Managed Aquifer Recharge

Workshop
October 16th 2019
Technical University of Munich
Munich, Germany

Moving from intentional recharge to controlled

Managed Aquifer Recharge:
The LIFE REWAT Suvereto two-stage infiltration basin (Italy)
Rudy Rossetto
Institute of Life Sciences -Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
Pisa, Italy
r.rossetto@santannapisa.it
 Pisa … an unique example in Italy

Applied Theoretical Studies

Studies
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1.500 researchers 300 researchers

90834 residents
 WATER Nexus Research Group
@Institute of Life Sciences
Devising innovative ways to sustainable water management developing theoretical and
applied approaches bringing them to the real world

• Development and application of innovative ICT tools for

water management and governance

• The science and policy of water management in MED-

areas

• Exploring green/blue infrastructures functions for the

provision of water related agro-ecosystem services
Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution
to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project
 Conventional vs. non- conventional water
resources
Deep aquifer exploitation?
Dams?

Non-conventional water resources

Rainwater harvesting / reuse of treated wastewater/desalinisation
Non conventional water
Reuse of (treated) wastewater (indirect/direct)

Desalination

Rainwater harvesting
management)

Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution

to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project
 Managed Aquifer Recharge
Intentional recharge of an aquifer:
A process to increase the volume ordinarily stored underground soil
surface
Techniques mimicking/enhancing natural processes
 Managed Aquifer Recharge
Not a novelty!
Highly developed from 1950.
(In Italy: Mario Canavari’s Manuale di Geologia Tecnica, 1927)

Widespread in US, Australia

In EU: nice examples in Spain
(http://www.dina-mar.es/)

Recharge is “managed” in order to assure an adequate protection of

human health and the environment.
MAR differs from:
• unmanaged recharge (i.e.: stormwater infiltration facilities)
• unintentional recharge (i.e.: recharge caused by excess irrigation).
Rudy Rossetto – r.rossetto@sssup.it
 Managed Aquifer Recharge
Geoengineering schemes
Pontential use:
- Increase groundwater uses;
- Replenishment against overdrafting;
- Control of subsidence phenomena;
- Combat seawater intrusion;
- Sustain groundwater-dependant ecosystems.
MAR – global scale
 MAR components
1) Source
2) (if needed) pre-treatment
3) Recharge scheme
4) Aquifer
5) Pumping system
6) Post-treatment
7) Final users

Da: AUSTRALIAN GUIDELINES FOR WATER RECYCLING: MANAGING HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS (PHASE 2)
Managed Aquifer Recharge
(Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council + Environment Protection and Heritage Council +National Health and Medical Research Council 2009)
 MAR types/1

Da: AUSTRALIAN GUIDELINES FOR WATER RECYCLING: MANAGING HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS (PHASE 2)
Managed Aquifer Recharge
(Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council + Environment Protection and Heritage Council +National Health and Medical Research Council 2009)
MAR types/2

Da: AUSTRALIAN GUIDELINES FOR WATER RECYCLING: MANAGING HEALTH AND

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS (PHASE 2)
Managed Aquifer Recharge
(Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council + Environment Protection and Heritage
Council +National Health and Medical Research Council 2009)
MARSOL Demo sites
Consortium
21 partners Induced RiverBank8Filtration-
7 countries field sites Italy

E
S
N
O
M. S. Quirico bridge

S. Alessio plain

S. Alessio well field

Weir

Weir
Serchio River
 Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution
to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project

WP8/Managing river bank filtration at the Serchio River well field

Objective>
To merge existing and proved technologies to produce a Decision Support
System (DSS) based on low cost sensors, remote data acquisition and
transmission and GIS physically-based fully distributed numerical
modelling to continuously monitor and manage the well field.
RECENT YEARS/3

E
S
N
O
M. S. Quirico bridge

S. Alessio plain
Serchio River

S. Alessio well field

Weir

Weir
Surface water recharge is increased by ten vertical wells pumping and a riverbed weir raising river
head of about 1.5/2m
RISK ANALYSIS
 Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution
to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project

Task 8.1: Installing and operating the monitoring system (SSSA, Lucca, TEA)
 Vicenza:
7 dry wells Padova:
4 FIA’s FIA Treviso:
Infiltration Pond IRBF Infiltration Pond

UNMONITORED
Infiltration Trench
ARTIFICIAL AQUIFER
RECHARGE IN ITALY Infiltration Channel Pordenone: Udine:
Infiltration Field SAT Dry well
Infiltration Pond
Ferrara:
Milano: Infiltration Pond Rimini:
2 Infiltration Ponds 2 ASR’s
Ravenna: 2 Infiltration Ponds
Infiltration Pond IRBF
Prato:
IRBF Pesaro Urbino:
ASR
Lucca: Livorno:
IRBF River scarification
Bari:
ASTR

Carbonia – Iglesias:
ASR
Cagliari:
2 ASR’s
Infiltration Trench
Credits: Silvia Di Bartolo – Infiltration Pond Siracusa:
Alessio Barbagli ASR
DM 100/2016
Italian regulation for permitting managed aquifer recharge schemes set up and
operation
RECENT YEARS/3
In 2014, the Regional Authority of Emilia Romagna started a MAR pilot on the
Marecchia River fan using a recharge basin (old quarry) to alleviate water scarcity
in the Rimini area as results of drought periods (Severi et al. 2014).
About 2 Mm3 recharged during the experimental phase
Less than 100k € investment.

Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution

to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project From Regione Emilia Romagna
 Monitoring network
High frequency discharge measurement ante operam and post operam
(25 points)
blu heads, yellow chemistry green both
Red : sensors

groundwater
Dilution effect on nitrates

Average concentration
TWO NEW MAR PROJECTS
EU LIFE REWAT 2015 -2020
sustainable WATer management in the lower Cornia valley through
demand REduction, aquifer REcharge and river REstoration

Abandoned meander
From MARSOLto be
recharged using flood water

Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution

to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project From Regione Emilia Romagna
 The LIFE REWAT MAR plant in Suvereto

Expected results
• Increase aquifer
storage from 0.3 to
1.2 Mm3/y
• Environmental
purposes

Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution

to Water Scarcity and Drought
Demonstrating Managed
An EUAquifer Recharge as a Solution
FP7 Project
to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project
 Key points of DM 100/2016:
Annex 1
Annex 1 lists criteria which must be respected for granting
authorization to set up a MAR scheme
The authorization is granted upon presentation of:
- a preliminary project (large area hydrological and
hydrogeological characterization of the area and
scheme type, source of water and groundwater body)
- an executive project (detailed area characterisation, type of
MAR scheme, hydraulic and hydrochemical and socio-
economic scenarios deriving from the works)
The following must then be provided before full operation starts:
- management plan
- monitoring plan
- emergency plan
Site investigation/1
Site investigation/2

Drilling of 15
dedicated piezometers
 Modeling
Expected head increase

www.freewat.eu

After 200 days

simulation

0.05 m3/s
recharge
(≈ 900k m3)
The MAR scheme/1
The MAR scheme/2
The MAR scheme/3
The MAR scheme/4
The MAR scheme/5
The MAR scheme/6
The MAR scheme/7
High frequency monitoring

A central requirement for

Italian MAR regulation
ICT infrastructure architecture

Sensors, data gathering and Sensors, data gathering and

management for operational management for recharge
purposes effects on groundwater

Data management and scheme

operation, storage and
transmission unit

24/03/2020 38
 Sensor network
Gw. M.
Gw. M.

Op.
Gw. M.

Gw. M.

Op.
Gw. M.

24/03/2020 39
ICT infrastructure architecture/2

A central requirement for

Italian MAR regulation

24/03/2020 40
 ICT infrastructure
architecture/3

PostgreSQL
Database

22/05/2019 41
 ICT infrastructure architecture/4
Radio module
• ultra-low-power STM32L072CZ Series MCUs
• Long Range (LoRa) transreceiver
• +20 dBm output power on 869.4625 MHz (ISM Band)
• RX current of 10 mA and stand-by current of 25 µA

LoRa uses license-free sub-gigahertz radio frequency bands like

433 MHz, 868 MHz (Europe) and 915 MHz (Australia and North
America).
LoRa enables long-range transmissions (more than 10 km in rural
areas) with low power consumption.

22/05/2019 42
ICT infrastructure architecture/5
 Operational monitoring

Get water for recharge only if

Q river > MEF

24/03/2020 44
 Operational monitoring/2

Get water for recharge

only if
Standards are met

24/03/2020 45
 Operational monitoring/3
Basin filling: up to 2.69 m head over sensor --- then stop
Filling again from 2.64 m over sensor
2,8

2,6

2,4

2,2

1,8

1,6

1,4

Recharge cycle from top:

about 1.15 h to go down
1.45 h to reach maximum

24/03/2020 46
 Monitoring changes in the aquifer

Head, Temperature and EC Multiparametric probe Hydrolab HL4

(T, EC, pH, DO, ORP)

24/03/2020 47
 MAR scheme operation

Three institutions involved:

• Land drainage authority for site maintenance and
clogging prevention works
basin scarification and plough (yearly?)
• Water utility for electromechanical works
Pump and diversion system maintenance
Electrical works
• Scuola Sup. Sant’Anna responsible for monitoring issues
Sensor maintenance
Discrete monthly monitoring (head + chemistry/biol.)
Discrete monitoring network
Head increase after one week
of full operation
PROSPECTS
MAR can be a valuable option in case of aquifers where the balance is
compromised.

As dams construction is pretty an unfeasible option (due to economy

and unwilling population and several environmental issues) MAR can
constitute a valid alternative.
It is of outmost importance to define which are the financial
instruments to sustain these water infrastructures, so to
guarantee not only their set up, but also routinely
operations.

Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution

to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project
LIMITATIONS
While care is paid to the MAR plant set up, still little
attention is given to the monitoring system, especially
related to quality issues.

The latter may change MAR from being an opportunity to a

threat.

From AQUOR Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution

to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project
CONCLUSIONS
The majority of the recharge plants are not really appropriately
managed – monitored.

Growing interest from local authorities, private companies and

research institutes on the use of this low-cost techniques (compared
to other solutions).

Training activities for professionals and awareness raising among

relevant stakeholders will constitute a turning point for the
application of MAR in Italy.

From Consorzio di Bonifica Alta Maremma

From AQUOR Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution
to Water Scarcity and Drought
An EU FP7 Project
 MARSOL
MARSOL Consortium
21 partners MAR to MARKET8 field sites
7 countries

Action Group, European Innovation Partnership (EIP)

The aim is to speed up innovations that contribute to solving societal challenges, enhance Europe's
competitiveness and contribute to job creation and economic growth. EIPs help to pool expertise and
resources by bringing together public and private actors at EU, national and regional level, combining
supply- and demand-side measures.
 MARSOL
MARSOL Consortium
21 partners Dissemination
7 countries Activities
8 field sites

Website & Newsletter

www.marsol.eu
 LIFE REWAT project partners Supported by

LIFE REWAT project co-financers

Patronage

This presentation is given within the framework of the EU LIFE REWAT project. The REWAT project has received funding from the European Union's Life
Programme LIFE 14 ENV/IT/001290.
This presentation reflects only the authors' views and the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.