Analysis of Potential Risks Associated with Urban Stormwater Quality for Managed Aquifer Recharge

Abstract

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) can be used to increase storage and availability of groundwater resources, but water resources available for recharge are constrained due to a surface water shortage. Alternative resources, like stormwater, are receiving increasing attention as sustainable resources for reuse in MAR. However, pollutants in stormwater can impact groundwater quality, and cause clogging of the infiltration system. Based on the stormwater data in the literature, the physicochemical stormwater properties of data were analyzed. The results showed that concentrations of pollutants from different underlying surfaces varied widely. The main pollutants of stormwater were as follows: Total suspended particles (TSSs), organic matter represented by the chemical oxygen demand (COD), nutrients (total nitrogen, TN; total phosphorus, TP; and NH3–N), and metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd, Fe, and Mn). Based on the simulation of TOUGHREACT, the contamination risk of pollutants for each type of stormwater was assessed. The risk of contamination was divided into four categories due to the different migration times of ions through the sand column. The iron ion has the highest risk of contamination, followed by Zn and Mn, and the contamination risk of nutrients and other metals (Pb, Cu, and Cd) are relatively low. Besides, the physical, biological, and chemical clogging risk were evaluated. The physical clogging potential of all types of stormwater is very high because of the high concentration of TSS. According to the concentration of TN that can spur the growth of bacteria and algae, the relative risk of biological clogging for stormwater is greenbelt stormwater < road stormwater < roof stormwater. However, only road stormwater has high chemical clogging due to the existence of iron, which can generate precipitation that blocks the pore volume.