Research project SATPlanner
Improved degration and enhanced infiltration rates in SAT by hydraulic manipulation
Partners: TU Dresden, Institute of Groundwater Management
G.U.B. Ingenieur AG Zwickau
TECHNION Haifa (Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Ben Gurion University oft he Negev (Blaustein-Institute for
Desert Research)
Israel National Water Co. Ltd. MEKOROT
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Duration: July 2017 - December 2020
Contact: Dr.-Ing. Jana Sallwey
Project Description
In arid and semi-arid areas, increasing water scarcity has been one of the key challenges worldwide for many years. Countries with constant population growth, such as Israel, are particularly affected. In the sense of recycling scarce water, the treated wastewater of the Tel Aviv metropolis has not been discharged directly into the Mediterranean Sea for about 20 years, but has been infiltrated underground in infiltration basins south of the city. By passing through the soil, the water is further purified and, for example, organic trace substances (pharmaceuticals, for example) are removed by microbial degradation. After its vertical transport path through the unsaturated soil zone as well as approx. 500 - 1,000 m of horizontal migration through the aquifer, the water is pumped back to the surface via production wells. This water is then close to drinking water quality and has been used as irrigation water in agriculture to date. More than 60% of the agricultural land that exists in the Negev Desert is irrigated with this recycled wastewater from the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. The technology is called "Soil-Aquifer-Treatment" (SAT).
The main subject of the current research project is experiments to improve the oxygen supply to the subsurface with the aid of optimized hydraulic operational management of overflow and dry periods in the infiltration systems. The improved oxygen supply is expected to lead to increased purification efficiencies. In a previous project, which was worked on at IAK from 2010 - 2014, there were promising indications for this. For the tests, a specially constructed column test plant is used, which is able to simulate the upper 6 m of the unsaturated soil zone of an infiltration basin in a natural way. Another aspect is the application testing of small-scale infiltration wells as an alternative to open infiltration basins. This research point is worked on by the Institute for Groundwater Management (IGW) of the TU Dresden. As a result of the research project, the company GUB AG will develop generally applicable guidelines and recommendations for the construction and management of SAT plants.