1. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and groundwater buffering are ancient techniques that can help address water crises through behaviors like land use change. 2. MAR projects in locations like Jordan and the Netherlands demonstrate how groundwater can be used economically and wisely as a buffer, stabilizing water levels and allowing water reuse. 3. Further work is needed to scale MAR implementation appropriately through the watershed, addressing questions of water quality, optimization, governance, and bringing solutions to both local and regional levels.

1. Managed
Aquifer Recharge
(MAR) and Menarid
International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre
Beirut , June 2014Ebel Smidt

2. Linearity: missing the main issue
Fragile – robust – antifragile (Nassim Taleb)

3. MAIN MESSAGES
1. Buffering is an ancient answer to crises.
2. Groundwater is a natural buffer, use it
economically and wisely, taking into
consideration uncertainty in the planning.
3. Recent 65 years of modern large scale
MAR-projects and thousands of years of
small scale experiences offer challenging
opportunities for future cooperation in
practical and research projects.

4. Water costs

5. Buffer management at the basin scale

6. Key facts
1. Operational since 2002
2. Capacity 9 MCM used for
a) guaranteeing drinking water supply
b) Downstream regular use of groundwater for agriculture (12 MCM)
c) Restoring wildlife, improving biotic ecosystems
Wala Dam
Jordan

8. Drinking water from the
dunes
• 1853 Start extraction by dug canals
• 1903 Start extraction by wells
• 1957 Start artificial recharge with
pretreated river water taken from the
Rhine Branch near Utrecht, at 75 km
distance.

9. Origin from the drinking water produced
from the dune area near Amsterdam 1853-
1999
Bron drinkwaterproductie Leiduin
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1850
1862
1874
1886
1898
1910
1922
1934
1946
1958
1970
1982
1994
mlnm3/jaar
Geinfiltreerd rivierwater
(sinds 1957)
Diep duinwater
(sinds 1903)
Ondiep duinwater
(sinds 1853)
River water
Deep dune water
Shallow dune
water

11. Groundwater and Adaptation Measures
 Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) provides multiple benefits:
 storing water for future use
 stabilizing or recovering ground
water levels in overexploited aquifers,
 reducing evaporative losses
 managing saline intrusion
or land subsidence, and
 enabling reuse of waste or storm water.
 Land use change – may provide an
opportunity to enhance recharge,
to protect groundwater quality
and to reduce groundwater losses
from evapotranspiration.
 Integrating the management of surface water and groundwater
resources (also to avoid mutual adversely impact) by regional
integrated land and water management (ILWM – INRM)

12. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) or
3R: a different way of thinking
Recharge Retention Reuse

13. 3R Techniques

14. New developments: buffering
desal water: Abu Dhabi ASR Project

15. DESAL-MAR – a simple picture
and a more complex one……next slide(Source ASR Consortium 2007)

16. Economics of combining ASR
and Desalination
Savings (in %) per unit production cost by introducing ASR
in relation to desalination plant capacity
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Desalination plant capacity (m3 per day)
Savings(%)g
max
min

17. Cost scale of MAR in relation to typical costs of water
supplies for irrigation, non-potable & drinking water
supplies
irrigation
supplies
3rd pipe supplies
of non-potable
recycled water
urban drinking water
supplies
$0.50 - $1.50/KL$0.05-0.50/KL >$1.20/KL
m3
price of
water
ASR
pond infiltration
Dillon, P., Pavelic, P., Page, D., Beringen H. and Ward J. (2009) Managed
Aquifer Recharge: An Introduction, Waterlines Report No 13, Feb 2009.

18. Water adaptation costs (1)

19. 1. IGRAC’s aim: to be one of
your main portals to
groundwater knowledge.
2. Sharing experiences with information
selection and sharing is meta-
information, which can help you to solve
your Groundwater Technical and
Governance issues.
3. So: don’t hesitate to contact IGRAC.
International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre

20. Tool in development:
Meta-information on MAR sites

21. MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (1)
1. Water buffering and land use change are ancient
answers to crises. It are behavioural changes!
2. Groundwater is increasingly being used
economically and wisely as buffer. MAR-Menarid
examples are an excellent proof of this
statement.
3. Much challenging work has to be done
concerning proper scaling (both up and down)
of MAR-implementation.

22. MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (2)
4. MAR-technology is well developed and will develop itself
to further maturity combining conventional and modern
methods. General guidelines are available and being
updated. Improved effective and efficient exchange
mechanism on national and international levels are
needed especially concerning societal acceptance or
integration of MAR.
5. Main scientific questions focus on (a) water quality
issues, (b) optimization of water balancing, (c) planning
and monitoring and (d) integration of technical, socio-
economic, institutional and participation issues
(=governance). Tailormade solutions are needed within
generic frameworks.

23. MAIN OVERALL AMMAN MESSAGES (3)
6. Downscaling means bringing practical solutions to the lowest levels
in a watershed (individual plants and trees and people), upscaling
means bringing the solutionsto the highest levels of waterbasin
planning (transboundary if needed). Integration of the two
processes is an important challenge to increase the speed of
success.
7. Cost effectiveness and cost recovery are important issues:
especially in groundwater/MAR-practises full cost analysis
(including long term development / sustainability issues) is needed.
8. The Sept 2014 Marrakesh IAH conference is a good forum to
present results of the down&upscaled processes following our
workshop (www.IAH2014.org).
9. Involve other MENA and Arab Gulf countries in the information
exchange and next phases (viz. Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Lebanon etc.) .
10. Pay special attention to the need of the Gaza aquifer recovery issue,
in combination with desal opportunities and economics.
11. Integrate findings with the International Groundwater Governance
Project.

24. More information
http://groundwatercop.iwlearn.net/menarid
http://www.un-igrac.org/publications/155
www.bebuffered.com
www.iah.org/recharge
http://www.groundwatergovernance.org/

25. Thank you for your attention
For future contact:
Ebel Smidt: e.h.smidt@tudelft.nl
International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre
Beirut, June 2014