4.1 - Managed Aquifer Recharge

Managed aquifer recharge: A viable option to tackle the water crisis
in the coming days

Dr. M. H. Ali1 and Dr. N.N. Karim2
1
Principal Scientific Officer and Head, Agricultural Engineering Division, Bangladesh Institute
of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh-2202. Email: [email protected]
2
Dr. Nazmun Nahar Karim, PSO & CSO (Additional Charge), Agricultural Engineering Unit, Natural
Resources Management Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Dhaka-121. Email:
[email protected]
Perspectives
Groundwater depletion is a worldwide problem now. To sustain the growth rate in agricultural
and other sectors, withdrawal of groundwater is the main option (and in many cases, the only
available option). To tackle the situation we must consider both demand- and supply-side
management. Demand-side management may be limited to some extent due to increasing
demand of ecosystem services by the human being. In supply-side management, managed
groundwater recharge (or artificial recharge) may be a viable option, as the increase in surface
water supply is practically limited in most regions of the world (by both quality and quantity).
Features and dimensions of managed groundwater recharge
Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is defined as “intentional banking and treatment of waters in
aquifers” (Dillon, 2005). The term MAR was introduced as an alternative to “artificial recharge”,
which has the connotation that the use of the water was in some way unnatural (Dillon, 2005).
MAR includes a great diversity of technologies to store and treat water including aquifer storage
and recovery (ASR), infiltration basins, salinity barriers, soil-aquifer treatment, and riverbank
filtration. The water resources management benefits of MAR are compelling. However, the
question arises as to why MAR has not yet been implemented to an even greater degree. The
answer often lies in that decision makers, such as water utility managers, water management
agency officials, and political leaders, have not been provided an equally compelling, sound
economic case for investment in the technologies.
Water storage is only possible in “closed” or “semi-closed” aquifers, in which the water does not
flow from the injection site into deeper, inaccessible aquifers ( NNC, 2002). Aquifers can also be
“confined” (underneath an impervious layer that does not allow water to seep in from the
surface) or “unconfined”. Deep injection methods are necessary for confined aquifers and in
locations where there is little suitable land available for surface recharge, whereas surface
recharge methods are especially suitable for “water table” aquifers just below the earth’s surface.
Methods of managed groundwater recharge

MAR includes a wide variety of processes by which water is intentionally added into an aquifer
or induced to flow into and through an aquifer for treatment purposes. MAR, as defined by
Dillon (2005), includes two main end-member types of technologies: (1) methods that are used
primarily to increase the volume of water stored in aquifers; and (2) methods that are used
primarily for water or wastewater treatment. MAR systems with a water storage goal include
ASR, aquifer recharge using wells and infiltration basins, and river channel modifications to
enhanced aquifer recharge (e.g., check dams). The benefit of storage-type systems is the net
increase in the volume of water stored in the aquifer. The increased storage results in an increase
in the volume of water available for later beneficial use (abstraction benefits). Additional
potential benefits result from the water being in place in the aquifer (in-situ benefits). In-situ
benefits include reduced groundwater pumping costs, and avoidance of the need to replace or
deepen production wells, restoration or maintenance of environmental (e.g., spring) flows,
avoidance of land subsidence, and prevention of saline-water intrusion (NRC, 1997).
MAR systems with a storage goal are primarily constructed in hydrological and engineering
settings where there are at least periodic shortages of water and times when excess water is
available that could be used to recharge aquifers. MAR is used in arid and semiarid lands, for
example, to capture surface water that is episodically available during uncommon rainfall events.
MAR can also be employed in areas with humid climates (such as South Florida and parts of
India, Bangladesh) where there is a pronounced seasonality in rainfall. The systems are usually
installed either where excess water is available (e.g., in-channel and off-channel infiltration
systems in ephemeral streams and ASR systems at water treatment facilities) or where the water
is used.
Economic and environmental issues
MAR may not be economical in many cases (Maliva, 2014), specially when considered
alternative use of the land used for MAR (i.e. opportunity cost of the land), and the long-term
benefits from ecosystem services and degradation values are avoided.
The costs of MAR projects include both capital, operations and maintenance costs, and finance
costs (Maliva, 2014). Capital costs are fixed, one-time expenses incurred during the design and
construction of the MAR system. Capital costs include, but are not limited to:
 Land;
 Testing costs, feasibility analyses;
 Consulting services for the design, permitting, and supervision of the construction;
 Construction costs (e.g., roads, piping, instrumentation, controls, and pretreatment
systems); and
 Regulatory testing requirements during construction and operational testing.
Operation and maintenance costs include the following:

