Enhanced Performance of Aquifer Storage and Recovery System in Unconfined Saline Aquifer for Different Operational Factors: A Multidimensional Laboratory and Modeling Study
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149, Issue 8
Abstract
Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) in saline unconfined aquifers is challenging as the injected freshwater makes a thin layer above the groundwater table. For this reason, the efficiency of ASR in unconfined saline aquifers has been reported to be low in the literature. Nevertheless, critical factors like depth of freshwater release, length of storage duration, and rate of injection/extraction control the recovery efficiency (RE) of an ASR and can be adjusted to enhance the performance. This study aims to optimize the ASR technique in unconfined saline aquifers to maximize its recovery efficiency through sand tank experiments and numerical modeling. The tank experiments were conducted using a three-dimensional sand tank setup of dimensions , to examine the interactions between injected freshwater and ambient saline groundwater. Variable density groundwater flow modeling was performed to observe the movement of stored freshwater at varying depths within the aquifer and to examine the influence of storage duration and injection/extraction rates on RE. The results from experimental and numerical studies demonstrated that shallow injection depths, higher injection/extraction rates, and smaller storage durations lead to higher freshwater recovery. Deeper injection allows the freshwater packet to move upward due to buoyancy force, resulting in freshwater losses if the injection and recovery are undertaken at the same depth. The overall findings from the present study can be utilized to enhance freshwater recovery in unconfined saline aquifers through the optimization of influencing factors.
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Data Availability Statement
Some data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request including the MODFLOW linked with SEAWAT 4 model developed in this study and sampling data obtained from experiments.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the Department of Science and Technology, India, for supporting this research under the Water Technology Initiative project grant (DST/TMD/EWO/WTI/2K19/EWFH/2019/334) entitled “An Efficient Aquifer Storage Method for Enhanced Recovery of Recharged Freshwater in Saline Regions.” The authors are also thankful to Ms. Anuradha Garg (Ph.D. Scholar, IIT Roorkee) for her assistance in manuscript preparation. The first and second authors are thankful to the Ministry of Education, India, for providing fellowships to conduct their Ph.D. research. The first author also acknowledges the support by British Council, UK, and IIT Roorkee, India, for the Newton Bhabha Fellowship, enabling him to visit Cranfield University, UK, and make progress on this paper.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149 • Issue 8 • August 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 6, 2022
Accepted: Mar 24, 2023
Published online: May 24, 2023
Published in print: Aug 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Oct 24, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Chemical properties
- Chemistry
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Flow (fluid dynamics)
- Fluid dynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Fresh water
- Groundwater
- Groundwater flow
- Groundwater management
- Hydrologic engineering
- Laboratory tests
- Models (by type)
- Numerical analysis
- Numerical models
- Salinity
- Tests (by type)
- Water (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water storage
- Water supply
- Water supply systems
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Cited by
- Shubham Tiwari, Brijesh Kumar Yadav, Role of Hydrogeological Factors on Aquifer Storage and Recovery Performance in Saline Groundwater Regions, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 10.1061/JWRMD5.WRENG-5949, 150, 1, (2024).