Effects of aquifer thermal energy storage on groundwater quality and the consequences for drinking water production: a case study from the Netherlands

Abstract

We used data from an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system located 570 m from a public water supply well field in the south of The Netherlands to investigate the relation between production of renewable energy with an ATES system and the production of drinking water. The data show that the groundwater circulation by the ATES system can impact chemical groundwater quality by introducing shallow groundwater with a different chemical composition at greater depth. However, the observed concentration changes are sufficiently small to keep groundwater suitable for drinking water production. Microbiological results showed that the ATES system introduced faecal bacteria in the groundwater and stimulated the growth of heterotrophic micro-organisms. At the studied site this forms no hygienic risk because of the long distance between the ATES wells and the public supply well field A further degradation of either chemical or microbiological groundwater quality however may necessitate additional water treatment which raises the energy requirements. The additional energy requirements for drinking water treatment may be up the same order of magnitude as the harvested energy by the ATES system.

Influence of Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage on groundwater quality: A review illustrated by seven case studies from Belgium

“…This is in accordance with the results from other studies and could be expected as these ATES systems operate with small temperature differences ( T ≤ 10) and within a narrow temperature range (about 6-16 • C). As was already stated in the research of Bonte et al (2013cBonte et al ( , 2011b groundwater vulnerability in the deeper part of the aquifer is increased by injecting shallow groundwater, which is more influenced by human activity, over the whole length of the well screen. The largest risk hereby exists for phreatic aquifers, which are less protected against contamination.…”

“…In the Netherlands, the number of ATES systems has grown from around 29 installations in 1995 to around 1800 in 2012 (Bonte, 2013). Similar growth rates are reported in other European countries like Switzerland, Sweden and Germany (Sanner et al, 2003), in China (Gao et al, 2009) and in the US (Lund and Bertani, 2010), both for ATES and associated thermal energy storage systems such as Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) (Bayer et al, 2012;Bonte et al, 2011b;Hähnlein et al, 2013;Lund et al, 2004Lund et al, , 2011Rybach, 2010). In Belgium there are much less ATES systems operational, about 20 large systems (>250 kW) in 2011, but there is also a rapidly growing demand.…”

“…return dewatering), it may be an important factor for changes in groundwater chemistry (van Oostrom et al, 2010). Groundwater often presents concentration gradients with depth, even within the same aquifer (Bonte et al, 2011b). The more heterogeneous the aquifer and the more reactive the sediment, the more pronounced the stratification of groundwater (Hartog et al, 2002).…”

Impacts of Shallow Geothermal Energy on Groundwater Quality

“…Published research showed ATES can influence groundwater quality by mixing of different water quality types, (Bonte et al 2011b, Chapter 3) temperature changes, (Perlinger et al 1987;Holm et al 1987) or intrusion of oxygen or degassing (Palmer & Cherry, 1984;Jenne et al 1992). Most of these studies focused on operational aspects, such as scaling in relation to mineral precipitation (Perlinger et al 1987;Holm et al 1987;Palmer & Cherry, 1984;Griffioen & Appelo, 1993).…”

Consequences and mitigation of saltwater intrusion induced by short-circuiting during aquifer storage and recovery in a coastal subsurface

“…Additionally, they are perforated for exploitation of deep fossil and geothermal energy and traditionally used for abstraction of drinking and irrigation water. The increased use of the subsurface can lead to interference among aquifer storage systems (e.g., Bakr et al, 2013) or affect the groundwater quality (Bonte et al, 2011b(Bonte et al, , 2013Zuurbier et al, 2013b). These consequences form relevant fields of current and future research.…”