ABSTRACT
Water wells are long-term slow-reaction systems that, if not carefully monitored,
can suddenly fail catastrophically. In today’s world, it is common practice to
believe that there is some “magic” chemical out there to “fix” any problem
forever with the least amount of effort. We would all like to be able to drop a
smidgeon of the magic elixir down a well and watch the water return in clarity
with the flows coming back and no biomass activity down the hole. To do that,
it would not be a drop that would be required but perhaps several drums of not
just a single chemical but a combination of chemicals tailored to attack the
“enemy” effectively. The enemy in this case is the bloated biomass that is now
degrading the quality of the water and the production potential causing that well
to decline. Which comes first, the loss in quality or the loss in flow? That is one
of those “chicken and egg” questions. Sometimes it is the flow that slows down
first and on other occasions it is the quality of the water being pumped from the
well that deteriorates first. If the well begins to lose production first then that
means that biomass associated with the plugging is deeply entrenched and is,
perhaps, some distance from the well itself. If the quality of the water begins to
decline, particularly with increases in iron content, then that means the biomass
is closer to the borehole and unstable. In deciding on a treatment strategy, the
position of the biomass around the well can be a critical factor in determining
the approach to treating the well. There is however, two major challenges that
should be addressed before the water wells are even fully developed:
1. When and how often should preventative maintenance (PM) servicing
be applied to the well.
