Risk of injection using reclaimed water for aquifer recharge using rotavirus as surrogate contaminant

Groundwater aquifers are precious resources that has been serving human
consumption for many centuries. This resource is pristine in comparison with surface
waters such as lakes and canals, however, as population grows exponentially so does the
demand for groundwater and the need to study the potential of groundwater replenishment
programs. The injection of treated water or wastewater into an aquifer is a method to protect
this resource for current and future generations. Health concerns would be expected since
migration of water of “impaired quality” can affect the drinking water by contamination.
Regulatory barriers resulting from the perceived risks of adverse health effects from
pathogens such as viruses have limited the concept of this impaired water resources from
being used for groundwater replenishment programs. The objective of this study is to
examine the risk assessment using computational modeling with MODFLOW and MT3D groundwater transport simulation. The results from the simulation showed that after two years, the risk of contamination based on concentration contours from the injection well to the production wellfields for the City of Hollywood stabilized below 10- 6. The risk assessment provided important aspect to demonstrate the concept of using injection of treated water as an option for groundwater replenishment.