Management of urban aquifer contamination by diffuse and multipoint sources

• Grant number: 23/05462-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo César Aoki Hirata
• Grantee: Carlos Henrique Gil Marques
• Supervisor: Beth Parker
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IGC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Guelph, Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/09991-3 - Management of urban aquifer contamination by diffuse and multipoint sources, BP.DD

Abstract

Nitrate contamination in urban aquifers arising from dispersed and multipoint sources has proven to be a difficult problem to solve, as it requires a high cost in its characterization, associated with many monitoring wells, and low efficiency in the classic treatment alternatives. In the State of São Paulo, dispersed contamination is mainly associated with the public sewage system, which, due to lack of maintenance, leaks and degrades large volumes of urban aquifers. This occurs in the Bauru Aquifer System (SAB), which is the main source of water for 80% of the municipalities in the center-west of São Paulo. Thus, the candidate's direct doctorate seeks to understand such contamination and propose efficient, low-cost and socially acceptable solutions. The work takes place in two cities, one medium-sized (Bauru) and the other small-sized (Urânia), where, based on an extensive characterization of hydrogeological data and contamination sources, models of flow and transport of contaminants in aquifers are being calibrated. Based on these models, the efficiency of various alternatives for remediation or management of contamination will be tested, including MAR (managed aquifer recharge) and selective pumping; nature-based solutions (phytoremediation); Engineering (reactive barriers); and Management (different uses of water to meet different demands and urban planning) (NE&MS, nature, engineering, and management solutions). The project stage abroad will involve a careful evaluation of the contamination scenarios, survey and evaluation of the efficiency and adequacy of NE&MS systems, and the beginning of the final step of the project, which is the comparison of the scenarios obtained for the construction of recommendations for the management of urban aquifers. For this, the project has the collaboration of the University of Guelph, represented by the groundwater research group Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute, specialized in innovative techniques of characterization and field monitoring and high-resolution local scale modeling, in which the beneficiary will have the opportunity to take part under the coordination of Prof. Dr. Beth Parker, Supervisor abroad and Group Director. Furthermore, the results obtained as a result of his stay in Canada will be incorporated into the Thematic Projects linked to this doctorate: Water Availability and risks of Contamination in outcroping areas of the Guarani Aquifer System (FAPESP 2015/03806-1), and SACRE|Integrated solutions for resilient cities (FAPESP 2020/15434-0), which has provided, with the participation of the beneficiary, the data that will be considered in this BEPE project. (AU)