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Managed Aquifer Recharge

Understanding Managed Aquifer Recharge

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is the deliberate process of replenishing underground water supplies by storing water in aquifers. This involves directing surface water, stormwater, or treated wastewater into the ground through methods such as:

  • Infiltration basins: Spreading water over permeable surfaces to allow natural infiltration.
  • Injection wells: Directly injecting water into aquifers.
  • Natural recharge processes: Leveraging existing hydrological pathways.

Advanced geophysical tools, such as tTEM and sTEM, play a vital role in MAR by:

  • Identifying optimal recharge zones: Providing high-resolution subsurface data to locate areas with suitable permeability and capacity.
  • Monitoring recharge effectiveness: Tracking water movement and infiltration rates to ensure efficient recharge.

MAR offers a versatile and proactive approach to groundwater management by:

  • Blending engineering solutions with natural processes.
  • Efficiently utilizing available water resources.
  • Supporting the long-term stability of water supplies for communities, industries, and ecosystems.
Explore how Managed Aquifer Recharge ensures sustainable water management and resilience

Why does MAR matter?

Addressing Water Scarcity

MAR provides a dependable water supply during droughts or dry spells by storing excess water from wet seasons for later use, ensuring water availability in regions with limited surface water resources.

Protecting Aquifers

By preventing overuse, MAR helps maintain balanced groundwater levels, reducing risks like land subsidence, aquifer depletion, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater supplies in coastal areas.

Supporting Ecosystems

MAR preserves the health of rivers, wetlands, and other ecosystems that rely on consistent groundwater inputs, fostering biodiversity and ecological balance. This is particularly important in arid and semi-arid regions where groundwater sustains critical habitats.

Enhancing Water Quality

As water infiltrates the ground during MAR, it undergoes natural filtration processes, which can improve its quality by removing contaminants and impurities, making it safer for various uses.

Mitigating Flood Risks

By diverting excess stormwater into aquifers, MAR reduces surface runoff and helps prevent urban flooding, especially in areas with inadequate drainage infrastructure.

Ensuring Agricultural Sustainability

MAR supports irrigation needs during dry seasons by replenishing groundwater reserves, which are vital for sustaining crop production in water-stressed regions.

TEMcompany's role in MAR solutions

Learn how our instruments support Managed Aquifer Recharge with precision and reliability

Shallow Aquifer Mapping

tTEM is ideal for mapping shallow aquifers and identifying areas suitable for MAR. It helps assess the extent of the aquifer and spots locations for effective groundwater recharge.

Determining Subsurface Properties

By identifying resistivity variations, tTEM provides valuable information about the composition of the material in the subsurface – key factors for designing MAR systems. It helps locate high-permeability zones for recharge well placement.

Floodplain and Riverbed Assessments

In areas where surface water is used for MAR, tTEM can map the interaction between surface water and groundwater, identifying optimal recharge locations in floodplains.

Monitoring Recharge Sites

tTEM is useful for ongoing monitoring of MAR sites, tracking water movement and ensuring efficient infiltration into the aquifer.

Deeper Aquifer Investigation

For deeper aquifers, sTEM can map the depth and extent of aquifers, providing detailed data for MAR projects needing to recharge deeper systems.

High-Resolution Subsurface Profiling

sTEM provides high-resolution data, helping to identify resistivity differences and specific recharge zones, crucial for designing complex recharge systems in heterogeneous aquifers.

Assessing Recharge Efficiency

sTEM can map the composition of the materials within the subsurface to help optimize recharge strategies by identifying zones with better infiltration rates.

Assessing Salinity or Contamination Risk

sTEM can detect resistivity variations caused by contamination or saltwater intrusion, helping to assess risks and ensure MAR does not compromise water quality.

Need help choosing the right instrument for a specific application or want to discuss your survey challenges?

Contact customer support

Case Study - Potential of Managed Aquifer Recharge Site in California US

Evaluation of Potential Recharge Site, Central Valley, California

Using tTEM to assess feasibility: Managed aquifer recharge, where excess water is used to recharge the groundwater aquifers, has been proposed as a means of curbing groundwater depletion in the Central Valley. However, locating new fields for recharge is difficult. The challenge is to map out the subsurface to understand where water might move, allowing water agencies to better prioritize and plan for recharge. Study by Stanford University and Aarhus University

Insight from research papers

Innovative Research in Applied Geophysics

Assessment of Managed Aquifer Recharge Sites Using a New Geophysical Imaging Method (2019)

Applied Geophysics for Managed Aquifer Recharge (2022)

Managed aquifer recharge site assessment with electromagnetic imaging: Identification of recharge flow paths (2022)

FROM GROUNDWATER TO PERMAFROST: INNOVATIVE INSIGHTS

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