Interim report for the Project Period June 2015 - February 2016

Abstract

The work progress of WP4 between month 19 and 27 was conducted with the strong collaboration of the three Portuguese partners (LNEC, TARH and UAlg) as well as with the regional water authorities (APA Algarve and APA Alentejo), the water supply company (AdA, Águas do Algarve), and the General Direction for Agriculture (DRAPALG), some of the main potential users of MAR. As reported before, the main purposes of three DEMO sites are:  PT1 (Figure 1), the rio Seco and Campina de Faro aquifer system (Algarve): this is the main groundwater quality demonstration area of the South Portugal (Algarve) DEMO study. Its aim is to demonstrate that groundwater quality can be improved by applying managed aquifer recharge through infiltration basins constructed in rio Seco bed using either the basins constructed during GABARDINE EU project (PT1_1), which were rehabilitated during MARSOL, or the new MARSOL basins (PT1_2) constructed in July/August 2014, as well as through large-diameter wells (PT1_3).  PT2 (Figure 2 and Figure 3), Querença-Silves limestone karst aquifer system (Algarve) DEMO site aims to: (1) develop a Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT) system to improve the water quality of treated effluents from a Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) (PT2_4), which discharges water into ribeiro Meirinho (PT2_5) and (2) increase groundwater storage using MAR to recharge the aquifer system with surface water surplus during wet years in Cerro do Bardo well (PT2_6), located next to a tributary of ribeiro Meirinho. This will contribute to increase the water availability in dry years, facilitating downstream water supply pumping.  PT3 (Figure 4), Melides aquifer, river and lagoon (Alentejo): the aim is to use SAT in infiltration basins in a lab facility to treat water contaminated from rice crops fields and from diffuse groundwater pollution. The status of the four tasks of this WP4 is the following:  Task 4.1: Recharge water availability: This task was completed in month 12, as proposed in the DoW, and reported in the Deliverable 4.1 "Water sources and availability at the South Portugal MARSOL demonstration sites" (Oliveira et al., 20151).  Task 4.2: Developing the (MAR) infrastructures: This task was completed for PT1 (with all infrastructures for PT1_1 and PT1_2 built), for PT2_6 and for PT3 (one site with infrastructure built in an experimental facility at LNEC campus), both within month 24, as proposed in the DoW. Sites PT2_4 is under construction and expected to be finished in April/May 2016. All this information is partially reported in the Deliverable 4.2 "South Portugal MARSOL demonstration sites characterisation" (Leitão et al., 20152).  Task 4.3: Investigation and monitoring: This task has started much before scheduled and is predicted to finish by the end of the project. Results were partially reported in both Deliverables 4.1 and 4.2.  Task 4.4: Modelling: This task has started before scheduled and is predicted to finish in the end of the project. Results were mainly reported in the Deliverable 12.3 "Progress report on numerical models of the MARSOL DEMO sites" (Lobo-Ferreira et al., 2015).