This report deals primarily with the problems associated with handpump corrosion: the effects of handpump corrosion on handpump performance and mechanical reliability, on water quality, and on user acceptance.
| Title | Groundwater quality and handpump corrosion in [West] Africa |
| Publication Type | Miscellaneous |
| Year of Publication | 1994 |
| Authors | Langenegger, O |
| Secondary Title | Water and sanitation report |
| Volume | no. 8 |
| Pagination | xx, 143 p.: 85 fig., 23 tab. |
| Date Published | 1994-01-01 |
| Publisher | UNDP-World Bank Water and Sanitation Program |
| Place Published | Washington, DC, USA |
| Keywords | acceptance, arsenic, bacteriological quality, burkina faso, cab95/2, chemical quality, construction materials, corrosion, equipment failure, field studies, fluorides, ghana, groundwater pollution, hand pumps, iron, ivory coast, mali, niger, research, salinity |
| Abstract | This report deals primarily with the problems associated with handpump corrosion: the effects of handpump corrosion on handpump performance and mechanical reliability, on water quality, and on user acceptance. It is based on field experience and research work carried out during the World Bank executed UNDP-INT/81/026 Handpumps Project in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Niger). A number of corrosion tests have been applied in the field and tested for their usefulness in predicting handpump corrosion. The results of these tests are presented along with a simple corrosion index based on pH, which was recommended for use with galvanized rising mains and pump rods for handpumps. The first part of the report provides a general overview of groundwater quality in the project region. Bacteriological quality of 70 per cent of the wells equipped with handpumps was considered to be good to acceptable. In only a few cases there were problems related to high levels of arsenic (Burkina Faso), high levels of fluoride (Cote d'Ivoire), and salinity (Niger). Seventy (70) per cent of the project area, however, had aggressive groundwater resulting in handpump corrosion. This has lead to widespread handpump failure. The high iron content also affected the acceptability of the water for users (unpleasant taste, turbidity, discolouring of food and staining of laundry). Field observations showed that galvanization of mild steel rising mains and pump rods did not protect them from corrosion in moderately to highly aggressive groundwater (pH |
| Notes | 29 ref. |
| Custom 1 | 232.2, 824 |
