Managed Aquifer Recharge in the Gulf Countries: A Review and Selection Criteria

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are arid with very limited availability of water resources. In recent years, these countries have started an intensive program to increase the storage of groundwater through various techniques of managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Water consisting of varying quantity and quality (derived from various sources) are used via MAR techniques to increase the groundwater storage and, if possible to enhance its quality, respectively. This paper presents a review of the MAR techniques practiced in GCC countries including the implementation strategies of the different structures. Generally, seven MAR techniques are utilized in GCC countries including dams, aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) technique, aquifer storage transfer and recovery (ASTR) technique, ponds, soil aquifer treatment (SAT) technique, rooftop rainwater harvesting, and Karez/Ain system. Results indicated that ASR using excess desalinated water or treated sewage effluent (TSE) is the most used MAR technique in GCC countries, followed by the use of ASTR, dams, and ponds. Based on this review, twelve different selection criteria have been developed for GCC countries for better MAR practice in the future.