Monitoring and understanding water quality changes during agricultural aquifer storage transfer and recovery: a field-study

“Early 2019 an agricultural aquifer storage transfer and recovery (ASTR) system will be constructed to provide a farmer of fresh water in Breezand, the Netherlands. Fresh water availability is scarce during the growing season, due to droughts, brackish/saline groundwater and deteriorating surface water quality. This system will be the first of its kind built on company-scale (10 ha). Fresh tile drainage water (TDW) is collected from the 10 ha plot, stored in a shallow aquifer below a 8m thick clay layer and retrieved in summer for irrigation of flower bulbs. The system has two major advantages: 1) the farmer is
self-sufficient for his freshwater needs, 2) TDW is not discharged to the surface water anymore, consequently decreasing nutrient and pesticide loads to the surface water system.”

(Citaat: Kruisdijk, E., Stuyfzand, P.J., van Breukelen, B.M. – Monitoring and understanding water quality changes during agricultural aquifer storage transfer and recovery: a field-study – ISMAR 10, Madrid, Spain, 20-24 May 2019, p.121)