ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE OF GROUNDWATER

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2. OVERVIEW
 What is Artificial Groundwater Recharge
 Need for Artificial Recharge
 Identification of Areas for Recharge
 Water Sources
 Factors Affecting Artificial Groundwater Recharge
 Methods of Artificial Recharge
 Case Studies
 Advantages of Artificial Groundwater Recharge
 Conclusion
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3. What is Artificial Recharge
Artificial recharge is the process of
induced replenishment of the ground
water reservoir by human activities
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4. Need for Artificial Recharge
 Improve quality of existing groundwater
 Conservation and storage of excess water for future
use
 To enhance yield in areas where aquifer has depleted
 To remove bacteriological and other impurities from
waste water
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5. Identification of Areas for Recharge
 Where groundwater levels are declining rapidly
 Where an aquifer has already been de-saturated
 Where availability of groundwater is inadequate in lean
months
 Where salinity ingress is taking place
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6. Scientific Studies
 Hydrometeorological Studies - rainfall
 Hydrological Studies - availability
 Soil Infiltration Studies - soil type
 Hydrogeological Studies - location
 Geophysical Studies - site
 Analysis of Source Water
 Prevention of Clogging - surface layer
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7. Factors Affecting Artificial
Groundwater Recharge
 Quantity of Source water
 Quality of Source water, Pretreatment required
 Time for which water would be available
 Clogging Potential
 Transmission characteristics of Aquifer
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8. Methods of Artificial Recharge
1.Direct Methods 2.Indirect Methods
A) Surface Methods
• Flooding
• Basins or Percolation Tanks
• Stream Augmentation
• Ditch and Furrow Method
• Contour Bund
B) Sub Surface Methods
• Injection Wells, Subsurface Dykes
• Recharge Shafts
• Recharge Pits
A) Induced Recharge
B) Aquifer Modification
• Bore blasting method
• Hydro fracturing method
• Jacket well Techniques
• Fracture seal cementation
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9. Surface Method
 Suitable for large area of basin
 Aquifer unconfined without impervious layer above
 Rate of infiltration depend on nature of top soil, quality of
water used
 Solid suspension in water decreases infiltration rate
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10. 1.Flooding
• For flat topography
• Water spread as thin sheet
• Embankments on both
sides
• Infiltration higher in
sandy soil, undistributed
vegetation
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Fig.1 Flooding

11. 2.Basin and Percolation Tanks
• Most common method
• Water impounded in a
series of basins or tanks
• Parallel to intermittent
stream channels
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Fig.2 Percolation Tank

12. 3.Stream Augmentation
• Seepage from natural
stream increased
• By series of check dams
across stream
• Site selected should have
sufficient thickness of
permeable bed
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Fig.3 Stream Augmentation

13. 4.Ditch and Furrow Method
• Areas with uneven terrain
• Shallow flat bottomed
closely spaced ditches
• More percolation
• Spacing as per soil
permeability
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Fig.4 Ditch and Furrow Method

14. 5.Contour Bund
• Small embankment
constructed along contour
in hilly region
• Retain surface runoff for
long time
• For low rainfall area
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Fig. 5 Contour Bund

15. Sub Surface Method
 Aims at recharging deeper aquifers
 Important structures commonly used are Injection
Wells or Recharge Wells, Recharge Pits, Recharge
Shafts and Subsurface Dykes
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16. 1.Injection Wells
• Similar to tube well
• Pumping In treated
surface water under
pressure
• Confined Aquifer
• Little land required
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Fig.6 Injection Well

17. 2.Recharge Pits
• Similar to recharge basins
• Excavated of variable
dimensions-deep
• Canal trench
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Fig.7 Recharge Pit

18. 3.Recharge Shafts
• Poorly permeable strata
overlie water table aquifer
• Similar to recharge pit
• No practical water loss
• Smaller in cross-section
• Fast recharge
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Fig.8 Recharge Shaft

