Measuring Water Flow Reduces Costs And Helps Prevent Contamination.

Measuring Water Flow Reduces Costs And Helps Prevent Contamination.
Groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality: It is more widespread than realised and is cheaper to monitor than ever before.
– by Isaac Rudik

Unplug the cable or satellite cord from a television for a moment and then switch it on. A tiny fraction of the static on the screen is the remains of a radio signal that dates back to the Big Bang. Now turn on the faucet at the kitchen sink. Most of what is flowing out the tap is ground water and a tiny fraction it is nearly as old as the earth itself.

Until sometime during the 1970s, the purity and availability of ground water was taken for granted. After all, H20 has been around forever and what could possibly harm it? Much of ground water is held in aquifers buried deep beneath the surface; the rest saturates the tiny spaces between sand, gravel, silt and clay or the crevices and fractures in rocks.

But some 30 years ago, scientists were beginning to discover that man-made pollutants were seeping into ground water and, within the past five-to-10 years, academics realised to their horror that water was actually disappearing.

Clearly, groundwater is a hidden and declining resource. Government, business and citizens are waking up to a jarring reality:

• Approximately one-third of industrial water needs are fulfilled by using groundwater.
• Scientists estimate that groundwater accounts for more than 95% of all available fresh water.
• Nearly 95% of rural residents rely on groundwater for their drinking supply.
• About half of all irrigated cropland uses groundwater.
• On average, about 40% of the flow of the nation’s rivers depends on groundwater.

Countless Threats

There are countless, serious threats to the purity of groundwater and scientists are discovering new ones on what seems like a weekly basis. They fall into one of several broad categories:

• Inorganic Compounds include all compounds that do not contain carbon. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals are two examples.
• Pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, have been credited with causing more than 50% of the waterborne disease outbreaks in the US.
• Organic Compounds include benzene, toluene, xylene, napthaline, phenol PCBs and pesticides.

They seep into ground water in numerous ways: Discharge from a pipe such as at a sewage treatment plant, factories, livestock farms and stockyards, and landfill. Point sources are easily identified because they usually come out of a "pipe." Examples include sewage treatment plants, large injection wells, industrial plants, livestock facilities, landfills, and others. At the same time, non-point sources like septic systems, cattle grazing, and everyday urban runoff spread seemingly insignificant amounts of pollutants which, cumulatively, threaten water quality and natural systems.

Other sources include underground petroleum storage systems, dry cleaners, restaurants, and auto repair shops. Although a large number of underground storage tanks have been removed or upgraded, a significant number remain. Businesses can threaten groundwater with a wide variety of potentially contaminating substances.

Easy Monitoring

It’s become relatively easy to monitor potential runoff problems, thanks to technology.

Indeed, water flow meters can measure open channels, tubes, partially filled pipes, streams, rivers, wastewater and industrial process waters among other places. Many water flow meters are designed for metering pump pacing or water treatment control, but they can aid in rain water runoff studies and sewer flow measurements, and measuring flows in bodies of water. In plumbing, water flow meters are used to measure the amount of fluid running through a tube for efficiency purposes. Industrial water flow meters are also available for larger-scale applications.

The best thing about the meters is they also provide quick information for simple flow monitoring. They are as convenient as they are lightweight, waterproof, and reliable.

Today’s new technology makes it easier to manage potential contamination and save water at affordable costs.





Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s leading provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, agricultural, institutional and government facilities.

E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354