Enhancing Water Quality through Managed Recharge
Andrew T. Fisher, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, UC Santa Cruz
Professor Fisher's work brings cutting edge science to communities that need it the most by connecting water providers and farmers to managed aquifer recharge projects. Anyone interested in hydrogeology and water quality will want to hear more about Professor Fisher's work.
— Simone Albuquerque, MESM 2021
Abstract
Managed recharge is increasingly applied to enhance groundwater supply and also offers opportunities to improve groundwater quality. Key considerations include the nature of water sources, the composition of soils, the potential presence of legacy contaminants, and biogeochemical processes that can reduce contaminant loads during infiltration. I'll describe recent field and laboratory studies that demonstrate how addition of bioavailable carbon to soils undergoing infiltration for managed recharge can speed rates of nutrient cycling and reduced solute loads. This work is being done in the context of a regional program to incentivize recharge for extractive and non-extractive benefits.
Bio
Andrew Fisher is a Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he teaches classes in geology, groundwater, and computer modeling. Fisher earned a BS in Geology from Stanford University, and a PhD in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the University of Miami. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America (GSA), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Fisher received the O. E. Meinzer Award in Hydrogeology from the GSA, and two Excellence in Teaching Awards from UCSC.
