Artificial Injection of Fresh Water into a Confined Saline Aquifer: A Case Study at the Nakdong River Delta Area, Korea

Abstract:

Injection test in a confined saline aquifer was performed to assess the potential of artificial recharge as a means of replacing saline water with fresh water, thereby securing fresh groundwater resources for the Nakdong Delta area of Busan City, Korea. The study area comprises a confined aquifer, in which a 10~21m thick clay layer overlies 31.5~36.5 m thick of sand and a 2.8~11m thick layer of gravel. EC logging of five monitoring wells yielded a value of 7~44 mS/cm, with the transition between saline and fresh water occurring at a depth of 15−38 m. Above 5 m depth, water temperature was 10~15.5°C, whereas between 5 and 50 m depth, the temperature was 15.5~17℃ and pH was 7.15~7.49. The quality of injected fresh water was 388 μS/cm with the temperature of 6.2℃, and pH was 7.70. Approximately 950 m³ of fresh water was injected into the OW-5 injection well at a rate of 370 m³/day for 62 hours, after which the fresh water zone was detected by a CTD Diver installed at a depth of 40 m. The persistence of the fresh water zone was determined via EC and temperature logging at 1 day, 21 days, 62days and 95 days after injection. The contact between fresh and saline water in the injection well was represented by a sharp boundary rather than a transitional boundary. It was concluded that the injected fresh water occupied a specific space and served to maintain the original water quality throughout the observation period. Moreover, we suggest that artificial recharge via long-term injection could help secure a new alternative water resource in this saline coastal aquifer.