Effect of Water Depth in Groundwater Recharge Basins on Infiltration

• Published in: Journal of irrigation and drainage engineering Vol. 115; no. 4; pp. 556 - 567
• Main Authors: Bouwer, Herman, Rice, R. C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reston, VA American Society of Civil Engineers 01-08-1989
• Subjects: Agricultural and forest climatology and meteorology. Irrigation. Drainage; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; CAPA FREATICA; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; GROUNDWATER RECHARGE; GROUNDWATER TABLE; HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY; INFILTRACION; INFILTRATION; Irrigation. Drainage; MECANICA DEL SUELO; MECANIQUE DU SOL; NAPPE SOUTERRAINE; Physical properties; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; PROPIEDADES FISICO-QUIMICAS SUELO; PROPRIETE PHYSICOCHIMIQUE DU SOL; RECARGA DE AGUAS SUBTERRANEAS; RECHARGE DE LA NAPPE; SOIL CHEMICOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES; SOIL MECHANICS; Soil science; TECHNICAL PAPERS; Water and solute dynamics; WATER TABLE; Laboratory study; Ground water table; Algae; Impoundment; Plugging; Infiltration; Vegetation effect; Sedimentation; Depth; Thallophyta; Ground water; Field study
• ISSN: 0733-9437; 1943-4774
• DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9437(1989)115:4(556)

Sediment or organic clogging layers on the wetted perimeter are the rule rather than the exception for infiltration basins for artificial recharge of groundwater. When the water depth in such basins is increased, the clogging layer is compressed. This causes infiltration rates to increase much less than expected from the water depth increase alone, and rates may actually decrease. Such decreases are especially severe where the decreased turnover rate (increased detention time) of the water in the infiltration basins due to increasing the water depth leads to increased growth of suspended algae. These algae form a filter cake on the basin bottom. Also, because of photosynthesis, these algae increase the pH of the water, which can cause precipitation of calcium carbonate. This precipitate and the algal filter cake both aggravate the clogging problem and cause infiltration rates to decrease even further. Consolidation theory is used to explain the compression of the clogging layer. The conclusions are supported by field and laboratory studies. Careful analysis of the situation and on-site experimentation are needed to determine the optimum water depth for recharge basins.