Estimating desalination requirements in semi-arid climates: A Mediterranean case study

Stanhill, G.; Kurtzman, Daniel; Rosa, Ricardo D.

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2014.10.035

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Global production capacity of desalinated seawater is predicted to double between 2011 and 2040 [2]. In Israel, five large desalination plants were built on the Mediterranean coast between 2005 and 2015 (production ≥ 90 × 10 6 m 3 /yr per plant; total 585 × 10 6 m 3 /yr [3]), bringing the desalinated seawater from close to 0 at 2004 to~40% of the total Israeli freshwater consumption in 2017 [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Desalinated Water for Irrigation: Its Effect on Field Scale Water Flow and Contaminant Transport under Cropped Conditions

Russo

Kurtzman

2019

Water

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Pollution of groundwater by nitrate originating from irrigated fields was considered for this study. We hypothesized that under cropped conditions, low-salinity irrigation water (e.g., desalinated water) could reduce nitrate leaching below the root zone, due to two possible mechanisms: (i) decreased vertical water fluxes and (ii) increased nitrogen uptake by plant roots due to chloride-nitrate competition. The main goal of this study was to investigate this hypothesis. Considering a citrus grove, the investigation relied on three-dimensional (3-D) simulations of flow and transport in a variably saturated and spatially heterogeneous flow domain performed for three successive years. Results of the analyses suggest that the main mechanism responsible for the reduction in the nitrate leached below the root zone under irrigation with low-salinity water is the effect of the latter on the spatial distribution of the rate of water uptake by the roots. The latter, in turn, significantly reduces water content, hydraulic conductivity, and vertical velocity, and, consequently, solute mass fluxes along the soil profile. On the other hand, chloride-nitrate interaction has only a relatively small effect on the nitrate mass fluxes at relatively deep soil depths, far below the root zone, particularly when the irrigation water salinity decreases.Water 2019, 11, 687 2 of 17 managed aquifer recharge [11]; and, the most concerning, its use for irrigation. Unease has emerged due to the lack of the major nutrients, namely, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, in desalinated seawater [12]. Half of the irrigation water in Israel is treated wastewater. The relatively low content of calcium and magnesium in desalinated water and the high addition of sodium in household use has raised concerns about the high sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) in wastewater originating from desalinated seawater [13].In contrast to the aforementioned concerns, the change towards lower salinity irrigation water may be regarded as an opportunity. Higher yields or smaller irrigation rates for the same yield and reduced leaching of salts below the roots are expected benefits of using more desalinated water for irrigation [14,15]. This study aims at showing that the use of low-salinity water for irrigation can also reduce the nitrate leaching to groundwater (the greatest groundwater pollution related to agriculture in Israel and worldwide, [16]). It is hypothesized here that under cropped conditions, low-salinity irrigation water may reduce nitrate leaching below the root zone, due to two mechanisms: (i) decreasing vertical water fluxes and (ii) increasing nitrogen uptake by plant roots when the latter process is affected by the competition between chloride and nitrate [17].The general objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of the irrigation water quality (salinity) on water uptake and nitrogen uptake by the plants' roots, and on the nitrate and the chloride mass fluxes below the root zone. Considering cropped conditions, the specific objective of this...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Desalinated Water for Irrigation: Its Effect on Field Scale Water Flow and Contaminant Transport under Cropped Conditions

Russo

Kurtzman

2019

Water

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“…Predicting the long-term DSW distribution in the aquifer and the production wells is the main objective of this study. We incorporate water isotope data of 18 O and 2 H in a regional GW flow and transport model (e.g., Boronina et al, 2005;Krabbenhoft et al, 1990;Liu et al, 2014;Reynolds and Marimuthu, 2007;Stichler et al, 2008) in order to predict the DSW distribution in the aquifer. While the method-ology for measuring the present mixing of DSW and GW was reported previously (Negev et al, 2017), in the current study our GW modeling approach allows us to predict future mixing trends in the production wells of the Menashe MAR site.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managed aquifer recharge with reverse-osmosis desalinated seawater: modeling the spreading in groundwater using stable water isotopes

