Assessment of Managed Aquifer Recharge through Modeling—A Review

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is a promising method of increasing water availability in water stressed areas by subsurface infiltration and storage, to overcome periods of drought, and to stabilize or even reverse salinization of coastal aquifers. Moreover, MAR could be a key technique in making alternative water resources available, such as reuse of communal effluents for agriculture, industry and even indirect potable reuse. As exemplified by the papers in this Special Issue, consideration of water quality plays a major role in developing the full potential for MAR application, ranging from the improvement of water quality to operational issues (e.g., well clogging) or sustainability concerns (e.g., infiltration of treated waste water). With the application of MAR expanding into a wider range of conditions, from deserts to urban and coastal areas, and purposes, from large scale strategic storage of desalinated water and the reuse of waste water, the importance of these considerations are on the rise. Addressing these appropriately will contribute to a greater understanding, operational reliability and acceptance of MAR applications, and lead to a range of engineered MAR systems that help increase their effectiveness to help secure the availability of water at the desired quality for the future.

Section: Effective and Reliable Mar Operationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Quality Considerations on the Rise as the Use of Managed Aquifer Recharge Systems Widens

Hartog

Stuyfzand

2017

“…The second section is located between AS and OB, with a length of 3.2 km, and its bedrock consists of alluvium and colluvium. The watershed area up to PB is 77 km 2 , up to AS 98 km 2 , and up to OB 105 km 2 . The study transect can be divided into two zones (Figure 1): the transient zone and the check dam zone.…”

Section: Transient Zonementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sustainability of groundwater bodies is therefore very important, and induced groundwater recharge is one of the main methods for increasing the sustainable yield of a groundwater body [1][2][3]. Especially under climate change conditions, managed aquifer recharge systems could be more effective than increasing surface reservoir capacities [4] and could also be the most economically and socially feasible solution for the integrated management of water resources [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of a Check Dam on Groundwater Recharge and Sedimentation in an Ephemeral Stream

Djuma

Bruggeman

Camera

et al. 2017

Abstract:Despite the widespread presence of groundwater recharge check dams, there are few studies that quantify their functionality. The objectives of this study are (i) to assess groundwater recharge in an ephemeral river with and without a check dam and (ii) to assess sediment build-up in the check-dam reservoir. Field campaigns were carried out to measure water flow, water depth, and check-dam topography to establish water volume, evaporation, outflow, and recharge relations, as well as sediment build-up. To quantify the groundwater recharge, a water-balance approach was applied at two locations: at the check dam reservoir area and at an 11 km long natural stretch of the river upstream. Prediction intervals were computed to assess the uncertainties of the results. During the four years of operation, the check dam (storage capacity of 25,000 m 3 ) recharged the aquifer with an average of 3.1 million m 3 of the 10.4 million m 3 year −1 of streamflow (30%). The lower and upper uncertainty limits of the check dam recharge were 0.1 and 9.6 million m 3 year −1 , respectively. Recharge from the upstream stretch was 1.5 million m 3 year −1 . These results indicate that check dams are valuable structures for increasing groundwater resources in semi-arid regions.

“…Common MAR methods include the direct injection of groundwater into an aquifer with well, shaft, or borehole recharge, water spreading methods such as flooding, induced infiltration of water into a streambank, storm or rainwater harvesting, and in-channel modifications that direct water to unsaturated aquifer infiltration zones or river sediments. An assessment of 226 case studies which apply water flow and transport models to evaluate different MAR methods found that spreading methods are the most commonly used MAR techniques worldwide [37]. According to the same assessment, modeling is typically performed during the planning phase of MAR execution to evaluate the feasibility of MAR at a suggested site.…”

Section: Natural Infrastructure and The Quantification Of Natural Watmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Geospatial Approach for Identifying and Exploring Potential Natural Water Storage Sites

Holmes

McEvoy

Dixon

et al. 2017

Across the globe, climate change is projected to affect the quantity, quality, and timing of freshwater availability. In western North America, there has been a shift toward earlier spring runoff and more winter precipitation as rain. This raises questions about the need for increased water storage to mitigate both floods and droughts. Some water managers have identified natural storage structures as valuable tools for increasing resiliency to these climate change impacts. However, identifying adequate sites and quantifying the storage potential of natural structures is a key challenge. This study addresses the need for a method for identifying and estimating floodplain water storage capacity in a manner that can be used by water planners through the development of a model that uses open-source geospatial data. This model was used to identify and estimate the storage capacity of a 0.33 km 2 floodplain segment in eastern Montana, USA. The result is a range of storage capacities under eight natural water storage conditions, ranging from 900 m 3 for small floods to 321,300 m 3 for large floods. Incorporating additional hydraulic inputs, stakeholder needs, and stakeholder perceptions of natural storage into this process can help address more complex questions about using natural storage structures as ecosystem-based climate change adaptation strategies.