The simplest one is to release the water into an existing stream bed. Tucson does this up north. One of their wastewater treatment plants releases directly into the Santa Cruz. The water flows for some distance north and disappears. Along the way it supports riparian areas. While a lot of the water goes into the ground, much is also lost to evaporation.
Another method is infiltration basins. Shallow basins are constructed over ground that has a fast percolation rate. Water is pumped to the basin and it percolates down into the ground. Examples are the Pima Mine Road CAP Recharge Facility and both the Sahuarita and Pima County (Green Valley) wastewater treatment plants. Locally, ground percolation rates accept in the neighborhood of 2 feet of water per day. With a high perc rate, evaporation losses are minimized.
When you have an area that doesn't percolate well (an example would be an area with caliche soil layer) an option is to drill a recharge well through layer and pump the water into the ground below the layer.
Keep in mind there is little we can do to help or hinder Augusta Resource. The OK is in the hands of the US Forest Service. AR has a strong case and is likely to get the go-ahead without regard to anything that the Town, County or State can do. A done deal.
Can we stop them from using our water? No. They are going to recharge at least the same amount they draw; that's all the (state) law requires. They have already closed on property just east of Town where they will drill wells and install pumps. A done deal.
Their current plan is to pull water from here and recharge with CAP water up in Marana, the only place currently available for recharge. In fact, they have already started recharging. A done deal.
The only deal that is left undone is the proposal to build a pipeline from Pima Mine road to Duval Mine road and recharge water there. This would put water back into the ground somewhat near where it is being pumped. The cost to us of doing this appears to be no more than allowing AR to do it. Their hope is that they will get some good will out of the deal, and they probably will.
Seems to me if we simply reject the pipeline we will have an ugly mine and a heavily plundered aquifer. If we accept the pipeline we will have an ugly mine and a less plundered aquifer.
Lulu, particularly on a zoom lens the hood can vignette the image. Is that what you are experiencing. Again, hoods are only useful if you are pointing the camera towards a rather bright light source. It helps control stray light.
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Welcome back Mona. I missed you too.
Steven,
I am aware of three recharging methods.
The simplest one is to release the water into an existing stream bed. Tucson does this up north. One of their wastewater treatment plants releases directly into the Santa Cruz. The water flows for some distance north and disappears. Along the way it supports riparian areas. While a lot of the water goes into the ground, much is also lost to evaporation.
Another method is infiltration basins. Shallow basins are constructed over ground that has a fast percolation rate. Water is pumped to the basin and it percolates down into the ground. Examples are the Pima Mine Road CAP Recharge Facility and both the Sahuarita and Pima County (Green Valley) wastewater treatment plants. Locally, ground percolation rates accept in the neighborhood of 2 feet of water per day. With a high perc rate, evaporation losses are minimized.
When you have an area that doesn't percolate well (an example would be an area with caliche soil layer) an option is to drill a recharge well through layer and pump the water into the ground below the layer.
Hope this was helpful.
Dennis
Mona,
You've made some very thoughtful points.
Keep in mind there is little we can do to help or hinder Augusta Resource. The OK is in the hands of the US Forest Service. AR has a strong case and is likely to get the go-ahead without regard to anything that the Town, County or State can do. A done deal.
Can we stop them from using our water? No. They are going to recharge at least the same amount they draw; that's all the (state) law requires. They have already closed on property just east of Town where they will drill wells and install pumps. A done deal.
Their current plan is to pull water from here and recharge with CAP water up in Marana, the only place currently available for recharge. In fact, they have already started recharging. A done deal.
The only deal that is left undone is the proposal to build a pipeline from Pima Mine road to Duval Mine road and recharge water there. This would put water back into the ground somewhat near where it is being pumped. The cost to us of doing this appears to be no more than allowing AR to do it. Their hope is that they will get some good will out of the deal, and they probably will.
Seems to me if we simply reject the pipeline we will have an ugly mine and a heavily plundered aquifer. If we accept the pipeline we will have an ugly mine and a less plundered aquifer.
Lulu, particularly on a zoom lens the hood can vignette the image. Is that what you are experiencing. Again, hoods are only useful if you are pointing the camera towards a rather bright light source. It helps control stray light.
Lea, I downloaded one of your pics and enhanced it (about 15 seconds)and reposted it.