Characterization of Scale Deposits in a Drinking Water Network in a Semi-Arid Region

Abstract

The quantity and quality of the supply of fresh water to households, commercial areas, small industries, green spaces irrigation and public and private institutions in large cities face challenges from the supply sources availability and suitable distribution network performance to the full satisfaction of the established drinking water guidelines. In Mexico, the main source of water comes from groundwater. Most of the Mexican aquifers are located in arid and semi-arid weather conditions. The groundwater’s physical–chemical properties are closely related to geology. This study was carried out at the north-central part of the country in which igneous and sedimentary rocks predominate, with high calcium carbonate (CaCO3) concentrations. The accumulation of CaCO3 in the pipelines is also known as scale deposit that decreases the fluid flow, causing a deficiency in the water supply. The main objectives of this study were determining the physical–chemical groundwater parameters and saturation indexes injected into the drinking water networks and characterizing the scale deposits by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that the scale deposits are mainly calcium carbonate and silica oxide crystals, caused by the water aggressiveness according to the saturation indexes and the lack of control over the saturation pH.