Abstract
Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is known to increase available water quantity and to improve water quality. However, its implementation is hindered by the concern of polluting aquifers, which might lead to onerous treatment and regulatory requirements for the source water. These requirements might make MAR unsustainable both economically and energetically. To address these concerns, we tested reactive barriers laid at the bottom of infiltration basins to enhance water quality improvement during soil passage. The goal of the barriers was to (1) provide a range of sorption sites to favor the retention of chemical contaminants and pathogens; (2) favor the development of a sequence of redox states to promote the degradation of the most recalcitrant chemical contaminants; and (3) promote the growth of plants both to reduce clogging, and to supply organic carbon and sorption sites. We summarized our experience to show that the barriers did enhance the removal of organic pollutants of concern (e.g., pharmaceuticals and personal care products). However, the barriers did not increase the removal of pathogens beyond traditional MAR systems. We reviewed the literature to suggest improvements on the design of the system to improve pathogen attenuation and to address antibiotic resistance gene transfer.
Highlights
Climate change and the expansion of urban areas is a major worldwide threat to sustainable and safe drinking water supplies [1]
Estimated λs for the Sant Vicenç dels Horts site, operating with the reactive barrier, were similar to or higher than those reported in the literature
The λs estimated for the reactive barrier subdomain (BARR) tended to be much larger than literature values, whereas the λs estimated for the aquifer domain (AQU) were comparable, suggesting the proper performance of the reactive barrier
Summary
Climate change and the expansion of urban areas is a major worldwide threat to sustainable and safe drinking water supplies [1]. Rainfall fails to meet Spanish regulations for reuse (too low pH and too high suspended solids), which are the regulations adopted in practice for MAR [14] This is paradoxical because potable water treatment during the 19th century consisted of sand filtering to remove pathogens and resulted in a life expectancy increase of some 20 years [15,16]. This paradox is well reflected in the ongoing debate about quality requirements for artificial recharge. The European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC)
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