Selection and Testing of Tracers for Measuring Travel Times in Natural Systems Augmented with Treated Wastewater Effluent

Augmentation of the groundwater aquifer with reclaimed water has the potential to cause public health and environmental concerns. Tracking the migration of contaminants, pathogens, and disinfection by-products in groundwater aquifers is crucial in assessing potential health/environmental impacts, preventing pollution problems, and designing/constructing cost-effective remediation systems. Information and method of testing and analysis to determine the travel time of biophysicochemical constituents of reclaimed water in aquifers is useful for the design and permitting of reclaimed water aquifer recharge projects. The project identifies, selects, and tests environmentally acceptable tracers for measuring travel times of reclaimed water and its constituents in recharge systems. The secondary objective was to develop a protocol for conducting tracer tests on recharge systems that are augmented with reclaimed water.

Originally funded as WERF project Reuse-05-07.