Corrosion and Scaling Assessment in Groundwater Quality

Corrosion and scaling in groundwater systems arise from the interaction of dissolved ions, pH, temperature and flow conditions, leading to material degradation or mineral deposition in wells, pumps and distribution infrastructure. Such processes compromise water conveyance efficiency, increase maintenance costs and pose potential health risks through metal leaching. Assessment typically employs a suite of stability and scaling indices to evaluate water aggressiveness or scale‐forming tendency, alongside hydrochemical characterisation to identify controlling processes, such as water–rock interaction, anthropogenic contamination and seasonal variation. Advances in multivariate statistics, geospatial mapping and mechanistic modelling have enhanced the precision of risk prediction, enabling targeted mitigation—from chemical dosing to materials selection. These methods are applied globally, from shallow aquifers in semi‐arid regions to unconfined hand-pump sources, informing sustainable management of groundwater supplies for domestic, agricultural and industrial use.

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Corrosion and Scaling Assessment in Groundwater Quality publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in corrosion and scaling assessment in groundwater quality across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Langelier saturation index (LSI): A numerical indicator of calcium carbonate saturation; negative values denote corrosive water, positive values indicate scaling potential.

Ryznar stability index (RSI): An index comparing actual pH to saturation pH, with higher values signalling corrosivity and lower values indicating scale formation.

Puckorius scaling index (PSI): An assessment of scale risk that accounts for buffering capacity and calcium hardness, reflecting long-term scaling tendency.

Larson–Skold index (LS): A measure of corrosive risk from chloride and sulphate ions relative to alkalinity, pertinent to the corrosion of iron and steel.

Potential to Promote Galvanic Corrosion (PPGC): An index predicting galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals based on water chemistry parameters.

References

1. Comparison of indices for scaling and corrosion tendency of groundwater: Case study of unconfined aquifer from Mahoba District, U.P. State. Applied Water Science (2021).
2. Assessment of scaling and corrosion potential of drinking water resources of Iranshahr. MethodsX (2019).
3. Integrated approaches to groundwater quality assessment and hydrochemical processes in Lagos, Nigeria. Applied Water Science (2018).