Enabling Successful Aquifer Storage and Recovery of Freshwater Using Horizontal Directional Drilled Wells in Coastal Aquifers
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 20, Issue 3
Abstract
Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) of freshwater surpluses can reduce freshwater shortages in coastal areas during periods of prolonged droughts. However, ASR is troublesome in saline coastal aquifers as buoyancy effects generally cause a significant loss of injected freshwater. The use of a pair of parallel, superimposed horizontal wells is proposed to combine shallow ASR with deep interception of underlying saltwater. A shallow, fresh groundwater lens can thereby be enlarged and protected. This freshmaker setup was successfully placed in a coastal aquifer in The Netherlands using horizontal directional drilling to install 70-m-long horizontal directional drilled wells (HDDWs). The freshmaker prototype aims to inject a specific volume of freshwater and abstract the same volume of water (consisting of injected water and ambient native groundwater) within the targeted water quality. Groundwater transport modeling preceding ASR operation demonstrates that this set up is able to abstract a water volume of equal to the injected freshwater volume without exceeding strict salinity limits, which would be unattainable with conventional ASR. This is the first study to demonstrate the potential benefits of HDDWs for a field ASR application. The model outcomes indicate that the feasibility perspectives of ASR in coastal aquifers worldwide require revision thanks to recent developments in hydrologic engineering.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Dutch national research program Knowledge for Climate and the parties involved in GO-Fresh (Geohydrological Opportunities Fresh Water Supply). Maatschap Rijk-Boonman, Bos Grijpskerke, and Meeuwse Handelsonderming Goes are thanked for their contribution in the Ovezande field trial. Three anonymous reviewers are thanked for their comments to the earlier version of the manuscript.
References
Aliewi, A. S., et al. (2001). “Numerical simulation of the movement of saltwater under skimming and scavenger pumping in the Pleistocene aquifer of Gaza and Jericho Areas, Palestine.” Transp. Porous Media, 43(1), 195–212.
Antoniou, E. A., Stuyfzand, P. J., and van Breukelen, B. M. (2013). “Reactive transport modeling of an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) pilot to assess long-term water quality improvements and potential solutions.” Appl. Geochem., 35, 173–186.
Asghar, M. N., Prathapar, S. A., and Shafique, M. S. (2002). “Extracting relatively-fresh groundwater from aquifers underlain by salty groundwater.” Agric. Water Manage., 52(2), 119–137.
Bear, J. (1972). Dynamics of fluids in porous media, Elsevier, New York.
Cirkel, D. G., van der Wens, P., Rothuizen, R. D., and Kooiman, J. W. (2010). “Water extraction with HDD drillings—One horizontal well for multiple vertical wells.” 〈http://www.hddw.nl〉 (Oct. 2013).
de Louw, P. G. B., et al. (2011). “Shallow rainwater lenses in deltaic areas with saline seepage.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15(12), 3659–3678.
Esmail, O. J., and Kimbler, O. K. (1967). “Investigation of the technical feasibility of storing fresh water in saline aquifers.” Water Resour. Res., 3(3), 683–695.
Konert, M., and Vandenberghe, J. (1997). “Comparison of laser grain size analysis with pipette and sieve analysis: A solution for the underestimation of the clay fraction.” Sedimentology, 44(3), 523–535.
Langevin, C. D., Thorne, D. T., Dausman, A. M., Sukop, M. C., and Guo, W. (2007). “SEAWAT version 4: A computer program for simulation of multi-species solute and heat transport.” Techniques and methods, USGS, Reston, VA.
Oude Essink, G. H. P. (2001). “Improving fresh groundwater supply—Problems and solutions.” Ocean Coastal Manage., 44(5–6), 429–449.
Pyne, R. D. G. (2005). Aquifer storage recovery—A guide to groundwater recharge through wells, ASR Systems LLC, Gainesville, FL, 608.
Reilly, T., and Goodman, A. (1987). “Analysis of saltwater upconing beneath a pumping well.” J. Hydrol., 89(3), 169–204.
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. (2013). “Precipitation surplus 1981–2010.” 〈http://www.knmi.nl〉.
Schmork, S., and Mercado, A. (1969). “Upconing of fresh water—Sea water interface below pumping wells, field study.” Water Resour. Res., 5(6), 1290–1311.
Stoeckl, L., and Houben, G. (2012). “Flow dynamics and age stratification of freshwater lenses: Experiments and modeling.” J. Hydrol., 458–459, 9–15.
Stuyfzand, P., and Raat, K. (2010). “Benefits and hurdles of using brackish groundwater as a drinking water source in the Netherlands.” Hydrogeol. J., 18(1), 117–130.
van Halem, D., et al. (2010). “Subsurface iron and arsenic removal for shallow tube well drinking water supply in rural Bangladesh.” Water Res., 44(19), 5761–5769.
Verruijt, A. (1968). “A note on the Ghyben-Herzberg formula.” Bull. Int. Assoc. Sci. Hydrol., 13(4), 43–46.
Ward, J. D., Simmons, C. T., Dillon, P. J., and Pavelic, P. (2009). “Integrated assessment of lateral flow, density effects and dispersion in aquifer storage and recovery.” J. Hydrol., 370(1–4), 83–99.
Werner, A. D., et al. (2013). “Seawater intrusion processes, investigation and management: Recent advances and future challenges.” Adv. Water Resour., 51, 3–26.
Werner, A. D., Jakovovic, D., and Simmons, C. T. (2009). “Experimental observations of saltwater up-coning.” J. Hydrol., 373(1–2), 230–241.
Zuurbier, K., Bakker, M., Zaadnoordijk, W., and Stuyfzand, P. (2013). “Identification of potential sites for aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) in coastal areas using ASR performance estimation methods.” Hydrogeol. J., 21(6), 1373–1383.
Zuurbier, K. G., Zaadnoordijk, W. J., and Stuyfzand, P. J. (2014). “How multiple partially penetrating wells improve the freshwater recovery of coastal aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) systems: A field and modeling study.” J. Hydrol., 509, 430–441.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 29, 2013
Accepted: Feb 21, 2014
Published online: Mar 19, 2014
Discussion open until: Dec 8, 2014
Published in print: Mar 1, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.