19. 4.Subsurface Dyke
• Barrier impermeable to water
• Underground
• PVC sheet
• Location-well-defined, wide,
greatly sloping valley
• No evaporation loss
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Fig.9 Subsurface Dyke

20. Indirect Methods:1.Induced Recharge
• Water pumped from aquifer
hydraulically
• Reverse gradient formed
• When poor quality of surface
water
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Fig.10 Induced Recharge

21. 2.Aquifer Modification
 Aquifer storage capacity increased
 Common methods:
i. Bore blasting method
ii. Hydro-fracturing method
iii. Jacket well techniques
iv. Fracture seal cementation
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22. Hydro-fracturing method
 Water injected at high
pressure to widen existing
fracture of rock
 Removes clogging
 Interconnection between
fractures
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Fig.11 Hydro-fracturing Method

23. Case Study: Mazhapolima, Kerala
 To enhance the water table
 Improved the quality of water in open dug wells
 Techniques:
i. roof-top harvesting - sand filter
ii. roof-top harvesting - ordinary nylon filter
 Simple
 Economical
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24. Case Study: Artificial Storage
Recovery, United Kingdom
 Augmenting ground water during winter season
 Recovering this water during summer
 Injection of water into the aquifer at high supply times
 Test conducted as a series of injection and abstraction cycles
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25. Advantages of Artificial Recharge
 Enhance yield of wells and hand pumps
 Improves water quality
 Structures required - small and cost effective
 No adverse effects like inundation of large surface areas
and loss of crops
 No displacement of local population
 Reduction in cost of energy for lifting water
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26. Conclusion
 Artificial recharge projects are designed to
replenish ground water resources
 Proper storage and management of available
groundwater resources is essential
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27. References
 Bhalerao,S,A, Kelkar,T,S, (2013) “Artificial Recharge of
Groundwater: A Novel Technique for Replenishment of an Aquifer
with Water from Land Surface”, International Journal of Geology,
3(1), 165-183
 Kavuri,M, Boddu,M and Annamdas,V,G,M, (2011) “New Methods of
Artificial Recharge of Aquifers: A Review”, IPWE, Proceedings of
4th International Perspective on Water Resources & the
Environment, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore.
Poster on: Artificial Recharge of Aquifer
 Mukharjee,D, (2016) “A Review on Artificial Groundwater Recharge
in India”, SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering,3(1),60-
65
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28. References Contd…
 Ramireddy,P,V, Padma,G,V, Reddy,N,B, (2015) “Identification of
Groundwater Recharge Zones and Artificial Recharge Structures for
Part of Tamil Nadu, India-A Geospatial Approach”, International
Journal of Engineering Sciences & Re-search Technology, 4(7), 999-
1009
 Ravichandran,S, Kumar,S,S, Singh,L, (2011) “Selective Techniques
in Artificial Groundwater Recharge through Dug well and Injection
well methods”, International Journal of ChemTech Research, 3(3),
1050-1053
 Singh,S,K,(2012) “Groundwater Mound due to Artificial Recharge
from Rectangular Areas”, Journal of Irrigation and Drainage
Engineering, ASCE, 138(5), 476-480
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29. References Contd…
 http://blog.al.com/wire/2011/06/mississippi_river_flooding_mis.html,
January 15, 2017
 http://vikaspedia.in/energy/environment/percolation-tank, January 16, 2017
 http://www.cmu.edu/bajaj/water-management/, January 15, 2017
 https://www.reference.com/business-finance/furrow-irrigation-
35a1b13fe0b68c9c, January 17, 2017
 http://nptel.ac.in/courses/105103026/module4/lec29/2.html, January 16,
2017
 http://www.ngwa.org/Fundamentals/hydrology/PublishingImages/injection_
well.gif, January 15, 2017
 http://nptel.ac.in/courses/105103026/module4/lec29/3.html, January 16,
2017
 http://nptel.ac.in/courses/105103026/module4/lec29/4.html, January 15,
2017
 http://peoriapublicradio.org/post/debate-new-fracking-rules-continues,
January 16, 2017
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