Groundwater Becomes Polluted
Just like any body of water, groundwater can become polluted. Water pollution is a problem in many areas of the world.
So, how does groundwater become polluted? Groundwater becomes polluted when contaminants are discharged into the ground and travel directly down to the groundwater level.
Although this is the most popular form of groundwater pollution, it is not the only form. Groundwater pollution can also occur naturally. When it occurs naturally, it is often considered a contamination instead of a pollution. This happens when a large amount of substance should not be in the water.
In this case, the pollutant will travel and cause the entire body of water to become contaminated. The reason the entire body of water is considered contaminated after it has been discovered that contamination has occurred is that the polluting factor will create a plume in the aquifer.
A plume occurs when the movement of the groundwater pushes the polluting factors down into the entire body of water. In an advanced form, the contaminants can intersect with groundwater wells or even surface into streams, seeps, rivers, and lakes. If such a thing does happen, these bodies of water are considered undrinkable for humans and all wildlife.
Some sources of groundwater pollution include sanitation systems, landfills, water waste, plants, leaking sewers, fertilizers, and more. If groundwater becomes naturally contaminated, it is likely contaminated by arsenic or a fluid that seeped into the ground.
Groundwater Remediation
When contamination occurs, groundwater remediation—the process of cleaning out the water—must be begun. However, the main problem with groundwater contamination is how difficult it is to treat. It is much more difficult to treat groundwater than surface water. This is because groundwater can move quicker through unseen aquifers and reach greater lengths without being detected.
However, nonporous aquifers such as clay can partially clean the contamination through natural filtration. Even though it is possible to clean the contamination through this process partially, most of it transforms into soil contaminants.
Various techniques must be used to clean contaminated groundwater and make it safe to use again. Groundwater biological treatment techniques include bioaugmentation, bio venting, bio sparging, bio slurping, and phytoremediation. Depending on the amount of pollution, these can be done separately or combined.
Once these techniques have been used, the water must be tested multiple times to ensure it is consumable by humans and wildlife. If the water is not thoroughly cleaned, another groundwater treatment must be performed to clean it further. The idea is to repeat the process until the contaminant is entirely removed and the water can be consumed again.
Usually, this process does not need to be repeated more than once. However, there have been instances where the water needed to be cleaned several times.
Make Your Ground Water Safe
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