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Is Managed Aquifer Recharge a Feasible Solution for Groundwater Deterioration

in Qatar?

Conference Paper · June 2022

DOI: 10.1061/9780784484258.016

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World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2022 168

Is Managed Aquifer Recharge a Feasible Solution for Groundwater Deterioration in

Qatar?

Salah Basem Ajjur1 and Sami G. Al-Ghamdi2

1
Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa
Univ., Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar (corresponding author).
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9099-1511. Email: saajjur@hbku.edu.qa
2
Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa
Univ., Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar (corresponding author).
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7416-5153. Email: salghamdi@hbku.edu.qa

ABSTRACT

Even though managed aquifer recharge (MAR) helped effectively in increasing aquifer
storage and improving groundwater quality in many arid regions worldwide, its feasibility
remains an open question in Qatar. Qatar is a hyper-arid country with minimal natural water
resources, high per-capita water consumption, and over-exploited aquifers—the only water
source for agriculture. During the last two decades, the country had a significant increase in
population and urbanization, which posed extra stress to the aquifers. This paper discusses MAR
feasibility and highlights possible factors for aquifer management and sustainability in Qatar.
Outcomes showed that, among MAR methods, the aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) could
help augment Qatar aquifers if technical and socioeconomic aspects were guaranteed.
Considering 2016 as an example, injecting the unutilized treated sewage effluent (TSE;
estimated by ~500 million m3 in 2017) in aquifers can strike a balance in Qatar’s water system if
a recovery rate of 30% was achieved in the ASR wells. Under future projections of population
and consumption increase, abstraction from aquifers will rise significantly through the 21st
century, which requires looking for alternative water resources. The analysis also revealed
unclear measurements for aquifers abstraction. Using smart water meters to measure abstraction
quantities is, therefore, a dire need.

Keywords: Qatar aquifers; sustainable management and augmentation; climate change;

urbanization; karst and heterogeneous

1. INTRODUCTION

Climate change exacerbates the pressure on the already limited water resources in arid areas
(Abotalib, Heggy, Scabbia, & Mazzoni, 2019; Ajjur & Al-Ghamdi, 2021a, 2021b, 2021d; Ajjur
& Mogheir, 2012; Ajjur & Riffi, 2020). Temperature surge and precipitation decline decrease
natural recharge and increase actual evapotranspiration values (Salem, Dezső, & El-Rawy,
2019). The decrease in natural recharge will reduce input into the aquifer, while the increase in
actual evapotranspiration will intensify the crop water demands and increase the stresses on
aquifers (Ajjur & Al-Ghamdi, 2021a). Cramer et al. (2018) estimated that climate change could
decrease freshwater availability by up to 15%. Lesser precipitation and higher actual
evapotranspiration may also increase the drought season's length (Ajjur & Al-Ghamdi, 2021c;
Tsanis, Koutroulis, Daliakopoulos, & Jacob, 2011). Kløve et al. (2014) concluded that longevity

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in the drought season could perturb groundwater depth and its temporal pattern, threatening
arable land and increasing aridity. Besides, anthropogenic factors exacerbate the pressure on
water resources in arid areas. High rates of population growth and urbanization increase the
abstraction from aquifers (Ajjur, Al-Ghamdi, & Baalousha, 2021; Ajjur & Mogheir, 2020). Then,
groundwater levels fall significantly if the recharge is insufficient to replenish these aquifer. The
main consequences of the drop in groundwater levels are loss of aquifer storage, groundwater
deterioration, and seawater intrusion in coastal regions (Ajjur et al., 2021; Ajjur & Mogheir,
2019).
The GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab
Emirates) are hot spot regions largely affected by climate change and anthropogenic stresses
(Ajjur & Al-Ghamdi, 2021b; Ajjur & Baalousha, 2021; Salimi & Al-Ghamdi, 2020). Al-
Maamary, Kazem, and Chaichan (2017) documented a temperature surge from 1960–2010 and
forecasted a future rise in ambient temperature and a severe decrease in rainfall in the GCC
countries. The same study projected rapid rates of climatic changes due to current hasty
anthropogenic activities. The population and urbanization of GCC countries have increased
remarkably in recent decades. The GCC population reached 58.6 million in 2019, a 96% increase
over the level in 2000 (World Bank, 2020). Further, most cities in the GCC countries have
approximately 30–50% of water losses in municipal and industrial supplies, which contrasts with
the international best practice of approximately 10% (World Bank, 2012). Additionally, a large
percentage of groundwater (more than 80%) is used for agriculture in the GCC region. Typical
irrigation practices utilize 10,000 m3 year-1 hectare-1, a quantity that can secure the basic water
requirements of 1,000 people (Rached & Brooks, 2010). Under plausible future climate and
socioeconomic circumstances, Mazzoni, Heggy, and Scabbia (2018) forecasted a total depletion
of all aquifer systems in the Arabian Peninsula in 90 years.

