Optimizing Aquifer Storage and Recovery Wellfield Operations to Minimize Energy Consumption
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 146, Issue 8
Abstract
In a world that is ever more focused on energy efficiency and climate change mitigation, minimizing energy consumption associated with pumping groundwater is a growing concern. In this study, a aquifer storage and recovery simulation-optimization model (ASRSOM) is developed to optimize aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wellfield operations. ASRSOM combines an analytical hydraulic model and a numerical optimization model to optimize wellfield operations. The objective function used to minimize energy consumption is the temporal integral of the products of temporally varying total dynamic head values and pumping rates. Comparison of ASRSOM results with work by others for idealized aquifer operations supports the validity of ASRSOM. Four scenarios were simulated to evaluate the role that optimization of operations and aquifer recharge plays in reducing the energy required to pump groundwater out of the aquifer. The operations of a municipal ASR wellfield located in the Denver Basin, Colorado, were simulated for a 10-year period. Optimization decreased energy consumption by of power ( compared with historical scenario) and 1,541 t of atmospheric carbon. For the conditions considered, managed aquifer recharge reduced power consumption by 1%. The limited benefit of recharge is attributed to the small recharge volume in the case study, the short duration of the analysis, and the depth of water levels in the aquifer. Additional opportunities to address economic and environmental impacts associated with groundwater pumping include optimal position of wells and factors controlling total pumping head.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request (site data and code developed).
Acknowledgments
This publication was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia.
References
Abarca, E., E. Vázquez-Suñé, J. Carrera, B. Capino, D. Gámez, and F. Batlle. 2006. “Optimal design of measures to correct seawater intrusion.” Water Resour. Res. 42 (9): W09415. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004524.
Ahlfeld, D. 1990. “Two-stage ground-water remediation design.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 116 (4): 517–529. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(1990)116:4(517).
Ahlfeld, D., and M. Laverty. 2015. “Field scale minimization of energy use for groundwater pumping.” J. Hydrol. 525 (Jul): 489–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.03.065.
Ahlfeld, D. P., and M. M. Laverty. 2011. “Analytical solutions for minimization of energy use for groundwater pumping.” Water Resour. Res. 47 (6): 489–495. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009752.
Alqahtani, A., T. Sale, M. J. Ronayne, and C. Hemenway. Forthcoming. “Demonstration of sustainable development of groundwater through aquifer storage and recovery (ASR).” J. Water Resour. Manage.
Arshad, M., J. H. A. Guillaume, and A. Ross. 2014. “Assessing the feasibility of managed aquifer recharge for irrigation under uncertainty.” Water 6 (9): 2748–2769. https://doi.org/10.3390/w6092748.
Barkmann, P. E., M. Dechesne, M. E. Wickham, J. Carlson, S. Formolo, and E. J. Oerter. 2011. Cross-sections of the fresh-water-bearing strata of the denver basin between Greeley and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Golden, CO: Colorado Geological Survey.
Baú, D. A., and A. S. Mayer. 2006. “Stochastic management of pump-and-treat strategies using surrogate functions.” Adv. Water Resour. 29 (12): 1901–1917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2006.01.008.
Bauer-Gottwein, P., R. Schneider, and C. Davidsen. 2016. “Optimizing wellfield operation in a variable power price regime.” Ground Water 54 (1): 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12341.
Bennett, B., L. Park, A. Sathe, R. Rucker, W. McBride, L. Cannon, E. Palermo, D. Wang, and M. Gass. 2010. “Embedded energy in water studies study 1: Statewide and regional water-energy relationship.” Accessed January, 5, 2019. https://www.waterenergyinnovations.com/publication/view/cpuc-embedded-energy-in-water-studies-1-statewide-and-regional-water-energy-relationship/.
Bray, B. S., and W. W.-G. Yeh. 2008. “Improving seawater barrier operation with simulation optimization in southern California.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 134 (2): 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2008)134:2(171).
Ebrahim, G. Y., A. Jonoski, A. Al-Maktoumi, M. Ahmed, and A. Mynett. 2016. “Simulation-optimization approach for evaluating the feasibility of managed aquifer recharge in the Samail Lower Catchment, Oman.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 142 (2): 05015007. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000588.
Hansen, A. K., H. Madsen, P. Bauer-Gottwein, A. K. V. Falk, and D. Rosbjerg. 2012. “Multi-objective optimization of the management of a waterworks using an integrated well field model.” Hydrol. Res. 43 (4): 430. https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2012.142.
Hernandez, E. A., V. Uddameri, and M. A. Arreola. 2014. “A multi-period optimization model for conjunctive surface water-ground water use via aquifer storage and recovery in Corpus Christi, Texas.” Environ. Earth Sci. 71 (6): 2589–2604. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2900-3.
Katsifarakis, K. L. 2008. “Groundwater pumping cost minimization: An analytical approach.” Water Resour. Manage. 22 (8): 1089–1099. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-007-9212-x.
Katsifarakis, K. L., I. A. Nikoletos, and C. Stavridis. 2018. “Minimization of transient groundwater pumping cost: Analytical and practical solutions.” Water Resour. Manage. 32 (3): 1053–1069. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1854-8.
Lewis, A. R., M. J. Ronayne, and T. C. Sale. 2016. “Estimating aquifer properties using derivative analysis of water level time series from active well fields.” Ground Water 54 (3): 414–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12368.
Maddock, T. 1972. “Algebraic technological function from a simulation model.” Water Resour. Res. 8 (1): 129–134. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR008i001p00129.
MathWorks. 2018. “Matlab (fmincon).” Accessed January 1, 2018. https://www.mathworks.com/help/optim/ug/fmincon.html.
Pyne, D. 2005. Aquifer storage recovery: A guide to groundwater recharge through wells. 2nd ed. Utrecht, Netherlands: ASR Press.
Raynolds, R. G. 2003. “Synopsis of the stratigraphy and paleontology of the uppermost Cretaceous and lower Tertiary strata in the Denver Basin, Colorado.” Rocky Mt. Geol. 38 (1): 171–181. https://doi.org/10.2113/gsrocky.38.1.171.
Scott, C. A. 2013. “Electricity for groundwater use: Constraints and opportunities for adaptive response to climate change.” Environ. Res. Lett. 8 (3): 035005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035005.
Tsai, F. T. C., V. Katiyar, D. Toy, and R. A. Goff. 2009. “Conjunctive management of large-scale pressurized water distribution and groundwater systems in semi-arid area with parallel genetic algorithm.” Water Resour. Manage. 23 (8): 1497–1517. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-008-9338-5.
Theis, C. V. 1935. “The relation between the lowering of the Piezometric surface and the rate and duration of discharge of a well using ground-water storage.” Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 16 (2): 519–524. https://doi.org/10.1029/TR016i002p00519.
Uddameri, V. 2007. “A dynamic programming model for optimal planning of aquifer storage and recovery facility operations.” Environ. Geol. 51 (6): 953–962. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0458-z.
USEPA. 2019. “Greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.” Accessed April 2, 2019. https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator.
Wada, Y., L. P. H. Van Beek, C. M. Van Kempen, J. W. T. M. Reckman, S. Vasak, and M. F. P. Bierkens. 2010. “Global depletion of groundwater resources.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 37 (20): 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL044571.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 146 • Issue 8 • August 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 17, 2019
Accepted: Mar 10, 2020
Published online: Jun 11, 2020
Published in print: Aug 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Nov 11, 2020
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.