Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality

Book excerpt: As demand for water increases, water managers and planners will need to look widely for ways to improve water management and augment water supplies. This book concludes that artificial recharge can be one option in an integrated strategy to optimize total water resource management and that in some cases impaired-quality water can be used effectively as a source for artificial recharge of ground water aquifers. Source water quality characteristics, pretreatment and recharge technologies, transformations during transport through the soil and aquifer, public health issues, economic feasibility, and legal and institutional considerations are addressed. The book evaluates three main types of impaired quality water sourcesâ€"treated municipal wastewater, stormwater runoff, and irrigation return flowâ€"and describes which is the most consistent in terms of quality and quantity. Also included are descriptions of seven recharge projects.