MAR Hub

South Australia has long been a leader in the research and application in the managed aquifer recharge field. This has been reflected in the SA Government’s water policy ‘Water for Good’, which states that South Australia will aim to source more than 25% of its water for Adelaide from storm water schemes, primarily aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) by 2050.

Aquifer storage and recovery, a form of MAR, creates an alternative water resource by capturing, treating (often biologically) and storing water in controlled aquifers. This water can then be pumped back out from the aquifer when required. The water that is used can be from a range of sources, but two common sources are treated wastewater or storm-water where the pattern of supply of the water does not fit the pattern of demand and so storage is necessary.

Beyond the water resource benefits of MAR, other benefits are;

• improved environmental health through reduction and management of pollutants
• flood risk reduction
• storage with lower space requirements compared to dams
• lower evaporation losses
• low cost treatment both in the aquifer and biological methods
• potential for transfer using the aquifer

Between the South Australian based universities and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) it has been estimated that approximately 30% of the academic papers written on this field originate from South Australian lead research.

South Australian companies have built expertise and global recognition in this field and have successfully implemented MAR with a range of aquifers, water sources and other constraints (eg space). MAR is currently being used in a range of scales for urban and rural irrigation and also industrial purposes in South Australia.

The Water Industry Alliance (WIA) is currently facilitating this group and enquiries of the cluster can be made through the WIA.

David Evans
Cluster Facilitator
Phone: +61 8 7424 2467
Email: [email protected]
www.marhub.net.au