Managed aquifer recharge solutions
The acronym given to the MARSOLut project comes from the title “Managed Aquifer Recharge Solutions”. Run by José Paulo Monteiro, a researcher at the Centre for Water Science and Technology (CTA), this “Marie Curie” project consists of making use of the volume of empty space in aquifers above the water table (which is gigantic). An analogy often used to express the concept of “managed recharge” more simply is to compare an Aquifer to a savings account, where water is stored in times of excess, and then used at a later date, in a period of crisis. Alternatively, water can also be injected directly into the saturated area to recover overexploited aquifers.
But what are aquifers anyway, and why are they important? An aquifer is an underground geological formation capable of storing water, and which is sufficiently permeable to allow the water to move. They are underground reservoirs formed by porous and permeable rocks that retain the rainwater that seeps through the soil, carrying it into rivers and wells due to differences in hydraulic potential. Aquifers also ensure the stability of surface watercourses (rivers, lakes and wetlands) as well as regulating floods caused by rainwater infiltration.
Though managed aquifer recharge has already become very important in the daily management of water resources in many parts of the world, this is not the case in Portugal. In the Algarve, several pilot experiments have already been implemented effectively through the team’s previous project, MARSOL.
“With MARSOLut, we intend to train human resources, fully preparing them to work with these types of methodologies, thus contributing to solving the problems faced in water management in Europe for the next generation,” explains José Paulo Monteiro.
The researcher also mentions that, in order to do so, they are “developing 12 interconnected PhD projects in order to respond to every need faced in managed aquifer recharge projects.”
In the Algarve specifically, studies are underway on a solution in response to the water resource management problems identified and which will require measures to be taken between 2021 and 2027. This period corresponds to the third planning cycle of the river basin management plans carried out in all EU countries, as per the requirements of the Water Framework Directive, the main instrument of European Union policy, through which a framework is established for EU action taken to protect inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater.
In some instances, these problems are quantitative, leading to imbalances between water availability and consumption; and, in others, they are qualitative, related to the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of water quality.
By recharging this excess water into aquifers, this project may help solve or mitigate drainage problems in flat areas and flooding exacerbated by the interception of rain in greenhouses, for example. The project coordinator also explains that “the restoration of groundwater levels is reinforced and the saline intrusion of coastal aquifers is combated and, in so doing, water quality problems can be corrected, as aquifers are natural systems that help maintain their quality.”
The trend towards altering the hydrological cycle, which has been detected over recent decades, is well-known and has led to a decrease in the annual average values of precipitation and aquifer recharge, with more concentrated precipitation over short, intense periods.
As the researcher explains, “This type of problem cannot be solved simply by using the traditional water management methods employed intensively throughout the last century.” Time is running out. Protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers and aquifers now and in the future, is one of the aims of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). Managed aquifer recharge is expected to become increasingly important among the strategies used for this purpose by future generations. This project, which encompasses Germany, Spain, Italy, Malta, Israel and Greece, as well as Portugal, will contribute to global sustainable development and to solving water and sanitation problems on both a local and international scale.
José Paulo Monteiro has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Geology, a Master’s in Applied Geology, a PhD in Hydrogeology and is a researcher for the Water Science and Technology Centre (CTA) of the University of Algarve.
