Proposed recharge of island aquifer by deep wells with regenerated water in Gran Canaria (Spain)

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and, in particular, recharge by direct injection into the aquifer through wells or
boreholes allows for a series of very interesting solutions to solve various technical and environmental problems
related to management of the urban water cycle. These problems include the overexploitation of water resources,
marine intrusion or contamination of groundwater by irrigation returns. The island of Gran Canaria presents
several of these problems; thus, the feasibility of implementing a recharge system has been studied to provide a
solution to some of them, using a resource of great potential such as reclaimed water. A detailed characterization
of groundwater quality in the study area was carried out, complemented by a field campaign with water sampling
from the surrounding catchments, in situ analysis and subsequent laboratory analysis. Specifically, an MBR
treatment with disinfection is proposed, where the final conclusions indicate that this is a technically and
economically viable project, innovative in its application on islands, a priori with an acceptable productive
recharge capacity, possibly scalable after the experimental phase and extrapolable to other locations with similar
conditions. In addition, it presents a set of important environmental benefits with respect to conservation of and 2
improvement of the state of the groundwater bodies in the studied area, as well contributing to knowledge of and
research into water management in volcanic lands and islands.