What is managed aquifer recharge?

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is the purposeful recharge of water to aquifers for subsequent recovery or environmental benefit. MAR can be used to store water from various sources, such as stormwater, reclaimed water, mains water, desalinated seawater, rainwater or even groundwater from other aquifers.  With appropriate pretreatment before recharge and sometimes post-treatment on recovery of the water, it may be used for drinking water supplies, industrial water, irrigation, toilet flushing, and sustaining ecosystems.

Common reasons for conducting MAR include：

• securing and enhancing water supplies

• improving groundwater quality

• preventing salt water from intruding into coastal aquifers

• reducing evaporation of stored water

• maintaining environmental flows and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, which improve local amenity, land value and biodiversity.

 Consequential benefits may also include:

• improving coastal water quality by reducing urban discharges

• mitigating floods and flood damage

• facilitating urban landscape improvements that increase land value.

MAR can play a role in increasing storage capacity to help city water supplies cope with the runoff variability in the world catchments exacerbated by climate change and assist in harvesting abundant water in urban areas that is currently unused.