A field study of advanced municipal wastewater treatment technology for artificial groundwater recharge

Field studies were conducted to investigate the advanced treatment of the municipal secondary effluent and a subsequent artificial groundwater recharge at Gaobeidian Wastewater Treatment Plant, Beijing. To improve the secondary effluent quality, the combined process of powdered activated carbon adsorption, flocculation and rapid sand filtration was applied, which could remove about 400 dissolved organic carbon （DOC） and 70% adsorbable organic halogens. The results of liquid size exclusion chromatography indicate that in the adsorption unit the removed organic fraction was mainly low molecular weight compounds. The fractions removed by the flocculation unit were polysaccharides and high molecular weight compounds. The retention of water in summer in the open recharge basins resulted in a growth of algae. Consequently, DOC increased in the polysaccharide and high molecular weight humic substances fraction. The majority of the DOC removal during soil passage took place in the unsaturated area. A limited reduction of DOC was observed in the aquifer zone.

Natural water purification and water management by artificial groundwater recharge

Worldwide,several regions suffer from water scarcity and contamination.The infiltration and subsurface storage of rain and river water can reduce water stress.Artificial groundwater recharge,possibly combined with bank filtration,plant purification and/or the use of subsurface dams and artificial aquifers,is especially advantageous in areas where layers of gravel and sand exist below the earth's surface.Artificial infiltration of surface water into the uppermost aquifer has qualitative and quantitative advantages.The contamination of infiltrated river water will be reduced by natural attenuation.Clay minerals,iron hydroxide and humic matter as well as microorganisms located in the subsurface have high decontamination capacities.By this,a final water treatment,if necessary,becomes much easier and cheaper.The quantitative effect concerns the seasonally changing river discharge that influences the possibility of water extraction for drinking water purposes.Such changes can be equalised by seasonally adapted infiltration/extraction of water in/out of the aquifer according to the river discharge and the water need.This method enables a continuous water supply over the whole year.Generally,artificially recharged groundwater is better protected against pollution than surface water,and the delimitation of water protection zones makes it even more save.

Groundwater recharge site suitability analysis through multiinfluencing factors(MIF)in West Bengal dry-land areas,West Bengal,India

Groundwater levels are gradually declining in basins around the world due to anthropogenic and natural factors.Climate is not the only factor contributing to change in groundwater levels,population growth and economic progress are leading to increased water demand.Areas used for agricultural irrigation are expanding,necessitating the use of artificial groundwater recharge as a method to sustain pumping and enhance storage.The present study delineates potential locations of significant groundwater resources that already exist using a geostatistical approach as a method to identify potential groundwater recharge zones.The Multi-Influencing Factors(MIF)technique was applied to determine the relationship between different landscape and climatic factors that influence groundwater recharge.Factors include topography,climate,hydrogeology,population,economic change,and geology.Integration of these factors enabled the identification of potential locations of groundwater suitable for artificial recharge efforts based on weights derived through the MIF technique.We applied these weights to derive a groundwater recharge index(GRI)map.The map was delineated into three groundwater recharge zones classified by their potential areal coverage as a metric for recharge suitability,namely low,medium and high suitability,occupying areas of 8625 km2(30.06%),9082 km2(31.65%),and 10,989 km~2(38.29%),respectively.Our findings have important implications for designing sustainable groundwater development and land-use plans for the coming century.

Transport of bacterial cell(E,coli)from different recharge water resources in porous media during simulated artificial groundwater recharge

Commonly used recharge water resources for artificial groundwater recharge(AGR)such as secondary effluent(SE),river water and rainfall,are all oligotrophic,with low ionic strengths and different cationic compositions.The dwelling process in recharge pond imposed physiologic stress on Escherichia coli(E.coli)cells,in all three types of investigated recharge water resources and the cultivation of E.coli under varying recharge water conditions,induced changes in cell properties.During adaptation to the recharge water environment,the zeta potential of cells became more negative,the hydrodynamic diameters,extracellular polymeric substances content and surface hydrophobicity decreased,while the cellular outer membrane protein profiles became more diverse.The mobility of cells altered in accordance with changes in these cell properties.The E.coli cells in rainfall recharge water displayed the highest mobility(least retention),followed by cells in river water and finally SE cells,which had the lowest mobility.Simulated column experiments and quantitative modeling confirmed that the cellular properties,driven by the physiologic state of cells in different recharge water matrices and the solution chemistry,exerted synergistic effects on cell transport behavior.The findings of this study contribute to an improved understanding of E.coli transport in actual AGR scenarios and prediction of spreading risk in different recharge water sources.

