smidt e mar-shortened

Managed

Aquifer Recharge

(MAR) and Menarid

International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre

Beirut , June 2014Ebel Smidt

Linearity: missing the main issue

Fragile – robust – antifragile (Nassim Taleb)

MAIN MESSAGES

1. Buffering is an ancient answer to crises.

2. Groundwater is a natural buffer, use it

economically and wisely, taking into

consideration uncertainty in the planning.

3. Recent 65 years of modern large scale

MAR-projects and thousands of years of

small scale experiences offer challenging

opportunities for future cooperation in

practical and research projects.

Water costs

Buffer management at the basin scale

Key facts

1. Operational since 2002

2. Capacity 9 MCM used for

a) guaranteeing drinking water supply

b) Downstream regular use of groundwater for agriculture (12 MCM)

c) Restoring wildlife, improving biotic ecosystems

Wala Dam

Jordan

Drinking water from the dunes

• 1853 Start extraction by dug canals

• 1903 Start extraction by wells

• 1957 Start artificial recharge with pretreated river water taken from the Rhine Branch near Utrecht, at 75 km distance.

Origin from the drinking water produced

from the dune area near Amsterdam 1853-

1999

Bron drinkwaterproductie Leiduin

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1850

1862

1874

1886

1898

1910

1922

1934

1946

1958

1970

1982

1994

mln

m3/jaar

Geinfiltreerd rivierwater

(sinds 1957)

Diep duinwater

(sinds 1903)

Ondiep duinwater

(sinds 1853)

River water

Deep dune water

Shallow dune

water

Groundwater and Adaptation Measures Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) provides multiple benefits:

storing water for future use

stabilizing or recovering groundwater levels in overexploited aquifers,

reducing evaporative losses

managing saline intrusionor land subsidence, and

enabling reuse of waste or storm water.

Land use change – may provide an opportunity to enhance recharge, to protect groundwater qualityand to reduce groundwater lossesfrom evapotranspiration.

Integrating the management of surface water and groundwater resources (also to avoid mutual adversely impact) by regional integrated land and water management (ILWM – INRM)

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) or

3R: a different way of thinking

Recharge Retention Reuse

3R Techniques

New developments: buffering

desal water: Abu Dhabi ASR Project

DESAL-MAR – a simple picture

and a more complex one……next slide(Source ASR Consortium 2007)

Economics of combining ASR

and DesalinationSavings (in %) per unit production cost by introducing ASR

in relation to desalination plant capacity

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

Desalination plant capacity (m3 per day)

Sa

vin

gs

(%

)g

max

min

Cost scale of MAR in relation to typical costs of water

supplies for irrigation, non-potable & drinking water

supplies

irrigation

supplies

3rd pipe supplies

of non-potable

recycled water

urban drinking water

supplies

$0.50 - $1.50/KL$0.05-0.50/KL >$1.20/KL

m3

price of

water

ASR

pond infiltration

Dillon, P., Pavelic, P., Page, D., Beringen H. and Ward J. (2009) Managed

Aquifer Recharge: An Introduction, Waterlines Report No 13, Feb 2009.

Water adaptation costs (1)

1. IGRAC’s aim: to be one of

your main portals to

groundwater knowledge.

2. Sharing experiences with information

selection and sharing is meta-

information, which can help you to solve

your Groundwater Technical and

Governance issues.

3. So: don’t hesitate to contact IGRAC.

International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre

Tool in development:

Meta-information on MAR sites

MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (1)

1. Water buffering and land use change are ancient

answers to crises. It are behavioural changes!

2. Groundwater is increasingly being used

economically and wisely as buffer. MAR-Menarid

examples are an excellent proof of this

statement.

3. Much challenging work has to be done

concerning proper scaling (both up and down)

of MAR-implementation.

MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (2)

4. MAR-technology is well developed and will develop itself

to further maturity combining conventional and modern

methods. General guidelines are available and being

updated. Improved effective and efficient exchange

mechanism on national and international levels are

needed especially concerning societal acceptance or

integration of MAR.

5. Main scientific questions focus on (a) water quality

issues, (b) optimization of water balancing, (c) planning

and monitoring and (d) integration of technical, socio-

economic, institutional and participation issues

(=governance). Tailormade solutions are needed within

generic frameworks.

MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (3)

6. Downscaling means bringing practical solutions to the lowest levels

in a watershed (individual plants and trees and people), upscaling

means bringing the solutionsto the highest levels of waterbasin

planning (transboundary if needed). Integration of the two

processes is an important challenge to increase the speed of

success.

7. Cost effectiveness and cost recovery are important issues:

especially in groundwater/MAR-practises full cost analysis

(including long term development / sustainability issues) is needed.

8. The Sept 2014 Marrakesh IAH conference is a good forum to

present results of the down&upscaled processes following our

workshop (www.IAH2014.org).

9. Involve other MENA and Arab Gulf countries in the information

exchange and next phases (viz. Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Lebanon etc.) .

10. Pay special attention to the need of the Gaza aquifer recovery issue,

in combination with desal opportunities and economics.

11. Integrate findings with the International Groundwater Governance

Project.

More information

http://groundwatercop.iwlearn.net/menarid

http://www.un-igrac.org/publications/155

www.bebuffered.com

www.iah.org/recharge

http://www.groundwatergovernance.org/

Thank you for your attention

For future contact:

Ebel Smidt: e.h.smidt@tudelft.nl

International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre

Beirut, June 2014