A key factor in the long-term viability of aquifer storage and recovery is the extent of mineral interaction between two dissimilar water types, their recoverable fractions and consequent impact on water quality and aquifer stability.

An aquifer storage and recovery well study was undertaken in the semi-arid region of northern India in Hisar, Haryana to assess the technical viability, environmental sustainability and commercial/ economic feasibility of the aquifer storage and recovery system in a generic sense. About 2000 cubic metre of canal water was injected in each recharge cycle aquifer and 100 per cent of the mixture was extracted during each recovery cycle of the experiment.

The present study showed that all the quality parameters (cation and anion) increased with time in the recovered water in all the aquifer storage and recovery cycles. It also revealed that groundwater quality of the recovered water was better than that of the native water and recovery percentage of recharged water (EC ≤ 2 dS m–1) increased from 47 per cent to 74 per cent in successive recovery cycles.

The potassium concentration in the recovered water was greater than that of the injected water as a result of potassium release from clay minerals in the aquifer. Borate was also released from the aquifer due the tourmaline dissolution and desorption from clay minerals under lower pH conditions caused by surface water injection.

The paper can be downloaded below –