Water Concession Principles for Geothermal Aquifers in the Mura-Zala Basin, NE Slovenia

Abstract

Demand for thermal water in the Mura-Zala basin, situated between Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, is constantly increasing, with the sandy geothermal aquifer within the Neogene Mura formation being the most exploited. During the water concession granting process various problems were identified, together with the need for elaboration of the uniform concession granting principles. The latter were devised according to the specific hydrogeological settings and field inspection of 23 geothermal wells, performed through use of an adapted methodology. The inspection revealed changes in wells performance, low efficiency of energy abstraction and a lack of reinjection. The acquired information was applied to the development of particular principles, including the six key indicators. Firstly, a unified and integrated operational monitoring programme must be established, and upgraded by a national surveillance monitoring. Secondly, an application of the best available techniques is proposed. Stimulation of energetic and balneology efficiency is also needed, with recharge and reinjection conditions evaluated and applied where possible. Limited or full water concessions could be granted based on their fulfilment then. This continuous step-by-step approach should enable the implementation of adequate measures to meet the standards required for the thermal groundwater bodies according to the EU water framework directions.

Possibilities for electricity production from geothermal energy in Slovenia in the next decade

“…Izdatni neogenski nizkotemperaturni geotermalni vodonosniki medzrnske poroznosti z aktivnim regionalnim tokom podzemne vode v Ptujsko-Grajski in Murski formaciji ležijo na medzrnskih in razpoklinskih vodonosnikih Lendavske, Špiljske in Halo{ke formacije (jelen & RiFelj, 2011), ki vsebujejo zelo staro meteorno vodo (ve~ deset tiso~ let) in slanice z zelo omejenim napajanjem. Zaradi intenzivnega odvzema termalne vode brez reinjiciranja (ob~asno se reinjicira le v Mursko formacijo v vrtino Le-3g/08 v Lendavi), je opazno rudarjenje termalne vode, ki se kaže kot stalen upad nivojev podzemne vode in ponekod cikli~no spreminjanje fizikalnih in kemi~nih lastnosti vode (kRalj et al, 2009b;Rman, 2011;Rman & szo ˝cs, 2011;Rman et al, 2011a). Najnovej{e raziskave kažejo, da so geotermalni vodonosniki v Ptujsko-Grajski in Murski formaciji prekomejni, saj se raz{irjajo vsaj na Madžarsko in izkazujejo medsebojno hidravli~no povezanost (Rman & szo ˝cs, 2011;Rman et al, 2011b;tótH et al, 2011a).…”

Geothermal sources and utilization practice in six countries along the southern part of the Pannonian basin

“…Many aquifers are shared by these neighboring countries but no common management of geothermal resources is yet established (Rman et al 2011;Tóth et al 2016); even though, bilateral water commissions meet annually and proposal of delineation of the Upper Pannonian transboundary thermal groundwater body (TTGWB; Tóth et al 2016) was submitted to TWAP some years ago. The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE 2013), the Danube River Protection Convention (DRPC) (ICPDR 2010), and the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) (EC 2000) provide sufficient legislative framework for its implementation.…”

Potentials of transboundary thermal water resources in the western part of the Pannonian basin

“…Consequently, importance of proper water management is regularly discussed for surface and fresh groundwaters (Mylopoulos et al, 2008;Pandey et al, 2011;Sophocleous, 2010;Stevanović, 2008;Zhou, 2009), and also regarding thermal groundwater of the Pannonian basin (Horváth et al, 2015;Rman, 2014;Rman et al, 2011;Szőcs et al, 2013). Few water management policies deal with transboundary thermal groundwaters.…”

“…We jointly assessed not only subsurface temperature distribution but also hydraulic conditions and exploitation characteristics of porous and fissured geothermal aquifers for the first time in order to identify their potential for increased use in future. Many aquifers are shared by neighboring countries (Horváth et al, 2015) and no common management is established Rman et al, 2011). Thermal water is widely used for direct heat purposes as well as for balneology (Fendek and Fendekova, 2010;Goldbrunner, 2010;Rajver et al, 2010;Tóth, 2010).…”