SUSTech scientist contributes to global progress of MAR to ensure humanities access to good quality freshwater - Latest News

On 31^st August 2022, Professor Yan Zheng from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE) at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) gave an invited speech at the Valuing Groundwater Seminar during the World Water Week 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden. The seminar was sponsored by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank Group, among others.

In her presentation and as a panelist, Professor Zheng introduced managed aquifer recharge (MAR) using examples drawn from her recent book “Managing Aquifer Recharge: A Showcase for Resilience and Sustainability,” which was published in 2021 by UNESCO. She also pointed out that the MAR is a sustainable technology, and usually costs less than conventional water supply means.

A nature-based engineering approach, MAR is a promising adaptation measure to enhance climate resilience against intensifying hydrological variability.

Figure 1. Professor Yan Zheng as a panelist of Valuing Groundwater Seminar at the World Water Week 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Figure 2. Professor Yan Zheng presenting at the World Water Week 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden.

On 27^th September 2022, Professor Zheng’s article “The 21^st century water quality challenges for managed aquifer recharge: towards a risk-based regulatory approach”, was published by the Hydrogeology Journal.

This essay was an invited contribution to a topical collection that celebrates the International Year of Groundwater. The Hydrogeology Journal is the flagship publication of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), for which Professor Zheng serves as a co-chair of its MAR Commission.

Figure 3. (From left to right) Prof. Sharon B. Megdal, Director of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center; Professor Steve Gorelick of Stanford University; Dr. John Cherry, Emeritus Professor and Stockholm Water Prize Laureate 2020; and Professor Yan Zheng at the Nora Latin venue in Stockholm, Sweden for World Water Week 2022.

With 350,000 plus chemicals available in global markets and new biological entities, including coronaviruses, the proponents of MAR are now facing enormous challenges to manage known and unknown water quality risks.

The essay calls upon hydrogeologists worldwide to rise to the 21st-century water-quality challenges using MAR, to maintain the integrity of groundwater resources, and to meet humanity’s demand for good quality freshwater. The use of advanced monitoring methods is recommended.

The study emphasizes the need to strengthen institutional capacity for regulatory frameworks for water allocation, permit granting, and water quality protection. They are especially relevant to achieve integrated management of surface water and groundwater as one resource, and to allow for more water recycling using storm water and treated waste water.

It also advocates for a risk-based regulatory framework accounting for groundwater quality changes and adoption in subsurface attenuation zones as the way forward.