ISMAR7 Abstract

Three Dimensional Geodatabase Based Model for Groundwater Aquifer Storage and Recovery Pilot Experiment

Abstract
United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as other countries in arid region is mainly relay on desalinated water for domestic water supply. The problem facing UAE, however, is the vulnerability of desalination plants to pollution and emergency conditions. There should be available alternatives for reserving fresh water sources for emergency and peak demand conditions. Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) technique has been proposed as a cost-effective large water storage alternative that can help to meet the needs of domestic sector in crisis/emergency situations. ASR technique is used to store excess desalination water during non-peak hours for recovery during emergency or peak hours. In an attempt to capture, store and redistribute desalinated water and to regulate the quality, quantity, timing and distribution of water flows, Abu Dhabi Emirate started in 2002 to study and evaluate the construction of ASR pilot project in western region. The initial target injection of pilot ASR facilities is store 2.5 MIGD using five injection wells and one infiltration basin. A three dimensional model was developed to assess the impact of hydrologic and operational parameters and factors on the recovery efficiency of the pilot ASR experiment. The model was integrated with geodatabase tool to produce an easily updateable model. Results from this study demonstrate the interaction between hydrologic and operational parameters on the predictions of recovery efficiency.

Keywords: Three-dimensional modeling, Geodatabase, Visualization, Artificial recharge, Water supply, Abu Dhabi.