1.1. Case study description

Qatar is a hyper-arid country in the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula (Figure 1).
The elevation varied from zero near the costs to 107 m in the southwestern parts. The climate is
characterized by an extremely long, hot summer and a mild winter. Qatar’s mean air temperature
exceeds 40 Co in summer (Schlumberger Water Services, 2009). During 1962–2010, the average
annual rainfall was only 78 mm, with spatial and temporal variability (Mamoon & Rahman,
2016). There are three primary aquifer systems in Qatar, as Figure 1 shows. These systems are
the northern basin, the southern basin, and the Allat aquifer. The northern aquifer is of high
importance since it receives higher rainfall and thus higher recharge capacity. Fresh groundwater
lenses sit on top of brackish/saline groundwater in the northern aquifer. In general, the
groundwater in the northern aquifer has better quality than that of other aquifers. Therefore, most
wells (around 70%) are focused in the northern aquifer. In comparison, the southern basin
includes 28%. Only 2% of wells are in the southwest and Doha basins (Schlumberger Water
Services, 2009).
Several anthropogenic changes increased the pressure on Qatar’s aquifers during the last two
decades. The country’s population rose five-fold in the last two decades (Figure 2, (World Bank,
2020), leading to higher water consumption. The daily per-capita water consumption has also
increased from 500 liters to 557 liters between 2011 and 2018 (Lambert & Lee, 2018). The
annual groundwater abstraction balanced recharge in the early 1970s (Schlumberger Water
Services, 2009). This balance was disturbed during the last two decades. The annual groundwater

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abstraction has risen from 55.4 Million Cubic Meters (Mm3) in 1976 to 160 Mm3 in 1993 to 250
Mm3 in 2010 (Schlumberger Water Services, 2009). Whereas the long-term (1998–2016) safe
groundwater yield is estimated at 55.8 Mm3 per year (Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority,
2018).

Figure 1. General location and elevation maps of Qatar

The freshwater lens, the only natural freshwater resource in Qatar, decreased by 89%
between 1971–2009 (Schlumberger Water Services, 2009). The water table declined by greater
than 10 m in several areas, and seawater intruded 15 km inland in some regions (Schlumberger
Water Services, 2009). The groundwater became saline in general—several wells are abandoned
every year due to their high salinity (Schlumberger Water Services, 2009). It should also be
noted that Qatar experienced an agricultural expansion after 2017 as a part of the Qatar National
Food Security Program (NFSP). Although the impact on water resources has yet to be
documented, these expansions appear to amplify the pressure on aquifers. This poses immediate
challenges – especially for the agricultural sector in Qatar. Groundwater depth is a principal
factor in vegetation growth in arid areas, and water level drop generally leads to plants
degradation (Huntington et al., 2016). Therefore, the protection and sustainable development of
aquifer systems are critical in Qatar.

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Figure 2. The United Nations population projections for Qatar through the 21st century
under the medium-fertility variant.

2. MAR METHODS

MAR is a good way to store, manage, and treat large quantities of water in aquifers for
further recovery and other environmental benefits. These benefits include land subsidence
prevention, soil improvement, and seawater intrusion in coastal areas (Ajjur & Baalousha, 2021;
Dillon et al., 2018). There are five methods to apply MAR. Ajjur and Baalousha (2021) reviewed
these methods and discussed the challenges associated with MAR applicability in the MENA
region. Ajjur and Baalousha (2021) recommended aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) as a
promising method in impermeable/low permeable surfaces in the GCC region. Figure 3 presents
a schematic view of the ASR method. In the ASR, water is injected into the aquifer and
recovered from it using the same well. The ASR can effectively increase aquifer storage and
improve the quality of groundwater in arid areas. These merits would be valuable to meet water
requirements during demand periods. Stuyfzand, Smidt, Zuurbier, Hartog, and Dawoud (2017)
reported the ASR wells' ability to recover more than 0.17 Mm3/day for three months in the Liwa
desert, UAE. These quantities of water met the regional water needs during emergency periods.
Another example from South Australia where ASR system could remove up to 40% of organic
carbon and 87% of the nitrogen in a carbonate aquifer (Vanderzalm, Page, Barry, & Dillon,
2013).

Figure 3. A schematic view shows the aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) method

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The following table shows the main merits and demerits of implementing ASR projects in
Qatar. It can be concluded that the ASR could be a promising solution for groundwater
deterioration in Qatar. Though, specific concerns regarding the potential clogging and recovery
efficiency should be addressed before implementation.

