Potential Benefits of Managed Aquifer Recharge MAR on the Island of Gotland, Sweden

Abstract

The Island of Gotland (3000 km 2 ), east of mainland Sweden, suffers from insufficient water availability each summer. Thin soils and lack of coherent reservoirs in the sedimentary bedrock lead to limited reservoir capacity. The feasibility of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is explored by identifying suitable areas and estimating their possible contribution to an increased water availability. MAR is compared to alternative water management measures, e.g., increased groundwater abstraction, in terms of costs and water availability potential. Results from GIS analyses of infiltration areas and groundwater storage, respectively proximity to surface water sources and surface water storage were classified into three categories of MAR suitability. An area of ca 7700 ha (2.5% of Gotland) was found to have good local conditions for MAR and an area of ca 22,700 ha (7.5% of Gotland) was found to have moderate local conditions for MAR. These results reveal the MAR potential on Gotland. The water supply potential of MAR in existing well fields was estimated to be about 35% of the forecasted drinking water supply and 7% of the total water demand gap in year 2045. It is similar in costs and water supply potential to increased surface water extraction.

Managed Aquifer Recharge for Water Resilience

“…MAR site suitability mapping is a foundational layer in assessing MAR opportunity, where the proximity of such aquifers to sources of water such as streams, dams and water recycling plants is also considered. One example is the Island of Gottland, Sweden, where Dahlqvist et al [10] determined the role for MAR to contribute to future water supplies. They found that 7.5% of the area of Gotland was suitable for MAR compared with 3.3% suitable for surface water supplies through new dams.…”

Water Supply Delivery Failures—A Scenario-Based Approach to Assess Economic Losses and Risk Reduction Options

“…Gotland suffers from low water availability and difficulties in providing enough water to the society. The island's thin soil layers, lack of coherent reservoirs in the limestone bedrock and extensive drainage of arable land, result in an overall low storage capacity of water and a high precipitation run-off [37]. Climate change is expected to further limit the water availability on the island.…”

“…Based on previous estimates of where, and with how much, the municipality can increase groundwater and surface water abstractions as well as supplement groundwater catchments by managed aquifer recharge (MAR) [37,41], four alternative risk reduction measures were analyzed in this paper, see Table 2. Focus in this paper is hence on improvements in the raw water system.…”

Methodology for Identification of Potential Sites for Artificial Groundwater Recharge in Punjab Province of Pakistan

“…Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has become a widely being used tool for augmentation of depleting aquifer across the globe and it has many benefits as well [18,19]. MAR models have worked successfully in many places in South Asia as well [20].…”