Marsure

MARSURE
Hybrid Managed Aquifer Recharge as an Adaption Tool to Ensure a Resilient and Healthy Groundwater Resource

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR), the purposeful recharge of water to aquifers for subsequent recovery, is used globally to replenish overexploited groundwater resources and prevent saltwater intrusion.

Due to water shortage accelerated by climate change, there is a growing interest to utilize unconventional water resources for MAR, such as reclaimed water or surface water impaired by wastewater discharges. This, however, raises major concerns related to pollution of our drinking water resources.

The primary aim of MARSURE is to extend the application of MAR by combining it with pretreatment processes to prevent groundwater contamination by organic micropollutants, nutrients, metals, and pathogens including antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. This we call Hybrid-MAR.

The primary output will be next-generation hybrid-MAR technologies that allow using a greater range of source water resources for MAR without compromising the quality of groundwater aquifers. Thereby, the research supports a circular water economy with more water reuse and less use of non-renewable water resources.

Workpackages

WP1 - Pretreatment

In this WP, the project participants will investigate, at laboratory-scale, the capacity of pretreatment technologies (ultrafiltration nanofiltration, ozonation, UV-based advanced oxidation processes, and activated carbon) prior to MAR to retain trace organic pollutants, pathogens, viruses, and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in urban treated wastewater.

Further, the WP covers investigation into the efficiency of different hybrid MAR setups to remove the above chemical and microbial contaminants and possibilities to stimulate metabolic and cometabolic trace organic pollutant degradation in such setups.

WP2 - Processes

In this WP the project participants will develop new in-situ technologies that enhance overall pollutant removal processes during MAR. The WP will determine the effect of different pretreatment options on the removal of contaminant residues during source water infiltration at MAR conditions. The WP will also stimulate contaminant removal by introducing multiple in situ reactive barriers in MAR systems combined with biostimulation, bioaugmentation, and sorption.

WP3 - Effects

In this WP the project participants will characterize the contaminant fate and the microbiology, including ARGs, degradative genes, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), in MAR systems tested in WP1, WP, and WP4. MGEs are DNA sequences that have the ability to move within a genome; changes that can confer selective advantages to a population.

For the MAR systems where trace organic pollutant degradation is stimulated by bioaugmentation, the survival of the degrading bacteria will be additionally determined. Furthermore, the WP will examine whether correlations exist between physico-chemical, microbial and operational parameters determined for the systems.

WP4 - Application and upscaling

The objective of WP4 is to fully integrate pretreatment processes investigated in WP1 and bioaugmentation strategies from WPs 2 and 3 into viable next-generation hybrid MAR systems and to validate at pilot-scale and demonstrate under field conditions their performance.

WP5 - Modelling

The main objective of WP5 is to evaluate through modelling the enhanced effects of hybrid MAR on stressed groundwater resources while considering climate extremes and secondly to establish a regional model framework highlighting sites most vulnerable to droughts as well as suitable sites to establish MARSURE systems to replenish groundwater resources affected by climate change

WP6 - Exploitation and Dissemination

The aim of WP6 is to maximize project impact through targeted dissemination of project outcomes and effective communication of its achievements towards stakeholders throughout the project period and beyond.

The WP will make results from demonstration sites visibility to pave the way for wide-spread acceptance of MARSURE technologies and raise awareness of the project amongst end users to facilitate implementation of the results into new solutions

Finally, WP6 will support WP5 to establish a framework of comparison between different regions of Europe for MAR applications and support guidelines to facilitate real-life applications and acceptance

About MARSURE

MARSURE's primary focus is to uphold and ensure a high groundwater quality. This will involve investigating the need for pretreatment measures, if any, for impaired source water in conjunction with MAR, to effectively prevent groundwater contamination. This allows transferability to almost any location and a broader range of source water qualities to be used for MAR without compromising groundwater quality, thereby making it a more societally acceptable adaptation strategy than conventional MAR.

Marsure Concept overview — Fig 1: The MARSURE concept

Project Description

To achieve zero pollution and low carbon footprints while providing an alternative water supply, MARSURE suggests implementing next-generation hybrid MAR systems taking advantage of a range of controlled reactions to achieve the needed reduction of pollutants with different properties (Fig. 1). Through sequential multi-barrier pre- and in situ treatment concepts, a broad range of contaminants is removed while maintaining a low carbon footprint with no waste production.