Ganot

Holtzman

Weisbrod

et al. 2018

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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The spreading of reverse-osmosis desalinated seawater (DSW) in the Israeli coastal aquifer was studied using groundwater modeling and stable water isotopes as tracers. The DSW produced at the Hadera seawater reverse-osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant is recharged into the aquifer through an infiltration pond at the managed aquifer recharge (MAR) site of Menashe, Israel. The distinct difference in isotope composition between DSW (δ 18 O = 1.41 ‰; δ 2 H = 11.34 ‰) and the natural groundwater (δ 18 O = −4.48 ‰ to −5.43 ‰; δ 2 H = −18.41 ‰ to −22.68 ‰) makes the water isotopes preferable for use as a tracer compared to widely used chemical tracers, such as chloride. Moreover, this distinct difference can be used to simplify the system to a binary mixture of two end-members: desalinated seawater and groundwater. This approach is validated through a sensitivity analysis, and it is especially robust when spatial data of stable water isotopes in the aquifer are scarce. A calibrated groundwater flow and transport model was used to predict the DSW plume distribution in the aquifer after 50 years of MAR with DSW. The results suggest that after 50 years, 94 % of the recharged DSW was recovered by the production wells at the Menashe MAR site. The presented methodology is useful for predicting the distribution of reverse-osmosis desalinated seawater in various downstream groundwater systems.

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“…The remaining MAR can be primarily attributed to storm runoff according to the seasonal rainfall (Israel Hydrological Service, 2013). Recently, desalinated seawater -a relatively new water source in Israel (Stanhill et al, 2015) -has been occasionally used as source water for MAR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring and modeling infiltration–recharge dynamics of managed aquifer recharge with desalinated seawater

Ganot

Holtzman

Weisbrod

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. We study the relation between surface infiltration and groundwater recharge during managed aquifer recharge (MAR) with desalinated seawater in an infiltration pond, at the Menashe site that overlies the northern part of the Israeli Coastal Aquifer. We monitor infiltration dynamics at multiple scales (up to the scale of the entire pond) by measuring the ponding depth, sediment water content and groundwater levels, using pressure sensors, single-ring infiltrometers, soil sensors, and observation wells. During a month (January 2015) of continuous intensive MAR (2.45 × 10 6 m 3 discharged to a 10.7 ha area), groundwater level has risen by 17 m attaining full connection with the pond, while average infiltration rates declined by almost 2 orders of magnitude (from ∼ 11 to ∼ 0.4 m d −1 ). This reduction can be explained solely by the lithology of the unsaturated zone that includes relatively low-permeability sediments. Clogging processes at the pond-surface -abundant in many MAR operations -are negated by the high-quality desalinated seawater (turbidity ∼ 0.2 NTU, total dissolved solids ∼ 120 mg L −1 ) or negligible compared to the low-permeability layers. Recharge during infiltration was estimated reasonably well by simple analytical models, whereas a numerical model was used for estimating groundwater recharge after the end of infiltration. It was found that a calibrated numerical model with a onedimensional representative sediment profile is able to capture MAR dynamics, including temporal reduction of infiltration rates, drainage and groundwater recharge. Measured infiltration rates of an independent MAR event (January 2016) fitted well to those calculated by the calibrated numerical model, showing the model validity. The successful quantification methodologies of the temporal groundwater recharge are useful for MAR practitioners and can serve as an input for groundwater flow models.

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Estimating desalination requirements in semi-arid climates: A Mediterranean case study

Cited by 14 publications

References 7 publications

Using Desalinated Water for Irrigation: Its Effect on Field Scale Water Flow and Contaminant Transport under Cropped Conditions

Using Desalinated Water for Irrigation: Its Effect on Field Scale Water Flow and Contaminant Transport under Cropped Conditions

Managed aquifer recharge with reverse-osmosis desalinated seawater: modeling the spreading in groundwater using stable water isotopes

Monitoring and modeling infiltration–recharge dynamics of managed aquifer recharge with desalinated seawater

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