Ground Water Recharge Design for Renovating Waste Water

Soil and hydrogeologic conditions permitting, ground water recharge by surface spreading is an economic and esthetic way for further treatment or renovation of secondary sewage effluent, cannery wastes, or similar low-quality water. The design of a system of spreading areas with wells or drains for collecting the reclaimed water should generally be based on: (1) a maximum limit for the elevation of the water table mound beneath the spreading areas; (2) a minimum limit for the underground detention time and travel distance as the water moves to the wells or drains; and (3) minimum contamination of the ground water in the aquifer outside the recharge system. Hydraulic properties of aquifers, including anisotropy, can be determined by analog and by field measurements. These data are used to evaluate the effective transmissibility for recharge, and to calculate water-table positions and underground detention times for a system of long, parallel spreading strips with wells midway between the strips.