Managed Aquifer RechargeMaria Gibson
What is Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)?
http://www.hydratelife.org/?p=860
Why MAR?
(Dillon et al., 2008)
Clean Water ActUSA Regulation
Safe Drinking Water Act
Image: http://www.aqualifeusa.com/eng/water_health.htm
Goal: Protect above and underground sources of drinking
water
Congress Enacted the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974
USA Regulation
Safe Drinking Water ActCongress enacted Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974
Lead to Primary Drinking Water Standards
EPA Created Underground Injection Control Program
ASR wells considered Class 5 UIC Injection wells
UIC Injection Wells
• Septic sewage systems• Stormwater runoff• Commercial or Industrial Waste
Enforced by the USEPAU.S Environmental Protection Agency Underground Injection Program
Source: http://www.epa.gov/oust/regions/regmap.htm
http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/Primacy.cfm
What is primacy?
Groundwater Rights
Prior Appropriation
Resaonable Use
Correlative Rights
Absoulte Ownership
Reinstatement of Torts
Surface Water Doctrine Description
Prior Appropriation"First in time, first in right" - senior water holders maintain full allocation during times of shortages; the right to use water is not necessarily located on the water right holder's property, but the water must be put to beneficial use, which is determined by a permitting system.
Riparian Riparian landowners have the legal right to use surface water on or bordering their property, as long as it does not infringe upon other riparian landowners' rights. Surface water under the riparian doctrine is considered a common resource.
Regulated Riparian
Similar to the riparian doctrine, although state agencies have the power to decide the amount of water allocated based on "reasonable use', which is decided through a permitting system. It does not take away water ownership from the landowner; but it subjects the landowner to regulations, as water is considered a public resource.
Mixed Riparian and Prior AppropriationA mixed system allocates riparian landowners with certain rights to water, while prior appropriation gives the state flexibility in allocating non-riparian landowners water rights based on the priority system.
Physical Storage Systems
(freshwater)
ChemicallyBounded System
(brackish)
Regulatory System(freshwater)
What is Aquifer Storage and Recovery?
Simon and Bloetscher, 2010
Where is ASR?
Why ASR?
(Dillon et al., 2008)
Regulated under SDWA
What is Shallow Aquifer Recharge?
(Dillon et al., 2008)
Not as stringent as ASR regulation – why?
Why SAR?
http://www.ngwa.org/Fundamentals/hydrology/Pages/Principles-of-induced-infiltration-and-artificial-recharge.aspx
The Good: Pendleton, OR
http://www.pendleton.or.us/history
The Good: Pendleton, OR
http://www.opb.org/news/article/in-pendleton-newfound-well-power/
The Good: Pendleton, OR
5 ASR Wells Cost ~600kPayback in 5-6 years w/o incentives
2012: ASR wells injected 545 million gallons
The Bad: Calleguas Municipal Water District
http://www.laobserved.com/assets/las-posas-basin-map.jpg
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/25/las-posas-basin-aquifer-failure_n_3813800.html
• Create an underground lake so vast it could blanket all of Los Angeles under 1 foot of water...
• Officials boasted the subterranean vault would become a model for preserving scarce supplies and combatting droughts, not just in California but globally...
• Calleguas touted the project in the fall of 2010 as a "resounding success" that raised groundwater levels.
• Underground storage has worked before. As far back as the 1950s, water imported from the Colorado River was stashed in local groundwater basins. There are dozens of the hidden chambers in California.
1. Geochemistry2. Clogging3. Recovery
(Bloetscher et al., 2014)
The Beautiful
Fun Fact: Melbourne was almost called the town of Batman, after its founding father.
(Dillon et al., 2008)
The Beautiful: Salisbury, AU
http://www.salisbury.sa.gov.au/Our_City/Environment/Wetlands_and_Water/Water_Recycling/Aquifer_Storage_Recovery
http://www.aila.org.au/PROJECTS/SA/paddocks/default.htm
http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/discover-dsto/our-history
MAR’s Future?
MAR’s Future?
Showdown in TexasBexar Met SAWS
Principal aquifers in the US
Source: http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/groundwater/management_areas/index.asp
2004: San Antonio built treatment facility and integrated into distribution system cost of ~US 110 million
2007: Bexar Met put in high capacity well across street from current ASR wellfield “capturing” stored water
Bexar Met vs SAWSBexar:
-original pumping estimate: ~5.2 MGD-later estimate: 3x that
Outcome:Bexar eventually downsized project to 2.3MGD
Why?....
• 1979: 60 acre lot• 1980: 40 acre lot
• 1995: 120.2–acre feet of Edwards Aquifer water per year
1993: Enacted Edwards Authority Act (effective in 1996)
“The Act empowers the Authority to implement a comprehensive regulatory scheme to control and manage the use of the Edwards Aquifer, and regulate groundwater withdrawals from the aquifer.”
