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Conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water resources with aquifer recharge by treated wastewater: evaluation of management scenarios in the Zarqa River Basin, Jordan

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Abstract

We study the effects of treated wastewater (TWW) discharge into the Zarqa River in Jordan and the underlying unconfined limestone Hummar Aquifer. The main objectives were to develop a conceptual model of the aquifer, to gain better understanding of water dynamics in the basin and to investigate different management scenarios of conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water. The model using MODFLOW 2005 code was developed over a selected part of the Zarqa River Valley of area 387 km2, including the As Samra wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The annual TWW discharge of 110 million m3 significantly augments the groundwater storage and allows for expansion of agricultural practices in the area, providing large reserve during dry spells. On average, the water table rises by 29 m following the inception of the WWTP. The results indicate that the aquifer will be able to accommodate extra discharge of TWW when the plant will operate at full capacity as planned and upon increase in the abstraction rate for irrigation by 30 %, based on farming land availability. This abstraction will result in an average water table drawdown of 0.3 m. Because around 20 % of the discharged TWW only reach the aquifer, we recommend direct use of river water, especially during drought periods to reduce the stress on the aquifer storage and its associated depletion. The simulated conjunctive use and MAR utilizing both TWW and the groundwater present a salient case study of intricate management of water resources in arid zone. Augmentation of groundwater resources by both banking of the TWW and management of water use will allow more agricultural activities that would result in a better income for farming communities and social stability in the MENA region, where water is a precious commodity.

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Abbreviations

BC:

Base case scenario (current situation)

BG:

Background scenario

C :

River conductance (m2/day)

D :

Recharge rate (m3/day)

Depth:

Soil depth (m)

Depth_min:

Depth of the horizon above the horizon with the lowest hydraulic conductivity (m)

ET:

Evapotranspiration (mm/year)

GIS:

Geographical information system

H :

Stream depth at the gauging station (m)

H BC :

Average river water depth for base scenario (m)

H S :

Average river water depth for a given scenario (m)

IDW:

Inverse distance weighing method

J2000:

Hydrological and physical processes-based model of the water balance of large catchment areas

kf_max:

Maximum coefficient of hydraulic conductivity (m/day)

kf_min:

Minimum coefficient of hydraulic conductivity (m/day)

k s :

Hydraulic conductivity of streambed sediments (m/day)

l :

Length of the river reach (m)

MAR:

Managed aquifer recharge

MENA:

Middle East and North Africa

ModelMuse:

A graphical user interface for MODFLOW-2005

MODFLOW:

Finite-difference groundwater flow model

m s :

Thickness of the streambed sediments (m)

MWI:

Ministry of Water and Irrigation of Jordan

NE:

North East

NRA:

Natural Resources Authority, Amman, Jordan

P :

Precipitation (mm/year)

Q :

River discharge

Q TWW :

River discharge changes among various scenarios

RIV:

River MODFLOW package

R off :

Runoff (mm/year)

SCS:

Soil Conservation Service, the United States Department of Agriculture

SID:

Soil type ID

STP:

Sewage treatment plant

SW:

South West

TWW:

Treated wastewater

USA:

United States of America 

USAID:

United States Agency for International Development

USGS:

US Geological Survey

w :

Width of the river reach (m)

WAJ:

Jordan Water Authority, Amman, Jordan

WWTP:

Wastewater treatment plant

ΔS :

Change in soil water storage in the soil column (mm/year)

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted as part of a collaborative project between Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, University of Jordan, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. This project and publication were funded by USAID-FABRI, task order number: AID-OAA-TO-11-00049 (Subcontracts: 1001626-104, 1001624-12S-19745). The authors acknowledge support from the Water Centers in their universities. First author (M. El-Rawy) acknowledges Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, for the postdoctoral fellowship. Second author (V. Zlotnik) acknowledges support and encouragement from the Daugherty Water for Food Institute, University of Nebraska. The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan, for providing access to the data and field assistance. The authors also would like to thank Dr. Jihad Al Mahamid and Geol. Mamoun Ismail from Ministry of Water and Irrigation and Water Authority of Jordan for help and support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Minia University, Minia, 61111, Egypt

    Mustafa El-Rawy

  2. Departmentof Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Mustafa El-Rawy

  3. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

    Vitaly A. Zlotnik

  4. Water, Energy and Environment Center, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Marwan Al-Raggad

  5. Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. BOX 34, Alkhoud, 123, Muscat, Oman

    Ali Al-Maktoumi, Anvar Kacimov & Osman Abdalla

Authors
  1. Mustafa El-Rawy
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  2. Vitaly A. Zlotnik
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  3. Marwan Al-Raggad
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  4. Ali Al-Maktoumi
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  6. Osman Abdalla
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mustafa El-Rawy.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 7.

Table 7 Wastewater treatment plants in Jordan (Jordan water sector facts and figure 2013, MWI)
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Appendix 2

See Fig. 11.

Fig. 11
figure 11

Discharge of the Zarqa River (MWI data bank 2015)

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El-Rawy, M., Zlotnik, V.A., Al-Raggad, M. et al. Conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water resources with aquifer recharge by treated wastewater: evaluation of management scenarios in the Zarqa River Basin, Jordan. Environ Earth Sci 75, 1146 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5946-1

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