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

Abstract. Coastal aquifers and the deeper subsurface are increasingly exploited. The accompanying perforation of the subsurface for those purposes has increased the risk of short-circuiting of originally separated aquifers. This study shows how this short-circuiting negatively impacts the freshwater recovery efficiency (RE) during aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) in coastal aquifers. ASR was applied in a shallow saltwater aquifer overlying a deeper saltwater aquifer, which was targeted for seasonal aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES). Although both aquifers were considered properly separated, intrusion of deeper saltwater into the shallower aquifer quickly terminated the freshwater recovery. The presumable pathway was a nearby ATES borehole. This finding was supported by field measurements, hydrochemical analyses, and SEAWAT transport modelling. The potentially rapid short-circuiting during storage and recovery can reduce the RE of ASR to null. When limited mixing with ambient groundwater is allowed, a linear RE decrease by short-circuiting with increasing distance from the ASR well within the radius of the injected ASR-bubble was observed. Interception of deep short-circuiting water can mitigate the observed RE decrease, although complete compensation of the RE decrease will generally be unattainable. Brackish water upconing from the underlying aquitard towards the shallow recovery wells of the MPPW-ASR system was observed. This "leakage" may lead to a lower recovery efficiency than based on current ASR performance estimations.

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

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-21-1173-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 1173-1188 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Koen Gerardus Zuurbier ◽

Pieter Jan Stuyfzand

Keyword(s):

Coastal Aquifers ◽

Saltwater Intrusion ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Variable Density ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Recovery Efficiency ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Solute Transport Modeling ◽

Ambient Groundwater ◽

Asr System

Abstract. Coastal aquifers and the deeper subsurface are increasingly exploited. The accompanying perforation of the subsurface for those purposes has increased the risk of short-circuiting of originally separated aquifers. This study shows how this short-circuiting negatively impacts the freshwater recovery efficiency (RE) during aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) in coastal aquifers. ASR was applied in a shallow saltwater aquifer overlying a deeper, confined saltwater aquifer, which was targeted for seasonal aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES). Although both aquifers were considered properly separated (i.e., a continuous clay layer prevented rapid groundwater flow between both aquifers), intrusion of deeper saltwater into the shallower aquifer quickly terminated the freshwater recovery. The presumable pathway was a nearby ATES borehole. This finding was supported by field measurements, hydrochemical analyses, and variable-density solute transport modeling (SEAWAT version 4; Langevin et al., 2007). The potentially rapid short-circuiting during storage and recovery can reduce the RE of ASR to null. When limited mixing with ambient groundwater is allowed, a linear RE decrease by short-circuiting with increasing distance from the ASR well within the radius of the injected ASR bubble was observed. Interception of deep short-circuiting water can mitigate the observed RE decrease, although complete compensation of the RE decrease will generally be unattainable. Brackish water upconing from the underlying aquitard towards the shallow recovery wells of the ASR system with multiple partially penetrating wells (MPPW-ASR) was observed. This leakage may lead to a lower recovery efficiency than based on current ASR performance estimations.

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Time-lapse gravity monitoring: A systematic 4D approach with application to aquifer storage and recovery

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.2987376 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 73 (6) ◽

pp. WA61-WA69 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Kristofer Davis ◽

Yaoguo Li ◽

Michael Batzle

Keyword(s):

Water Reservoir ◽

Time Lapse ◽

Subsurface Water ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Quantitative Interpretation ◽

Reservoir Water ◽

Design Data ◽

Initial Water ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Asr System

We studied time-lapse gravity surveys applied to the monitoring of an artificial aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) system in Leyden, Colorado. An abandoned underground coal mine has been developed into a subsurface water reservoir. Water from surface sources is injected into the artificial aquifer during winter for retrieval and use in summer. As a key component in the geophysical monitoring of the artificial ASR system, three microgravity surveys were conducted over the course of ten months during the initial water-injection stage. The time-lapse microgravity surveys successfully detected the distribution of injected water as well as its general movement. Quantitative interpretation based on 3D inversions produced hydrologically meaningful density-contrast models and imaged major zones of water distribution. The site formed an ideal natural laboratory for investigating various aspects of time-lapse gravity methodology. Through this application, we have studied systematically all steps of the method, including survey design, data acquisition, processing, and quantitative interpretation.

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Control of saltwater intrusion by aquifer storage and recovery

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering and Computational Mechanics ◽

10.1680/jencm.15.00021 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 169 (3) ◽

pp. 148-155 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohammed S. Hussain ◽

Akbar A. Javadi ◽

Mohsen M. Sherif ◽

Reza Naseri-Karim-Vand

Keyword(s):

Saltwater Intrusion ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Aquifer Storage

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Lumped parameter estimation of initial recovery efficiency during aquifer storage and recovery

Management of Aquifer Recharge for Sustainability ◽

10.1201/9781003078838-58 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 285-290 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. Pavelic ◽

P. J. Dillon ◽

C.T. Simmons

Keyword(s):

Parameter Estimation ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Recovery Efficiency ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Lumped Parameter ◽

Initial Recovery

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Enabling Successful Aquifer Storage and Recovery of Freshwater Using Horizontal Directional Drilled Wells in Coastal Aquifers

