TITLE:
Lessons Learned from Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Systems in the United States
AUTHORS:
Frederick Bloetscher, Chi Ho Sham, Joseph J. Danko III, Samuel Ratick
KEYWORDS:
Aquifer Storage and Recovery, Inactive, Clogging, Recovery
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.6 No.17,
November
28,
2014
ABSTRACT: This
paper is the result of a survey and analyses of available data from 204 Aquifer
Storage and Recovery (ASR) sites in the United States. This ASR site survey
included all active and inactive sites and collected both operational and
construction details. The inactive sites are of particular interest here
because these are the projects from which valuable lessons can often be
learned. The intent of this paper is to examine the reasons for those projects that
are terminated. Statistical analyses indicated that there were factors
associated with terminated ASR projects: general geographic location (e.g.,
region), operational issue, storage cycle, casing material, and injection formation.
The injection formation involves local geology and aquifer characteristics (i.e., whether the aquifer is leaky
and/or unconfined, and if water can be displaced to surface water bodies or
adjacent aquifers). Operational problems associated with inactive projects
include well clogging, metals mobilization, a low percentage of recovery for
injected water, and disinfection byproducts in the recovered water.