Bloetscher reported in 2001 in the Proceedings (PDF page 50) that Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) is a concept that will play a role in the solution to the water supply concerns throughout the world, not only for urban users, but also for agricultural and environmental users. ASR may be a viable method of increasing water treatment plant efficiency and promoting energy conservation because ASR projects permit conservation of water during critical times, while utilizing excess resources in plentiful periods.
However, the process has been used to a limited extent to date, with only partial success. The major remaining question is how well ASR will work during drought conditions where the water may be withdrawn up to 2 years after it was injected, what changes must be addressed in design to correct for the bubble changes, and what are the full geologic conditions that must be met to insure the program will be successful.
Finally, what is the definition of “success?” It is generally understood that each ASR well should be designed, constructed, and tested with the unique goals of the project in mind (e.g. injection rate, storage volume, storage period, recovery rate, water quality of recharge, water quality of native, and water quality of intended recovered use). The proper peer review, and multi-jurisdictional input, in an effort to maximize the information gained, will serve to help clarify the magnitude of ASR’s future in a regional water supply picture. This is typically lacking on most projects. The reliance on large scale, regional
ASR projects are of concern to many utility systems because there are no successful, large-scale demonstration ASR projects, and many of those projects purported to be successful have many questions.
Since geology and water quality play such a significant role in the success of ASR projects, before moving toward the assumption that ASR should be as significant a component for an area’s water supply needs, consideration must be given to how ASR is perceived to be successful and where the data gaps in our understanding really are, since modeling of ASR systems has occurred only in a rudimentary manner.
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
