Artificial recharge in fractured crystalline aquifers
Résumé
To overcome water scarcity issues, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) structures are currently developed in many parts of the world, including poorly permeable terrain like weathered crystalline rocks. In such geological context, characterized by relatively limited groundwater storage mainly associated with fractures located at the interface between the upper weathered layer (saprolite) and the fractured bedrock, the efficiency of MAR is poorly known. To address this question and better understand the factors that control recharge dynamics, an artificial recharge basin was implemented at the Experimental Hydrogeological Park in Telangana (South India), a well-equipped and continuously monitored site situated in Archean granitic terrain. The thickness of the saprolite and hydraulic properties are relatively well known all over the site from previous geophysical surveys and hydraulic tests.