Artificial Recharge — State of the Art^a

Abstract

The largest potential reservoir for the storage of potable water is in the unsaturated zone. Use of this space for the storage and retrieval of potable water is a multifaceted problem which requires application of the best talent from the scientific community. Artificial recharge has many similarities to liquidwaste disposal through deep wells. In both, the problem is to place liquid in a permeable lithologic unit at an economic rate, to predict movement and the chemical reactions and physical changes that take place while the liquid is in the reservoir. Differences between the two operations are principally in the type of fluid injected and the ultimate objective. In artificial recharge the objective is to store and retrieve water of good quality; in waste disposal the objective is to store permanently water of objectionable quality. In both artificial recharge and liquid‐waste storage, the nature of the storage must be known, particularly that of the unsaturated zone. The techniques of investigation for recharge and waste disposal are generally the same. Water commonly is recharged by surface spreading through basins or by induced recharge from adjacent streams and lakes or through injection wells. Research in recharge through basins has been dominated by mathematical models based on idealized conditions and empirical relations, derived by experimental sequencing of recharge operations, and operational controls in the pretreatment of recharge water. Recharge by injection wells has been undertaken in a variety of hydrologic environments. In Israel efforts have been directed toward the analyses of diffusion and dispersion of the injected water. Much research in the United States has been directed toward the movement of bacteria and organic matter through an aquifer and toward the chemical modeling of changes in recharged water as it moves. Much more research is needed on the basic properties of aquifers, particularly in the unsaturated zone, and on all aspects of recharge‐water quality. Research and the use of data produced are increasingly the responsibility of interdisciplinary teams which consider the geologic, hydraulic, and economic aspects of the system.

Human interactions with ground-water

“…Some of the advantages of underground reservoir storage are quite obvious: evaporation losses' are minimized, and sedimentation -an everlasting disadvantage of surface reservoirs -is eliminated. But this use is still a multi-faceted problem and the available techniques are still inadequate to allow efficient transfer of large volumes of surface water into an aquifer (Brown and Signor 1974).…”

Cal Agresearch helps improve water quality

“…With the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014, landowners are now required to implement groundwater sustainability plans by 2040 (SWRCB 2014). One increasingly considered approach to achieve groundwater sustainability is managed aquifer recharge, which places more water in groundwater aquifers than would otherwise naturally occur (Bouwer 2002;Brown and Signor 1974;Dillon 2005; Kocis and Dahlke 2017;Scanlon et al 2016). Managed aquifer recharge uses a variety of water Online: https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2018a0032…”

Streamflow availability ratings identify surface water sources for groundwater recharge in the Central Valley

“…With the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014, landowners are now required to implement groundwater sustainability plans by 2040 (SWRCB 2014). One increasingly considered approach to achieve groundwater sustainability is managed aquifer recharge, which places more water in groundwater aquifers than would otherwise naturally occur (Bouwer 2002;Brown and Signor 1974;Dillon 2005;Kocis and Dahlke 2017;Scanlon et al 2016). Managed aquifer recharge uses a variety of water sources (e.g., river water, treated wastewater, desalinated water) and recharge methods (e.g., infiltration basins, injection wells, farmland) to replenish underlying aquifers (Dahlke et al 2018;Dillon 2005;Russo et al 2015).…”