Recent Advances in Managed Aquifer Recharge in China

Abstract

China has long history in managed aquifer recharge. People in Huantai county of Shandong excavated subsurface channel-wells along the Wuhe River in Qing Dynasty, and used river water to recharge groundwater. Since 1960’s, cooling water and tap water were utilized to recharge groundwater in order to recover groundwater level and provide new "cool resource" and “heat resource” in Shanghai. On the basis this technology on using tap water recharge groundwater was widely developed to prevent and control surface subsidence. After that, it was popularized in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and Xi'an. Before 1990’s well-channel irrigation system was popularized in northern rural China with combination of exploitation and recharge. In the 1990’s, Lots of facilities, such as underground reservoirs in coastal area, were built to prevent sea water intrusion by groundwater recharge with surplus flood. In recent years geothermal reinjection and geothermal heat pump developed quickly. Huge funds were invested to build project of South-to-North Water Transfers of China to increase urban water supply in Northern China. Some artificial detention surface water projects diverting river water for water source supplement or retaining runoff were built in order to improve landscape environment, even bottom of a part of river by adding anti-impervious material instead of replenishing the groundwater. Because of many kinds of reasons, such as management system and technology, the groundwater recharge which is used for recovering the groundwater table and increasing drinking water supply has not been paid much attention, at the same time scientific research was made on the shallow aquifer recharge with reclaimed water and stormwater in urban area. This paper summarizes the experience and lesson among the development of MAR in China. Only when the developers have economic benefits and guarantee from good policy made by government, MAR technology will be extended and improved.