Spatial Modeling and Economical Evaluation of Water Corrosion and Scaling in Water Distribution Network

The purpose of this research is to assess the corrosion and scaling the potential of a water distribution network (WDN) using Geostatistics (GS⁺) software, and to estimate the operation and maintenance costs of some home appliances (heating and cooling units). The inquiry scheme was to monitor the water quality of WDN of Saveh City (Iran), and 40 points from four districts on the WDN were sampled. The pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total alkalinity (TA), total hardness (TH), and calcium hardness (CH) were all measured and used to calculate various corrosion and scaling indices such as the Langlier saturation index (LSI), Ryznar stability index (RSI), Puckorius scaling index (PSI), and aggressive index (AI). The pH value for all districts follows EPA standards and WHO guidelines, with an average value of 7.92 ± 0.34. Overall, values of TDS (1728.83 ± 167.83 mg/L) and EC (3.53 ± 0.31 mS/cm) are relatively high, indicating brackish water quality. Furthermore, the TH and CH values are 519.55 ± 65.33 and 297.70 ± 69.44 mg/L, respectively, indicating a tendency to precipitate calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) and scale formation. According to spatial modeling, the highest R² = 0.640 achieved was related to the exponential model for the RIS index and showed a high confidence level for RIS data set and forecasted trends. The results of the spatial analysis demonstrated that the variation of the scaling tendency of water in the four districts of Saveh WDN followed the different sources of water supply. According to the cost estimates, people in the study area spend about 212,652 USD per year on the maintenance of household appliances. To provide better customer service, the water company needs to chemically improve water quality by modifying CH and TA concentrations for stable water and rethink network management strategies.