SOIL AQUIFER TREATMENT

SYSTEM

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 OVERVIEW
Introduction
Waste Water Recharge and Various Methods
Soil Aquifer Treatment System
SAT Site Design and Selection
Layout and Dynamics of SAT System
Operation, Maintenance and Monitoring
Modelling of SAT System
Successful Case Studies of SAT System
Advantages and Disadvantages
Conclusion
References

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 INTRODUCTION
• Numerous urban communities and agricultural territories depend on the consolidated
utilization of surface water and groundwater.

• At the point when request expands, groundwater is frequently the most monetary wellspring
of supply.

• However overexploitation can prompt the deterioration of water quality or a diminishing

groundwater level.

• On the other hand, unplanned disposal of untreated or inadequately treated wastewater to

lakes, streams and land is globally increasing at staggering volumes.

• Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) alludes to various recharge techniques that discharge the
recycled water from over the ground, permeating through unsaturated soil, or from beneath
the ground, by infusion or recharge wells. 3
 WASTE WATER RECHARGE AND VARIOUS METHODS

• Recharge of wastewater (usually after secondary treatment);

• improves its quality by removal of physical, biological, and some chemical constituents.

• provides storage until sub sequent reuse

• reduces seasonal temperature variations

• dilutes the recharged water with native groundwater

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 IRRIGATION  SPREADING
METHOD METHOD

Figure 1: Irrigation Method Figure 2: Spreading Method

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(source: https://www.senninger.com/)[5] (source: https://www.senninger.com/)[5]
 OVERLAND FLOW
 RECHARGE WELL METH
METHOD

Figure 3: Overland Flow Method Figure 4: Recharge Well Method

(source: https://www.senninger.com/)[5] (source: https://www.senninger.com/)[5]

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TYPES OF MAR SYSTEMS FOR GROUNDWATER RECHARGE

• Dune filtration
• Infiltration ponds
• Bank filtration
• Percolation tank
• Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT)
• Underground Dam
• Sand Dam
• Recharge Release

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 SOIL AQUIFER TREATMENT SYSTEM
• Natural treatment technology
• SAT is a form of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) technology, which alone or in
combination with other wastewater treatment technologies can produce effluent
suitable for indirect potable reuse.
• Geo-purification system
• Most water quality improvements are obtained during percolation through the vadose
zone.
• Physical, chemical and biological processes ; retards contaminants; mitigate ground water
pollution
• Sorption, chemical reaction, biotransformation, die-off and predation; organic
compounds, nitrogen, phosphorus, suspended solids, trace metals, bacteria and viruses
can be effectively removed.

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OBJECTIVES OF SAT SYSTEM

• Safer Water Storage

• Mixing Water Flows

• Quality Improvement

• Mitigate Saltwater or Contaminants Intrusion

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 SAT SITE DESIGN AND SELECTION
SAT PREDESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
• Intended use of SAT reclaimed water
o Reclaimed water suites a large variety of applications
o Aquifer recharge to protect coastal aquifers against saline water intrusion
o Indirect potable reuse

• Public health
o Presence of pathogenic organisms in wastewater effluents and potential transmission of
infectious diseases by these organisms is the center of this concern.

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• Economic aspects
o The price of the treatment influences the desired water quality.

• Regulations and guidelines

o Guidelines and regulations are important to safeguard public health and limit adverse environmental
impacts.

• Technical aspects
o The performance of SAT system is affected by pre-treatment level of the wastewater effluent, site
characteristics and operating conditions.

• Socio-political aspects
o Acceptability of wastewater reuse project is influenced by its proximity to people.

• Institutional aspects
o A clearly spelled out institutional framework showing roles and responsibilities of each actor should be
availed 11
SITE IDENTIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION

• Factors like depth to groundwater table, groundwater flow patterns, redox conditions,
soil characteristics, soil depth, proximity to conveyance channel and/or wastewater
reclamation facilities are carefully checked and evaluated when selecting a suitable site
for SAT system.

• Physical factors
o Land availability
o Topography
o Susceptibility to flooding

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• Hydrogeological factors
o Depth of vadose zone
o Soil type
o Permeability
o Type of aquifer

• Land use and location of SAT site

o Land use
o Location of SAT site

• Site investigation
o Test pits and boreholes

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SAT DESIGN CONSIDERATION
• Types of SAT system

o Infiltration or spreading basins

o Vadose zone infiltration

o Direct injection or recharge wells

Figure 5: Types of SAT system (A and B: Infiltration basin, C

and D: Vadose zone infiltration, E: Direct Injection)
(Source: Chol Deng Thon Abel, 2014)[1]

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• Pre-treatment of wastewater effluent
o Primary sedimentation to membrane filtration plus advanced oxidation.

