Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2011CO235B

Aquifer Storage and Recovery Optimization

Institute: Colorado
Year Established: 2011 Start Date: 2011-03-01 End Date: 2012-02-29
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $2,750

Principal Investigators: Reagan Waskom

Project Summary: Increasing demands for water and finite resources are driving a need for more efficient water storage systems. An emerging strategy is aquifer storage and recovery (ASR). With ASR seepage and evaporation loses can be minimized. Furthermore, peak capacities of key infrastructure elements such as surface water storage, water treatment plants, and pipelines can be reduced. Unfortunately, resolving necessary infrastructure, timing of aquifer storage and recovery is a complex process. Key factors governing infrastructure and operations include timing of water delivery, water quality, and timing of demands. The purpose of the study will be to develop an optimization model that can be used to: -Resolve appropriate infrastructure and operations for ASR. -Develop feasibility level cost estimates. Preliminary work has been completed in this effort with support from the Town of Castle Rock, Dr. Sale faculty startup funds, and a senior design project. Matching support for this project will be provided by the Town of Castle Rock.