Peter Dillon, CSIRO Land and Water, Urrbrae, SA

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Australian Progress in Urban Managed Aquifer
Recharge - Opening options in water recycling
and stormwater use

• Peter Dillon, CSIRO Land and Water, Urrbrae, SA

OzWater 2012 National Groundwater Workshop ,
Sydney 10 May 2012
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Why consider MAR ?

• Increase water storage security
• Low cost water supply
• Replenish depleted aquifers
• Saline intrusion barrier
• Evaporation, algae mosquito avoidance
• Harvest low security water to make high security
  supplies
• Turns wasted water into a resource
• Aquifers provide extra protective barrier
• Public confidence in water supplies via MAR
• ie. a fundamental tool for integrated water
  resources management

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Current Status of MAR in Australia
City Current Potential
GL/yr GL/yr Adelaide 15
60 Alice Springs 0.5 2 Brisbane
? Canberra
? Melbourne 0.1 100 Perth
1.5 gt250 Sydney ? ? SA
Regional towns 3 15 Other
urban ? National urban
20 gt400

• 
  

Primary Industries Current Qld. Burdekin
irrig. 40GL/yr WA Pilbara mining 20GL/yr
.... 60 GL/yr Potential Qld/NSW CSG assoc
water, lt80GL/yr national irrigation ? ... gt
400 GL/yr
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Gnangara Groundwater Mound, Perth
Storage decline of 500GL over 25 years
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ASTR, Beenyup Groundwater Replenishment Trial,
WA
Images from Water Corporation
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from Dillon et al (2009) Waterlines No 13. NWC
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ASTR MAR and Stormwater Use Options
www.clw.csiro.au/astr
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Managed Aquifer Recharge and Stormwater Use
Options Project (MARSUO) - Objectives

1. Provide accurate information to assess the range
   of stormwater use options for Adelaide addressing
   safety, economics, environmental impacts,
   infrastructure impacts and community acceptance.
2. Provide NWC with foundational information for
   nationally applicable methodology to support high
   valued uses of stormwater with specific immediate
   application in Adelaide

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MARSUO Activities
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Direct Costs of Water Supply/Demand Options
Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle
Stormwater ASR
Source Marsden Jacob Analysis based on water
supply plans for Sydney, Adelaide, Perth,
Newcastle. Lower bound of indirect potable reuse
estimate based on Toowoomba.
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Know the catchment
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(No Transcript)
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What options?
OPTION 11 STORMWATER ? AQUIFER ?RESERVOIR
?TREATMENTPLANT ?DRINKING
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Stormwater Use Options
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Aquifer replenishment in CSG industry
340 GL which could be used for multiple
beneficial use projects
Slide courtesy of Santos We have the Energy
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MAR policy matrix
Attribute Quantity (Ward and Dillon 2011) Waterlines 38 Quality (addressed in MAR Guidelines) NRMMC-EPHC-NHMRC 2009
Management Issue Water and Storage Entitlements and Allocation Human Health and Environment Protection
Resource Surface water Environmental flow requirements \Water allocation plans and surface water entitlements Inter-jurisdictional agreements Catchment pollution control plan Water quality requirements for intended uses Risk management plan for water quality
Groundwater Groundwater plan for entitlements allocation Groundwater-dependent ecosystems Demand management Capacity and entitlement for additional storage in the aquifer Transfer of entitlements from MAR operations Inter-jurisdictional agreements Groundwater quality protection plan for recharged aquifer Water quality requirements for intended uses of groundwater Risk management plan for water quality assurance beyond attenuation zone,
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MAR Water Resources Policy Framework
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Information on MAR..

• introduction 2009
• NWQMS guidelines 2009
• case studies 2010
• a policy framework 2011
• state of progress report 2012
• technical overviews eg EC/IWA 2012

2009
2011 2012
2009
2010
2010
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Facilitators for implementing MAR Progress

1. Hydrogeological mapping to give intending
   proponents an initial appraisal of the potential
   for MAR
2. Demonstration projects that allow proponents and
   regulators to develop skills
3. Water resources plans that account for all costs
   and benefits of new alternative supplies
4. Greater awareness of costs of MAR in relation to
   alternatives
5. An emerging framework for water resources
   planning and regulation that takes account of MAR
   
6. Confidence engendered by national guidelines for
   MAR
7. Publically accessible information on MAR to allow
   knowledge to accumulate

POOR SA, WA, VIC, NT ACT, VIC SA, WA Vic,
WA, SA NATIONAL POOR
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Conclusions Australias Groundwater Challenges
MAR

• Past
• getting MAR considered and established in absence
  of information
• investing in enough research to produce the
  basics
• Present
• have Guidelines, policy framework, demo projects,
  but implementation has only reached 5 of
  potential sources of future funding?
• natural systems competing with engineered systems
  challenge is to allowing time for
  investigations before major water supply
  decisions
• Future
• NRM agencies applying MAR as g/w management
  strategy -capabilities for active role and
  establishment of water banks and g/w user groups
• Revision of MAR and G/W protection GLs for
  pathogen fate
• implementation of bank filtration, saline
  intrusion barriers (demos)
• Getting surface water and groundwater caps in
  place to benefit from recharge of unconfined
  aquifers for agriculture

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Information sources on MAR

• Australian Guidelines for Managed Aquifer
  Recharge
• http//www.ephc.gov.au/taxonomy/term/39
• Managed aquifer recharge case study risk
  assessments
• (Page et al. CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country
  Flagship Report, Dec 2010, 144p)
• http//www.clw.csiro.au/publications/waterforahea
  lthycountry/2010/wfhc-MAR-case-study-risk-assessme
  nts.pdf
• Robust policies for MAR
• Waterlines Report No 38, January 2011 (National
  Water Commission, Australia)
• http//nwc.gov.au/publications/waterlines/robust-p
  olicy-design-for-managed-aquifer-recharge
• Managed Aquifer Recharge An Introduction
• Waterlines Report No 13, February 2009 (National
  Water Commission, Australia)
• http//nwc.gov.au/publications/waterlines/waterlin
  es-13
• Progress in Managed Aquifer Recharge in Australia
• Waterlines Report No 73, March 2012 (National
  Water Commission, Australia)
• http//nwc.gov.au/publications/waterlines/73

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IAH MAR International Association of
Hydrogeologists Commission on Management of
Aquifer Recharge www.iah.org/recharge Aim Safe,
sustainable recharge enhancement Methods web
site, web searchable publications database, email
list, conferences, projects, working groups

• publications strategies to enhance recharge in
  arid and semi-arid areas
• training programs
• inventory
• regulations

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Thank you
CSIRO Land and Water Peter Dillon Leader, Water
Recycling and Diversified Supply Phone 08 8303
8714 Mobile [phone] Email
peter.dillon_at_csiro.au Web http//www.csiro.au/sc
ience/Recycling-and-Diversified-Supply.html
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Types of MAR
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National Water Quality Management Strategy
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Australian Innovation - Technology

• ASR/ASTR with stormwater and recycled water
• Water quality
• geochemical evaluation,
• pathogen attenuation,
• aquifer microbial ecology,
• Presence and fate of trace organics ,
• metal mobilisation
• modelling reactive contaminant behaviour
• Operational
• clogging management,
• enhancing recovery efficiency in brackish
  aquifers,
• risk assessment
• risk management systems
• Current research MARSUO (MAR Stormwater Use
  Options)

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and engagement..
AusAID MAR workshop New Delhi
8 NWC AGWR workshops
2 MARSUO focus groups satellite sites risk
assessment workshop
NCGRT MAR course