Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality (1994) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Summary
Summary
Pages 1-11
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
; under appropriate conditions and where better sources are not available, recovered recharge water also can be an option for potable use. Artificial recharge can be used to control sea water intrusion in coastal aquifers, control land subsidence
|
From page 2... ...
The National Research Council's Committee on Ground Water Recharge was established to study issues associated with the recharge of ground water using source waters of impaired quality, specifically treated municipal wastewater, stormwater runoff, and irrigation return flow, and issues associated with the use of recovered recharge water for potable as well as nonpotable purposes. (This report does not address industrial wastewater, which can contain too wide and too different an array of possible constituents to be dealt with in this same volume.)
|
From page 3... ...
The unsaturated soil layer (vadose zone) can play an important role in artificial recharge: it can remove or reduce the chemical and biological constituents present in the impaired quality source water as it moves toward the underlying aquifer and thus help reduce potential health risks before the recharge water enters the ground water.
|
From page 4... ...
PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES A major consideration in the use of impaired-quality waters for artificial recharge is the possible presence of chemical and microbiological agents in the source waters that may be hazardous to human health. Such concerns apply both to potable use and to indirect human exposures that might occur from nonpotable uses, although the possible exposure and thus the risk is significantly less for nonpotable reuse.
|
From page 5... ...
Such studies employ state-of-the-art methodologies to measure toxicological effects and determine the identities of inorganic and organic chemical compounds. None of the studies found significant effects from chemical toxicants or infectious disease agents, although methodological limitations and the limited extent of testing prevent us from interpreting these results as showing with complete certainty that there are no health effects associated with human consumption of recharged water from impaired quality sources, especially over the long term.
|
From page 6... ...
ECONOMIC, LEGAL, AND INSTITUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS The future of artificial recharge using waters of impaired quality will be crucially affected by the economic, legal, and institutional setting. Indeed, the institutional barriers may prove to be more problematic than the remaining tech nical constraints.
|
From page 7... ...
Artificial recharge using source waters of impaired quality is a sound option where recharge is intended to control saltwater infusion, reduce land subsidence, maintain stream baseflows, or similar in-ground functions. It is particularly well-suited for nonpotable purposes, such as landscape irrigation, because health risks are minimal and public acceptance is high.
|
From page 8... ...
In either approach, but especially where potable reuse is considered, careful preproject study and planning is required. Potential Impaired Quality Sources Three main types of impaired quality waters are potentially available for ground water recharge-treated municipal.wastewater, stormwater runoff, and irrigation return flow.
|
From page 9... ...
Human Health Concerns The principal concern with regard to artificial recharge using waters of impaired quality for potable purposes is the protection of human health. Several major studies employing state-of-the-art methods for organic analysis and toxicological testing show that well managed recharge projects produce recovered water of essentially the same quality from a health perspective as water from other acceptable sources.
|
From page 10... ...
Thus, additional research should be undertaken on He transport and fate of viruses in recharged aquifers to allow improved assessments of the possible heals risks and needs for post-extraction disinfection associated win such systems. · Artificial recharge of ground water win waters of impaired quality should be used to augment water supplies for potable uses only when better-quality sources are not available, subject to thorough consideration of health effects and depending on economic and practical considerations.
|
From page 11... ...
. As a first step in developing institutional arrangements that will foster artificial recharge as a means of augmenting water supplies, states should move to clarify the legal rights to source waters and recovered waters for artificial recharge operations.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.