Water, corrosion economic impacts

Internal corrosion can have significant adverse economic impacts on the water transmission and distribution systems and consumer plumbing. Typically, consumer plumbing is most seriously affected by internal corrosion because piping is normally unlined and its diameter is small. Such piping will have a tendency to leak or develop tubercles that may reduce both flow and pressure (Fig. 8.1). 

The enormous economic impact of corrosion of metallic stractures in aggressive environments is a very important issue worldwide. The most typical corrosive environments are the natural waters atmospheric moisture containing man-generated pollutants and man-made solutions. Therefore, metallic stractures operated in such environments suffer from continual and strong corrosion attack. This is especially important for transport systems, often used in a wide variety of environments that can combine different corrosive impact factors. 

In open cooling water environments, oxygen cannot be economically removed as an antagonistic species. Appropriate cathodic inhibitors control its impact on corrosion. 

---