Journal of Hydrologic Engineering ◽

10.1061/(asce)he.1943-5584.0000990 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Koen G. Zuurbier ◽

Jan Willem Kooiman ◽

Michel M. A. Groen ◽

Bas Maas ◽

Pieter J. Stuyfzand

Keyword(s):

Coastal Aquifers ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Aquifer Storage

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Field investigation of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) technique to recharge groundwater: a case study in Punjab province of Pakistan

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2017.083 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 71-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hafiz U. Farid ◽

Allah Bakhsh ◽

Muhammad U. Ali ◽

Zahid Mahmood-Khan ◽

Amir Shakoor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Retention Time ◽

Field Investigation ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Recovery Efficiency ◽

Canal Water ◽

Groundwater Levels ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Water Storage Tank ◽

Fast Decline

Abstract Fast decline of groundwater levels in Pakistan requires the use of artificial recharging techniques to minimize the adverse effect of over pumping. A study was conducted in the Toba Tek Singh district, Punjab, Pakistan, to investigate aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) technology to recharge groundwater. The facility was developed by drilling a pumping/injection well and constructing the water storage tank along with developing the recharge mechanism. Three treatments of 51, 71, and 99 m3 of treated canal water were injected into the aquifer under gravity and were retained for 7 days. Another three treatments of 100 m3 each were injected for retention times of 14, 28, and 56 days. The recovery efficiency (RE) was found to be 83, 91, and 98% for injected volumes of 51, 71, and 99 m3, respectively, for retention time of 7 days. Similarly, the RE for an injected volume of 100 m3 was found to be 73, 62, and 52% for retention times of 14, 28, and 56 days, respectively. These results indicated that RE improved with increase in injected volume and decreased with increase in retention time; however, the technology was found to have potential for storing and recovering of water injected into the aquifer.

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Optimizing Multiwell Aquifer Storage and Recovery Systems for Energy Use and Recovery Efficiency

Ground Water ◽

10.1111/gwat.13092 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Saheli Majumdar ◽

Gretchen R. Miller ◽

Zhuping Sheng

Keyword(s):

Energy Use ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Recovery Efficiency ◽

Aquifer Storage

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Recovery Efficiency of an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Experiment from Saline Aquifer under Controlled Conditions

Current World Environment ◽

10.12944/cwe.15.3.07 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 441-445

Author(s):

Abhishek Anand Kaushal ◽

Gopal Krishan ◽

Govind Pandey

Keyword(s):

Saline Water ◽

Reclaimed Water ◽

Fixed Time ◽

Small Scale ◽

Time Interval ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Recovery Efficiency ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Fixed Time Interval ◽

Cumulative Time

Present work was carried out in an experimental model developed at the institute, sand was used as prototype artificial aquifer and was saturated with highly saline water having Electrical Conductivity (EC) equal to 8500 µS/cm. Fresh water with average EC = 467.50 µS/cm and temperature = 25oC was injected in the known amount in the saline water and this water was extracted at a fixed time interval of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4, 8 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 hours in a cumulative time of 735.30 hours with average recovery efficiency of 63%. Recovered water has salinity equal to or less than 1000 µS/cm. Although, this experiment was carried out at a small scale but this can be tried at a bigger scale for skillfully managing the surface or reclaimed water in problematic areas where demand exceeds the supply.

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Aquifer Storage and Recovery in Layered Saline Aquifers: Importance of Layer-Arrangements

Water ◽

10.3390/w13182595 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (18) ◽

pp. 2595

Author(s):

Hongkai Li ◽

Yu Ye ◽

Chunhui Lu

Keyword(s):

Potable Water ◽

Saline Water ◽

Saline Aquifers ◽

Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽

Geometric Means ◽

Aquifer Storage ◽

Permeable Layer ◽

Multiple Cycle ◽

The Difference ◽

Asr System

Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) refers to injecting freshwater into an aquifer and later withdrawing it. In brackish-to-saline aquifers, density-driven convection and fresh-saline water mixing lead to a reduced recovery efficiency (RE, i.e., the volumetric ratio between recovered potable water and injected freshwater) of ASR. For a layered aquifer, previous studies assume a constant hydraulic conductivity ratio between neighboring layers. In order to reflect the realistic formation of layered aquifers, we systematically investigate 120 layered heterogeneous scenarios with different layer arrangements on multiple-cycle ASR using numerical simulations. Results show that the convection (as is reflected by the tilt of the fresh-saline interface) and mixing phenomena of the ASR system vary significantly among scenarios with different layer arrangements. In particular, the lower permeable layer underlying the higher permeable layer restricts the free convection and leads to the spreading of salinity at the bottom of the higher permeable layer and early salt breakthrough to the well. Correspondingly, the RE values are different among the heterogeneous scenarios, with a maximum absolute RE difference of 22% for the first cycle and 9% for the tenth cycle. Even though the difference in RE decreases with more ASR cycles, it is still non-negligible and needs to be considered after ten ASR cycles. The method to homogenize the layered heterogeneity by simply taking the arithmetic and geometric means of the hydraulic conductivities among different layers as the horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivities is shown to overestimate the RE for multiple-cycle ASR. The outcomes of this research illustrate the importance of considering the geometric arrangement of layers in assessing the feasibility of multiple-cycle ASR operations in brackish-to-saline layered aquifers.

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