Removal of Organic Pollutants in Municipal Wastewater for Artificial Groundwater Recharge

In order to construct a demonstration artificial groundwater recharge system for wastewater reuse in China, three years of laboratory work has been conducted on advanced treatment technologies in combination with soil aquifer treatment of secondary effluent from sewage treatment plants. An effective and inexpensive process was selected, which uses DGB adsorption, PAC coagulation, sedimentation, sand filtration, ozone disinfection, and soil aquifer treatment. The effluent meets the recommended water quality criteria for groundwater recharge. Ozonation is effective for disinfection as well as for water quality improvement. Results showed that the total N in the SAT system remained constant thus the secondary effluent must have a low NH 3—N concentration for groundwater recharge.

Adsorption and biodegradation of three selected endocrine disrupting chemicals in river-based artificial groundwater recharge with reclaimed municipal wastewater

Endocrine disrupting chemical（EDC） pollution in river-based artificial groundwater recharge using reclaimed municipal wastewater poses a potential threat to groundwater-based drinking water supplies in Beijing, China. Lab-scale leaching column experiments simulating recharge were conducted to study the adsorption, biodegradation, and transport characteristics of three selected EDCs： 17β-estradiol（E2）, 17α-ethinylestradiol（EE2） and bisphenol A（BPA）. The three recharge columns were operated under the conditions of continual sterilization recharge（CSR）, continual recharge（CR）, and wetting and drying alternative recharge（WDAR）. The results showed that the attenuation effect of the EDCs was in the order of WDAR 〉 CR 〉 CSR system and E2 〉 EE2 〉 BPA, which followed first-order kinetics. The EDC attenuation rate constants were 0.0783, 0.0505, and 0.0479 m-1 for E2, EE2 and BPA in the CR system, respectively. The removal rates of E2, EE2, and BPA in the CR system were 98%, 96% and 92%, which mainly depended on biodegradation and were affected by water temperature.In the CR system, the concentrations of BPA, EE2, and E2 in soil were 4, 6 and 10 times higher than in the WDAR system, respectively. According to the DGGE fingerprints, the bacterial community in the bottom layer was more diverse than in the upper layer, which was related to the EDC concentrations in the water-soil system. The dominant group was found to be proteobacteria, including Betaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, suggesting that these microbes might play an important role in EDC degradation.

Abkhandari (Aquifer Management): a Green Path to the Sustainable Development of Marginal Drylands

Recurrent droughts and occasional floods are the facts of life in drylands. The presence of innumerable societies in deserts is the living proof that even the extremely dry environments are livable; the secret is how to adapt to the situation. Floodwater management, the most important art of sedentarized desert dwellers, is the secret of living with deserts. Floodwater irrigation alone, or in combination with the artificial recharge of groundwater （ARG）, has sustained the Persians for millennia. The scientists at the Kowsar Floodwater Spreading and Aquifer Management Research, Training and Extension Station in the Gareh Bygone Plain have been working since January 1983 to revive this ancient art and upgrade it to the level of science. A summary of important findings is provided as follows： 1. Debris cones and coarse alluvial fans are the best places for the ARG as they provide the potential aquifer for groundwater storage. The recharged water may be used for irrigation on the lower lying, fine alluvium; 2. Flood is not a proverbial curse but a blessing in disguise, and the turbid floodwater is the best resource for the sustainable development of drylands; 3. Translocation of fine clay minerals eventually makes the vadose zone impermeable. Planting deep-rooted, drought-resistent trees and shrubs, and introducing sowbugs （Hemilepistus shirazi Schuttz） are reliable methods to increase infiltration rate and the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the ARG systems; 4. The moving sand stabilization is best achieved by spreading turbid floodwater onto them. Establishing of living windbreaks and planting of fodder trees and shrubs turn a sand menace into a verdant pasture; 5. The 10 year average of native forage yield in the ARG systems has been 445 kg·ha^-1·year^-1 as opposed to 92 kg·ha^-1.year^-1 for the control. At 4×4 m^2 spacing, Atriplex lentiformis （Torr.） Wats. can annually yield 1500 kg ha^-1 of dry matter and support 3 heads of sheep; 6. The stem- and fuel wood yield of 18 year old Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. in the ARG system have been 4,684 and 781 kg·ha^-1.year^-1, respectively. The mean annual carbon sequestration of this tree has been 2.975 tons per ha; 7.Up to 80% of the diverted floodwaters reach the unconfined aquifer. As evaporation practically wastes large volumes of water in surface reservoirs, storing water underground is logical in deserts; 8. The high evaporation rate, the large sediment load, the environmental hazards, the undesirable social costs, the long time needed for the different phases of study, and the very large price tag make dam building the most hydro-illogical choice in deserts where the ARG is practicable; 9. Each 5.5 ha of the irrigated farm provides income for a family of 7.64 member and 0.38 employment opportunities for a farm hand. On average, 4-ha of an ARG system provides one full time job for irrigation farmers. The benefit： cost ratio for this project is 22; 10. The number of wells in the area affected by the ARG activities has increased lo-fold to 130 wells, the irrigated area has increased 8-fold to 1,193 ha, and 345 job opportunities have been created in 4 villages that surround the Station.