoirs that store underground water under pressure. For an aquifer to be referred to as an artesian aquifer, it must be confined within impermeable rocks or clay and with present positive pressure, which is a key factor that determines the possible water level should the aquifer be considered for water supply exploration.
Do artesian aquifers offer better water quality and are they sustainable?
Understanding the prime characteristics of artesian aquifers is important in the effort of conserving the water quality and ensuring reasonable sustainability.
- An aquifer's proximity to the surface is a factor that can influence not only its accessibility but also makes its water very vulnerable to contamination from dissolved solids among other waste sources. This can largely affect the quality of the water obtained from such an aquifer. Research shows that the further away from the surface the aquifer is the more likely the amount of total dissolved solids (TDS)in its water. Alkalinity increases with depth and therefore shallow aquifers are deemed to have better quality water as compared to deeply occurring aquifers which have larger amounts of sodium and fluoride.
- Aquifers with extreme pressure will consequently force the water to flow to the ground surface even without the aid of a pumping system. These forms of aquifers release water in its natural form without the contaminants that are maybe associated with pumping and piping efforts. However not all aquifers result in flowing wells, therefore there is a need for reliable well drilling supplies that will maximize safe exploration while minimizing contamination to ensure retention of water quality. PVC Plus Drilling Products Inc. offers stainless steel and chemical resistant well screen sand much much more!
- Although underground water is largely safe and renewable, it's quality can diminish where there is rigorous exploration through drilling and pumping. This is a much bigger problem in semi-arid areas where demand exceeds supply leading to inadequate time for replenishment allowance. Such aquifers are prone to contamination from water soluble wastes and other pollutants, therefore jeopardizing their water quality.
In conclusion, proper management and responsible exploration is needed in order to preserve the quality of water whether it's from an artesian aquifer or any other source for that matter.