 Labor (system operation, regulatory requirements, administration);
 Electricity;
 Consulting services;
 Regulatory testing requirements (e.g., water quality testing);
 Maintenance costs (e.g., parts replacement, well and basin rehabilitation);
 Pre-treatment costs (additional treatment prior to recharge);
 Post-treatment costs (e.g., chlorination); and
 Raw water costs.
If reused water from agriculture and purified waste-water are used for MAR, risk of health
hazard and soil degradation hazard may exist (Missimer et al., 2012). MAR can have both
positive and negative effects on groundwater quality. This depends on the water itself, the MAR
technique being used, and the interactions between the recharged water and the aquifer materials
(NRC, 2008). The three most common water sources for aquifer recharge vary in quality:
 River water: Usually high quality due to national surface water quality guidelines
 Treated wastewater: High quality from modern treatment plants
 Stormwater: Variable quality, especially in urban areas
Deep injection methods typically require more careful attention to water quality than surface
recharge methods because the water is not naturally filtered by soil and rock above the aquifer
(Casanova et al., 2016). Many projects therefore use stormwater for surface recharge only, or
they treat the water before injecting it underground. Surface recharge methods can use lower-
quality water because the natural filter of soil and rock removes pollutants from the water before
it reaches the aquifer (Casanova et al., 2016), although not all types of pollutants can be removed
in this way. Water quality risks are assessed and reduced using groundwater modeling and
monitoring.
Key challenges and potentials

Potential risk in MAR is that the disruptions affecting the recharged aquifers might be transferred
to humans or to the environment. Because of the specific local characteristics of each MAR site,
there is no universal solution that can be recommended and any change in laws must take this
into account. It seems, however, possible to break down artificial recharge installations into two
groups based on the quality of recharge water. Water whose quality is similar to drinking water
standards is better-suited to direct or indirect injection into the aquifer, whereas for water whose
quality is degraded, preference should be given to infiltration methods that enhance additional
natural treatment in the subsurface. In both cases, post-treatment, the intensity of which depends
on the foreseen use of the pumped water, is necessary before distribution.
There are over 1200 managed aquifer recharge projects around the world. The ‘International
Groundwater Resources Assessment Center’ provides a portal for global MAR information at
https://www.un-igrac.org/ggis/mar-portal .
Concluding remarks
Recurrent water resources crises call for a better understanding of hydrological processes and
improved technical and socioeconomic groundwater management. In many areas of the world,
growing freshwater scarcity currently emphasizes the need to close the water cycle gap by
reconciling water supply with demand both in quantity and quality terms. The demand for closed
water systems is obvious in semiarid areas. MAR is one of the strategies that can be used for
quantitative and qualitative water management and adaptation to climate change in the field of
water resources.
References
Casanova J, Devau N, and Pettenati M (2016). Managed Aquifer Recharge: An Overview of

Issues and Options (Book Chapter). In: Integrated Groundwater Management, pp 413-
434 (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-23576-9_16 )
Dillon, P. (2005). Future management of aquifer recharge. Hydrogeol. J., 13, 313–316.
Maliva, R. G. (2014). Economics of Managed Aquifer Recharge. Water, 6(5): 1257-1279;

doi:10.3390/w6051257
Missimer T. M., J¨org E. Drewes, Gary Amy, Robert G. Maliva, and Stephanie Keller (2012).
Restoration of Wadi Aquifers by Artificial Recharge with Treated Waste Water.
Groundwater , 50(4): 514–527
NNC (2002). Management of Aquifer Recharge and Subsurface Storage, Netherlands National
Committee of the International Association of Hydrogeologists. NNC-IAH Pul. No.4.
NRC (2008). Prospects for Managed Underground Storage of Recoverable Water, National
Research Council, National Academy Press: Washington, DC, USA.
NRC (National Research Council) (1997). Valuing Ground Water, Economic Concepts and
Approaches; National Academy Press: Washington, DC, USA.

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Managed aquifer recharge: A viable option to tackle the water crisis

in the coming days

Features and dimensions of managed groundwater recharge

Methods of managed groundwater recharge

Economic and environmental issues

Operation and maintenance costs include the following:

Key challenges and potentials

Casanova J, Devau N, and Pettenati M (2016). Managed Aquifer Recharge: An Overview of

Maliva, R. G. (2014). Economics of Managed Aquifer Recharge. Water, 6(5): 1257-1279;

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