Managed Aquifer Recharge
(MAR) and Menarid
International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre
Beirut , June 2014Ebel Smidt
Linearity: missing the main issue Fragile – robust – antifragile (Nassim Taleb)
MAIN MESSAGES
1. Buffering is an ancient answer to crises.
2. Groundwater is a natural buffer, use it economically and wisely, taking into consideration uncertainty in the planning.
3. Recent 65 years of modern large scale MAR-projects and thousands of years of small scale experiences offer challenging opportunities for future cooperation in practical and research projects.
Water costs
Groundwater from Global Perspective
And MAR
Buffer management at the basin scale
Key facts1. Operational since 20022. Capacity 9 MCM used for a) guaranteeing drinking water supplyb) Downstream regular use of groundwater for agriculture (12 MCM) c) Restoring wildlife, improving biotic ecosystems
Wala Dam Jordan
Drinking water from the dunes
• 1853 Start extraction by dug canals
• 1903 Start extraction by wells
• 1957 Start artificial recharge with pretreated river water taken from the Rhine Branch near Utrecht, at 75 km distance.
Origin from the drinking water produced from the dune area near Amsterdam 1853-1999
Bron drinkwaterproductie Leiduin
010
203040
5060
7080
1850
1862
1874
1886
1898
1910
1922
1934
1946
1958
1970
1982
1994
mln
m3/
jaar
Geinfiltreerd rivierwater (sinds 1957)Diep duinwater (sinds 1903)Ondiep duinwater(sinds 1853)
River water
Deep dune water
Shallow dunewater
Groundwater and Adaptation Measures Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) provides multiple benefits:
storing water for future use stabilizing or recovering ground
water levels in overexploited aquifers, reducing evaporative losses managing saline intrusion
or land subsidence, and enabling reuse of waste or storm water.
Land use change – may provide an opportunity to enhance recharge, to protect groundwater qualityand to reduce groundwater lossesfrom evapotranspiration.
Integrating the management of surface water and groundwater resources (also to avoid mutual adversely impact) by regional integrated land and water management (ILWM – INRM)
Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) or 3R: a different way of thinking
Recharge Retention Reuse
Storage = buffering • 3R concept – Recharge, Retention and
Reuse• Local (cisterns) and subsurface storage
(active use of aquifer) of surface water for both water- and food security
• It is not about allocation scarce water but to catch and retain water and extend the chain of use and reuse as much as possible within a basin.
• Introduce buffer management at the basin scale – basin by basin (building it up partically piecemeal/scattered/trial&error).
• Subsurface storage has the largest capacity potential
Overall Framework
3R TechniquesTechnology
AS(TR)
ASR
Spreading methods
infiltration ponds & basins
flooding
ditch, furrow, drains
irrigation
sand dams
channel spreading
Induced bank infiltration
Well, shaft and borehole recharge
deep well injection
shallow well/ shaft/ pit infiltration
Sub type
Runoff harvestingbarriers and bunds
trenches
Te
ch
niq
ue
s r
efe
rrin
g p
rim
ari
ly t
o
ge
ttin
g w
ate
r in
filt
rate
d
Te
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ue
s r
efe
rrin
g
pri
ma
rily
to
in
terc
ep
tin
g
the
wa
ter In-channel modifications
recharge dams
sub surface dams
3R Techniques
New developments: buffering desal water: Abu Dhabi ASR Project
DESAL-MAR – a simple picture
and a more complex one……next slide(Source ASR Consortium 2007)
Note: The power plant can be based on green energy: solar energy or geothermal energy.
Economics of combining ASR and Desalination
Savings (in %) per unit production cost by introducing ASR in relation to desalination plant capacity
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Desalination plant capacity (m3 per day)
Savi
ngs
(%)g
max
min
Cost scale of MAR in relation to typical costs of water supplies for irrigation, non-potable & drinking water
supplies
irrigation supplies
3rd pipe supplies of non-potable recycled water
urban drinking water supplies
$0.50 - $1.50/KL
$0.05-0.50/KL >$1.20/KL
m3
price of water
ASR
pond infiltration
Dillon, P., Pavelic, P., Page, D., Beringen H. and Ward J. (2009) Managed Aquifer Recharge: An Introduction, Waterlines Report No 13, Feb 2009.
Water adaptation costs (1)
Water adaptation costs (2)
Water adaptation costs (3): source
1. IGRAC’s aim: to be one of your main portals to groundwater knowledge.
2. Sharing experiences with information selection and sharing is meta-information, which can help you to solve your Groundwater Governance issues.
3. So: don’t hesitate to contact us.
International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre
Global Groundwater Assessment Global Inventory of MAR - Managing Aquifer Recharge, together
with many partners Assessment of Arsenic and
Fluoride worldwide
providing information - building the groundwater case
Tool in development: Meta-information on MAR sites
MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (1)
1. Water buffering and land use change are ancient answers to crises. It are behavioural changes!
2. Groundwater is increasingly being used economically and wisely as buffer. MAR-Menarid examples are an excellent proof of this statement.
3. Much challenging work has to be done concerning proper scaling (both up and down) of MAR-implementation.
MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (2)
4. MAR-technology is well developed and will develop itself to further maturity combining conventional and modern methods. General guidelines are available and being updated. Improved effective and efficient exchange mechanism on national and international levels are needed especially concerning societal acceptance or integration of MAR.
5. Main scientific questions focus on (a) water quality issues, (b) optimization of water balancing, (c) planning and monitoring and (d) integration of technical, socio-economic, institutional and participation issues (=governance). Tailormade solutions are needed within generic frameworks.
MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (3)
6. Downscaling means bringing practical solutions to the lowest levels in a watershed (individual plants and trees and people), upscaling means bringing the solutionsto the highest levels of waterbasin planning (transboundary if needed). Integration of the two processes is an important challenge to increase the speed of success.
7. Cost effectiveness and cost recovery are important issues: especially in groundwater/MAR-practises full cost analysis (including long term development / sustainability issues) is needed.
8. The Sept 2014 Marrakesh IAH conference is a good forum to present results of the down&upscaled processes following our workshop (www.IAH2014.org).
9. Involve other MENA and Arab Gulf countries in the information exchange and next phases (viz. Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Lebanon etc.) .
10. Pay special attention to the need of the Gaza aquifer recovery issue, in combination with desal opportunities and economics.
11. Integrate findings with the International Groundwater Governance Project.
More information
http://groundwatercop.iwlearn.net/menaridhttp://www.un-igrac.org/publications/155www.bebuffered.comwww.iah.org/rechargehttp://www.groundwatergovernance.org/
Thank you for your attention
Questions?
For future contact: Ebel Smidt: [email protected]
International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre
Beirut, June 2014
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