The Authority is responsible not only for permitting groundwater use but for “protect[ing] terrestrial and aquatic life,” specifically, “species that are designated as threatened or endangered under applicable federal or state law.”
http://www.edwardsaquifer.net/geology.html
http://www.edwardsaquifer.net/geology.html
Denied new permits from EAA Sued EAA and General Manager in 2006
http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/docs/A129878.htm
Gary H:• Property 170 acres• Property elevation ~2000 ft• 3 ponds ~ 13 million gallons
Watershed:• 158,337 acres• Rainfall ~35 in/yr at
elevations < 3500 ft• Median flow of Big Butte
Creek: 156 ft3/sec
What We Know:
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:Big_Butte_Creek_Watershed.png
Groundwater is Sexy....
-if you live under a rock
How to sell groundwater sustainability to the masses
Maria GibsonPhD Student | Geology and Geophysics Group | Oregon State University
Surface water is sexy.
Groundwater...not so much.http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/wells.cfm
“Men (people) are rarely aware of the real reasons which motivate their actions.”
Sex Sells...but what?
American Breakfast
Before Bernays
http://www.americantable.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/DSC00712.jpg
After Bernays
Women Smokers
Before Bernays
After Bernays
How can we sell groundwater sustainability to the masses?
“Bernays-it”
“The science of hydrology would be relatively simple if water were unable to penetrate
below the earth's surface"
-Harold E. Thomas
http://www.hydrology.nl/images/docs/iah/cartoons/01_what_is_gw.jpg
Some reasons:
• Out of sight
• Difficult to explain
• Marginalized
Groundwater isn’t sexy...why?
1. Out of sight, out of mind
http://aquarius.umaine.edu/cgi/ed_processes.htm
2. It’s difficult to explain in layman’s terms
Mitchell and Carson,1989
http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2009/world/infographic-ten-things-you-should-know-about-water/
3. It’s being marginalized
http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2009/world/infographic-ten-things-you-should-know-about-water/
http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2009/world/infographic-ten-things-you-should-know-about-water/
“...only by mastering the techniques of communication can leadership be exercised
fruitfully...”
–Edward Bernays (The Engineering of Consent, 1947)
Tools to sell groundwater sustainability
1. Communication
1. Communication: ASR in Georgia
Against ASR
• ASR= filthy river water put underground
• Dangerous• Dumber than dirt!
For ASR
• ASR=We have water• ASR = negligible risk• Promoting
investment in water supply development
The battle played out in the media
Communication
“By failing to anticipate common misunderstandings,
scientists can inadvertently
reinforce them.”-Somerville and Hassol, 2011
Communication: Words to live by
Somerville and Hassol, 2011
2. Increase Public Awareness
“The engineering consent should be based...on the complete understanding of those whom it attempts
to win over”
-Edward Bernays(The Engineering of Consent, 1947)
Increase Public Awareness
Chapman, 2008
• 55% Believe a connection exists
• 3% No connection exists
• 42% Have no idea
Is there a connection between surface water and groundwater?
Survey: Urban Groundwater, Stream Conditions, and Homeowner Perception
• ¼ of those surveyed said they did not have enough information about groundwater to state an opinion
Groundwater Quality Rating:
Mahler et al., 2005
Survey: Public Perception and Actions towards Sustainable Groundwater Management in the PNW
Increase Public Awareness
“Any person or organization depends ultimately on public approval.”
–Edward Bernays (The Engineering of Consent, 1947)
Gaining Public Approval
ASR in Salisbury, Australia
Stormwater Harvesting and Groundwater
Injection
http://www.aila.org.au/PROJECTS/SA/paddocks/default.htm
http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/discover-dsto/our-history
Swayed public opinion by integrating their agenda with:
• Conservation Groups• Commercial Interest Groups
No battle ever played out in the media. Why?
http://www.salisbury.sa.gov.au/Our_City/Environment/Wetlands_and_Water/Water_Recycling/Aquifer_Storage_Recovery
“He who seeks to manipulate public opinion must always heed it.”
–Edward Bernays (Manipulating Public Opinion: The Why and The How, 1928)
ReferencesBernays, E. 1928. Manipulating Public Opinion: The Why and The How. American
Journal of Sociology. 33:6, 958-971
Bernays, E. 1947. The Engineering of Consent. American Academy of Political and Social Science. 250, 113-120
Chapman, R. 2008 Urban Groundwater Stream Conditions, and Homeowner Perceptions. Iowa State University Mater Thesis. 85 p.
Mahler, R., Simmons, R., Sorensen, F. 2006. Public Perception and Actions towards Sustainable Groundwater Management in the Pacific Northwest Region, USA. International Journal of Water Resources Development. 21:3, 465-472
Mitchell, R. and Carson, R., 1989. Existence Values for Groundwater Protection. Draft Final Report Prepared Under Cooperative Agreement CR814041-01 Between the US Environmental Protection Agency and Resources for the Future. 260 p.
Somerville, R. and Hassol, S. 2011. Communicating the Science of Climate Change. Physics Today. 6 p.