Impact of Road Salt on Drinking Water Quality and Infrastructure Corrosion in Private Wells. 2018

Kelsey J Pieper, and Min Tang, and C Nathan Jones, and Stephanie Weiss, and Andrew Greene, and Hisyam Mohsin, and Jeffrey Parks, and Marc A Edwards
Civil and Environmental Engineering , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , 418 Durham Hall , Blacksburg , Virginia 24061 , United States.

Increased road salt use and resulting source water contamination has widespread implications for corrosion of drinking water infrastructure, including chloride acceleration of galvanic corrosion and other premature plumbing failures. In this study, we utilized citizen science sampling, bench-scale corrosion studies, and state-level spatial modeling to examine the potential extent of chloride concentrations in groundwater and the resulting impact on private wells in New York. Across the sampled community, chloride levels varied spatially, with the highest levels in private wells downgradient of a road salt storage facility followed by wells within 30 m of a major roadway. Most well users surveyed (70%) had stopped drinking their well water for aesthetic and safety reasons. In the bench-scale experiment, increasing chloride concentration in water increased galvanic corrosion and dezincification of plumbing materials, resulting in increased metal leaching and pipe wall thinning. Our simple spatial analysis suggests that 2% of private well users in New York could potentially be impacted by road salt storage facilities and 24% could potentially be impacted by road salt application. Our research underscores the need to include the damage to public and privately owned drinking water infrastructure in future discussion of road salt management.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009518 New York State bounded on the north by Lake Ontario and Canada, on the east by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and on the west by Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and Canada.
D003343 Corrosion The gradual destruction of a metal or alloy due to oxidation or action of a chemical agent. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed) Corrosions
D014874 Water Pollutants, Chemical Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water. Chemical Water Pollutants,Landfill Leachate,Leachate, Landfill,Pollutants, Chemical Water
D014881 Water Supply Means or process of supplying water (as for a community) usually including reservoirs, tunnels, and pipelines and often the watershed from which the water is ultimately drawn. (Webster, 3d ed) Supplies, Water,Supply, Water,Water Supplies
D060587 Groundwater Liquid water present beneath the surface of the earth. Aquifers,Ground Water,Ground-Water,Subterranean Lakes,Underground Lakes,Underground Streams,Underground Water,Water Table,Aquifer,Ground Waters,Ground-Waters,Groundwaters,Lake, Subterranean,Lake, Underground,Lakes, Subterranean,Lakes, Underground,Stream, Underground,Streams, Underground,Subterranean Lake,Table, Water,Tables, Water,Underground Lake,Underground Stream,Underground Waters,Water Tables,Water, Underground,Waters, Underground
D060753 Water Quality A rating of a body of water based on measurable physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Quality, Water
D060766 Drinking Water Water that is intended to be ingested. Bottled Water,Potable Water,Water, Bottled,Water, Drinking,Water, Potable
D060986 Water Wells Constructions built to access underground water. Artesian Wells,Artesian Well,Water Well,Well, Artesian,Well, Water,Wells, Artesian,Wells, Water

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