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2007 Ground Water Summit |
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 : 9:20 a.m.
Planning and Life-Cycle Cost Analysis of an Aquifer Storage and Recovery System (Well #299) in the Northeast Regional Aquifer, City of Phoenix
Due to the disconnection and or abandonment of wells because of water quality issues and aging equipment, the City of Phoenix has the capability of currently meeting 10 to 15 percent of its peak day demand with ground water. A need to rebuild this well capacity for drought redundancy, operating flexibility, system emergencies, and managing surface water supplies has been identified. It is anticipated that ground water needs for operating flexibility and system emergencies are more compelling in the short term than demands to offset drought impacts. The City’s objective is to manage aquifers to ensure the future availability of good quality ground water when needed, and to reduce the risks of land subsidence and other adverse environmental impacts. A life-cycle cost analysis and planning study was conducted for an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) well to assess whether this system is economically and technically feasible. Based on the life-cycle cost analysis for treated Central Arizona Project (CAP) water coupled with the operational management of our distribution and treatment system, the following findings were identified:
- Existing infrastructure and treatment system can be utilized for the ASR system;
- Additional land acquisition is not required;
- From a well clogging/operational perspective, utilizing injected treated CAP water will not be as problematic as other water sources (i.e., raw CAP and reclaimed water);
- Operational flexibility and redundancy is achieved during emergency and drought conditions; and
- Injection/recharge demands are easily assessable through the CAP water wheeling process.
Our future goal is to develop a network of ASR wells that will meet our long-term water resources needs and to implement a joint management/planning strategy with City of Scottsdale so that both Cities can manage and sustain ground water levels and our future water resource supplies within the northeast aquifer.