• Hydraulic loading rate

o To estimate land area needed for a certain volumetric recharge rate, or the recharge rate that
could be achieved for a given area.

• Wetting and drying

o Used to estimate the HLR and the number of basins.

• Spreading basin design and layout

o Choosing the suitable basin design would help to optimize operation, reduce groundwater
mounding, utilize space or beautify the landscape.
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• Groundwater mound

o Interaction between infiltrated wastewater effluent and shallow native groundwater.

o Leads to the rise of the latter.

• Abstraction and monitoring wells

o Abstraction wells: To satisfy both hydraulic and water quality requirements.

o Monitoring wells must be capable of obtaining independent samples from each aquifer that
potentially conveys the recharged water.

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• Travel time
o Helps to predict water quality after SAT.

• Post-treatment of the reclaimed water

o The type and extent of post-treatment depends on the intended application of the SAT filtrate.

o Post-treatment may also be required in order to prevent damage to water distribution systems
or for public health and aesthetic reasons.

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LAYOUT AND DYNAMICS OF A SAT SYSTEM

Figure 6: Layout of SAT system (Source: David Keith Todd and Larry W. Mays, 2005) [2]
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• The pipeline that carries the treated effluent from the waste water treatment plant

• Percolation basins where the treated effluent infiltrates into the ground

• The soil immediately below the infiltration basins

• The aquifer where water is stored for a long duration

• The recovery well where water is pumped from potable or non-potable reuse.

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DYNAMICS OF A SAT SYSTEM

Figure 7: SAT Dynamics (Source: David Keith Todd and Larry W. Mays, 2005) [2]
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 OPERATION, MAINTENANCE AND MONITORING

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A SAT SYSTEM

• Treatment is done in 3 steps:

o Surface infiltration
o Percolation through the unsaturated zone (vadose
zone)
o Slow transport through the aquifer

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Figure 8: Process related to operation of SAT system(Source: David Keith Todd and Larry W. Mays, 2005) [2]
• Dissolved organic matter is removed by combined biological, chemical, & physical
processes mostly in the vadose zone (the unsaturated zone).

• The vadose zone & aquifer act as natural, slow filters that effectively reduce the
concentration of various pollutants due to physical, chemical, and microbiological
processes.

• Suspended solids are filtered; biodegradable organic compounds are decomposed;

microorganisms are adsorbed out or die due to competition with other soil
microorganisms; nitrogen concentrations are reduced by denitrification; synthetic organic
compounds are adsorbed and/or biodegraded; & phosphate, fluoride, & heavy metals
are adsorbed, precipitated, or otherwise immobilised.

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 REMOVAL MECHANISMS OF SPECIFIC
CONTAMINANTS BY SAT
• Total Organic Carbon: Biodegradation and adsorption: 45% -71%

• Nitrogen: Nitrification and Denitrification:42%-90%

• Pathogens: Adsorption and Microbial degradation: 70-99%

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• Removal of organic carbon and nitrogen in SAT systems are related and the removal
mechanisms include adsorption-desorption and biodegradation.

• During the flooding period, dissolved oxygen in the vadose zone often becomes limited
and the primary removal mechanism for organic carbon is adsorption, while ammonia is
removed by ion exchange.

• During drying, the soil in the vadose zone becomes aerobic; however, desiccation of the
upper soil layer can decrease biological activity and hinder removal since most removal
occurs in the upper soil layer.

Figure 11: Nitrogen cycle in a SAT system (Source: David Keith Todd and Larry W. Mays, 2005) [2] 24
Table 1: Comparison of Typical SAT Zones (Source: Amy, 2009)

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MONITORING
• Wastewater effluent

• Depth of wastewater in spreading basin

• Groundwater mound

• Groundwater quality

• Reclaimed water

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 MODELLING SAT SYSTEMS
• Abdulrazzak et al. performed a combined field experiment and analytical approach to
conclude that the Green-Ampt infiltration model provides adequate representation of
the actual infiltration process for artificial recharge systems.

• Mushtaq et al." developed optimization models for determining the operation cycles of
recharge basins with the objective of maximizing the infiltration over many cycle times.
•
• Tang et al.63. 64 and Arizona State University et al. developed a simulation model
(NITRINFIL) to quantitatively describe the chemical, physical, and biological interactions
that take place between wastewater constituents and the soil system.

