ASR Activities In The Western United States

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ASR Activities In The Western United States
Presented by
Terry L. Foreman, R.G., CHG
Presented at the Aquifer Storage and Recovery
IV Conference Tampa, FL April 15, 2004
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Ventura County Star March 28, 2004
Since 1999, the Southwest, the central Rockies
and western Great Plains have been parched. The
year 2002 was the driest of the past 100 years in
Arizona and second driest for Arizona, New
Mexico, Colorado and Utah.
Scientists say this present crisis may reflect
the true character of the West -- an arid land
that Americans have not inhabited long enough to
fully understand.
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Presentation Topics

• Recharge Techniques
• Definition of ASR
• Drivers
• Distribution of ASR Projects
• Selected Case Studies
• The Future

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Recharge Techniques

• Surface Recharge
• channel recharge and offstream basins
• relatively low cost, where feasible

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Recharge Techniques

• In-lieu Recharge
• groundwater users take excess surface water when
  available, reducing the amount of water pumped
  and indirectly replenishing the basin

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Recharge Techniques

• Well Recharge
• injection wells and dry wells
• aquifer storage recovery (ASR) wells
• feasible, higher cost, requires pretreatment

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Well Recharge Techniques

• Injection wells
• Salinity barriers (Orange, Los Angeles counties)
• Las Vegas, other locations
• Dry wells
• Scottsdale, AZ
• Chino basin, CA
• Aquifer storage recovery (ASR) wells

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Aquifer Storage Recovery ASR
The Use of Dual-Purpose Wells for the Injection
and Extraction of Water
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Definition of ASR
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Drivers For Innovative Water Management Solutions

• Population growth
• Variability of hydrologeology
• Water supply characteristics
• Need to restore and protect the environment
• Need for efficient use of treatment and
  conveyance facilities
• Publics demand for low-cost water

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Potential Water Supply Crisis By 2025
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California

• Conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater
  supplies
• Storage and recovery of recycled water
• Water quality improvement
• Environmental mitigation
• Land use
• Cost savings, efficient use of infrastructure
• Reliability!!!!!!!!!!

Operational Study / Demonstration
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Population Growth Will Drive Increased Water
Demand
California is expected to add 15 million people
by 2020 - the equivalent of eight neighboring
states!
Source DWR 1998
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Water Supplies are Not Evenly Distributed in the
State
Source DWR 1998
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Water Supplies Vary Considerably Year to Year -
SWP
Bank Water For Later Use!
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Competing Demands For Water
Require A Delicate Balancing Act
Water supply for Environmental demands
Water supply for MI and Ag demands
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Existing Infrastructure Is Near Capacity
Source DWR 1998
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Application of ASR Can Provide A Piece of the
Water Management Puzzle
Water Recycling
Conservation
ASR
BMPs
Regulation
Surface Water Storage
Water Development
Groundwater Recovery
Seawater Desalination
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ASR ApplicationsCalifornia Coastal Regions

• ASR Applies Where,
• Areas highly urbanized, so land is expensive
• Confined aquifers
• Poor quality groundwater zones
• Extensive infrastructure
• Available storage from historical overdraft

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Location of Calleguas Las Posas Basin ASR Projects
Los Angeles
San Diego
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Need For The Calleguas Las Posas Basin ASR
ProjectReliability For 500,000 People

• Calleguas Has One Source of Water Supply
• Calleguas Has Only 10,000 Acre-feet of Surface
  Storage
• Seismically Active Area
• Import Water Supply Is Uncertain

Perliter Tunnel
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Location of the Las Posas Basin ASR Project
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Las Posas Basin ASR Project

• 30 New ASR Wells
• 80 cfs of injection capacity (52 mgd)
• 100 cfs of extraction capacity (65 mgd)
• 100,000 acre-feet of storage to meet peaking,
  emergency, and drought conditions (33 billion
  gallons)

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Las Posas Basin ASR Project
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The Bayside Groundwater ProjectEBMUDs
Fast-Track Conjunctive Use Project
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The Problem Drought Supply
Pardee Reservoir 1977
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What is the Bayside Groundwater Project?

• Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR)
• Drought Supply
• 10,000 - 15,000 Acre feet per year capacity (3.3
  to 5 billion gallons)

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Clean Water Revival ProjectLivermore Valley,
California

• Project Objectives
• Wastewater disposal
• 2.5 mgd (2,800 AFY)
• Related benefits
• Improve groundwater quality
• recycled/RO water 100 mg/l TDS
• groundwater 400-600 mg/l TDS
• Increase local water supplies
• 2,800 AFY

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DSRSD CWR Project Timeline

• Project concept developed Oct-94
• Preliminary feasibility study 6 months
• Well siting EIR 18 months
• Design 6 months
• Groundbreaking Sep-97
• Construction complete Nov-98
• Project stopped Sep-98
• wells not yet constructed

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Nevada

• Las Vegas Valley Water District
• Explosive growth
• Lowest priority to Colorado River Water
• Stored about 250,000 acre-feet since 1987 (81.5
  billion gallons)

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Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado

• Water banking (e.g. Las Vegas has banked 117,000
  acre feet, 38 billion gallons, in Arizona)
• Storage and recovery of recycled water
• Conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater
  supplies

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Texas

• Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater
  supplies to meet seasonal peak demands
• Storage and recovery of recycled water
• Cost savings, more efficient use of
  infrastructure, especially for peak day
• Environmental mitigation

El Paso
Leander
Pflugerville
Kerrville
Austin
San Antonio
Laredo
Brownsville
Operational Reclaimed Water Injection Well
System Operational Potable System Feasibility
Investigation
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San Antonio Two factors affect current and
future water supplies

• ESA withdrawal impacts

• Drought

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San Antonio Situation

• Relies on Edwards aquifer for supply
• Pumpage limits set by Edwards Aquifer Authority,
  only permitted aquifer in State
• Strategies include
• Expanding conservation and reuse
• Surface water development
• Alternative groundwater supply

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San Antonio Water System (SAWS)

• Phase I under construction
• 17 ASR wells and 4 additional monitor wells have
  been constructed
• Pumps and pipelines are being installed
• 30 mgd total production capacity
• Treatment plant for removal of Fe Mn under
  construction
• Production will begin Spring 2004

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San Antonio Water System

• Phase II to begin Summer 2004
• 10 to 12 additional wells
• Increase capacity from 30 mgd to 64 mgd
• Full conversion to ASR
• Construction planned for 2004
• 3rd Largest in US

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Pacific Northwest

• Address declining groundwater levels
• Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater
  supplies
• Environmental Issues - flow and quality (i.e,
  temperature)

Includes ASR projects in fractured basalt
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The Future

• Increased management of surface water and
  groundwater supplies to increase yields - more
  water banking projects
• Increased use of recycled water to augment water
  demands - regulatory framework is developing
• Increase use of ASR (and other storage schemes)
  to address environmental issues
• Timing of capture of stream flows to minimize
  impacts
• Maintain water quality in streams
• Maintain groundwater discharge to streams
• Increased use of ASR (and other storage schemes)
  to minimize cost of other infrastructure
  (treatment, conveyance, etc.)