Table 1. The advantages and disadvantages of the aquifer storage and recovery (ASR)
method in Qatar

MAR Type Advantages Disadvantages

• Water can be recovered from the ASR
systems during high demand or any
possible failure in desalination plants
such as technical failures, pollution in
Aquifer storage the Arabian gulf…
and recovery
• Injected water to the ASR wells has no
(ASR)
losses due to evaporation
• The treated sewage effluent (TSE) has
high quality in Qatar and can be used as
input to ASR wells
• The native water has low-quality in many
regions, which may deteriorate the
injected water and cause clogging in ASR
wells
• Some aquifers in Qatar are karst and
highly heterogeneous, which poses two
challenges to the ASR method: (1) High
percentages of injected water may be lost
by lateral flow, and (2) recovery rate from
the ASR wells might be low.

3. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Ajjur and Baalousha (2021) summarized MAR challenges in the MENA region and proposed
a feasibility framework to assess MAR projects. That’s said, applying this framework prior to
MAR helps evade the possible failure in MAR systems and save time and effort. MAR
challenges in the MENA region were categorized into three main concerns (1) technical issues,
(2) health-risk issues, and (3) socioeconomic aspects. The next lines illustrate potential technical
challenges in Qatar, while socioeconomic and health-risk analyses are beyond the scope of this
paper.
Figure 4 summarized the water balance in Qatar during 2008 and 2016. The annual increase
in groundwater stocks, including mainly natural recharge, TSE injection, and irrigation return
flow, has improved from 108 Mm3 in 2008 to 172 Mm3 in 2016. On the other hand, the annual
decrease in groundwater stocks, including agricultural abstraction, municipal and industrial
abstraction, and outflow to the Arabian Gulf, remained relatively constant, around 268 Mm3. As
a result, the annual deficit in water budget varied between 96 Mm3 and 160 Mm3.
In Qatar, obtaining the hydrological balance and augmenting the aquifers are two good
objectives for the ASR. The abstraction from aquifers has increased significantly during the last
two decades. The source water for ASR wells can be either TSE or desalinated water. According
to the Qatar Planning and Statistics records, only 61 Mm3 of TSE was injected in 2016, which
means that approximately 132 Mm3 of TSE were not utilized, however these water were treated
tertiary; the biochemical and chemical oxygen demands were removed by more than 95% (Qatar
Planning and Statistics Authority, 2018). If the unutilized TSE was injected totally into the
aquifer and a recovery rate of 72% was obtained from the ASR wells, then we can strike the
water balance in Qatar aquifers. Of course, implementing ASR projects involves high capital
pumping and discharge costs, but this option is supposed to be feasible in the long-term (Ajjur,
2012; Ajjur et al., 2021; Ajjur & Mogheir, 2019). Still, further investigations are recommended
in this regard.

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Figure 4. Inputs to the Qatar aquifers during 2008 and 2016. Source: Data obtained from
Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority (2018).

Assuming the annual losses in groundwater stocks of 268 Mm3 in 2016, which means an
annual rate of 101 m3 per capita (= 268 Mm3/2.654 million inhabitants). Under the United
Nations population projections (figure 2), Qatar's population will hit (3.85) 4.16 million in
(2050) 2100. Optimistically, considering that the per-capita groundwater consumption rate
remains constant at 101 m3, then the annual groundwater abstraction will increase to ~389 (420)
Mm3 in 2050 (2100). The latter finding is important for decisionmakers to look for alternative
water resources.

4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Qatar is projected to an additional increase in population and urbanization, which makes

aquifers replenishment and management a dire need. To this end, the ASR is a promising
solution, among other methods of MAR. Implementing ASR systems in Qatar aquifers will help
to maximize water storage and improve groundwater quality. Attention, however, should be paid
to several issues which may hamper ASR projects in Qatar. These issues result in a low recovery
rate and cause failure. Some recommendations for decisionmakers include the following:
1. Karst and heterogeneous aquifers pose many questions to the recovery efficiency in the
ASR wells. This requires hydrogeological investigations to characterize the aquifer
hydraulic conductivity and guarantee the best recovery rate.
2. If the unutilized TSE was injected totally into the aquifer and a recovery rate of 72% was
obtained from the ASR wells, then we can strike the water balance in Qatar aquifers.
Still, an economic analysis considering the high discharge and pumping costs associated
with ASR systems, as well as social analysis considering public rejection, are essential
before the ASR implementation.
3. ASR projects should be implemented based on a regional evaluation so as most
deteriorated areas with feasible sites are prioritized.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was made possible through a PhD scholarship from Hamad Bin Khalifa University
(HBKU), under Qatar Foundation (QF), to Salah Ajjur. The findings reported herein are solely
those of the authors.

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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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