• NITRINFIL (a modified version of the HYDRUS model by Kool and van Genuchten) is a
one-dimensional variably saturated flow and interactive multicomponent solute
transport model for cyclic operation of soil aquifer systems.

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 SUCCESSFUL CASE STUDIES OF SAT
SYSTEM
• EXPERIENCES IN EUROPE AND OTHER CITIES OF THE WORLD

RUETSCHI, “Article on the Artificial Groundwater Recharge with Rhine Water in Basel,
Switzerland”, 2004
Langen Erlen
• Following rapid sand filtration, river water is applied on eleven forested recharge basins, whereas
three sections (0.5 ha each) are consecutively flooded for ten days, followed by a drying period of
20 days.

• The infiltration capacity (1-2 m³/m²/d) of the recharge basins has been constant for decades. With a
surface area demand of around 10 m²/inh. the system is primarily suitable for areas with low land
prices and/or large forests

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CIKUREL , “Future Scenarios for Soil Aquifer Treatment: Responding to Change. SWITCH
Project Workshop on Learning Alliance”,2006
Shafdan treatment in the Dan Region (Central Israel)

• Parts of the wastewater from seven cities is treated with SAT prior to re-use for irrigation
in the South of the country.

• Infiltrating around 130-140 Mm³/y on a total area of 80 ha, this is one of the biggest
reclamation sites applying SAT .

• The effluent percolates through a deep vadose zone (15-30 m) and is horizontally spread
through the saturated zone.

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EXPERIENCES IN INDIA
• NEMA et al,”Techno-economic evaluation of soil-aquifer treatment using primary effluent
at Ahmedabad”, India, 2001

• Pilot project
• During an experiment period of 138 days in the post-monsoon period of 1996, an average
of 1,650 m3/d of primary settled sewage entered the pilot system, and a recovery rate of
about 60% could be achieved.

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 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES

• Microbiological: total removal of bacteria and viruses

• Nutrient removal: Very efficient removal of Ammonia, Phosphorus, Carbon

• Very efficient removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)

• Efficient removal of micro-pollutants

• Groundwater recharge using the aquifer as storage

• Surface spreading provides added benefits of the treatment effect of soils and
transporting facilities of aquifers
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• Very efficient removal of organics, nutrients, microorganisms & micro pollutants removal
completely by natural means

 Reduction of evaporation rate & insect breeding.

 Natural buffer of seasonal variations in availability and demand, temperature etc.

 Underground storage/natural buffer, which has advantages in terms of public

perception.

 Mitigation of saltwater or contaminant intrusion.

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DISADVANTAGES
 Risk of nutrient discharge into GW aquifer, if not sufficiently pre-treated.

 Space demand for infiltration basins limits urban applicability.

 Vulnerability to clogging.

 Dependency on pre-treatment steps.

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 CONCLUSIONS
• Unplanned disposal of untreated or inadequately treated wastewater to lakes, streams
and land is globally increasing at staggering volumes, especially in developing countries
due to rapid population growth, urbanization and lack of investments to construct,
operate and maintain conventional wastewater treatment plants.

• On the other hand, there is increasing water scarcity in different parts of the world and
strong competition for water among different sectors.

• Planned land applications of effluents such as soil aquifer treatment (SAT) have the
potential to treat wastewater effluents for subsequent reuse.

• SAT is a resilient treatment option that covers a wide range of wastewater effluents

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 REFERENCES
[1] Chol Deng Thon Abel, “Soil Aquifer Treatment Assessment and Applicability of Primary Effluent
Reuse in Developing Countries”, 2014.

[2] David Keith Todd and Larry W. Mays, “Groundwater Hydrology”, 2005.

[3] Aniket V. Patil, Tejaswini S. Mankar, Shilpa S. Motegaonkar, “Wastewater Renovation using Soil
Aquifer Treatment (SAT) System: Case Study of Latur District (Marathwada)”, International Research
Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), Volume: 04, Issue: 04, April 2017.
[4]Ruetschi, “Article on the Artificial Groundwater Recharge with Rhine Water in Basel, Switzerland”,
2004.
[5] Cikurel , “Future Scenarios for Soil Aquifer Treatment: Responding to Change. SWITCH Project
Workshop on Learning Alliance”,2006

[6]https://sswm.info/step-nawatech/module-1-nawatech-basics/appropriate-technologies-0/soil-
aquifer-treatment 35
THANK YOU

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