Pumping seawater from coastal aquifers for supplying desalination plants

The lack of water in the coastal areas demands an onerous search for an appropriate solution. One solution is that of water transfer from areas of surplus, but this is itself problematical. Technological developments have introduced the possibility of utilizing desalinated seawater as a drinking wat...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Pulido-Bosch, A., Pulido-Leboeuf, P., Gisbert, J.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2004
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:86136
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/86136
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1344/105.000001431
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Coastal aquifers
Desalination
Drilling methods
Drilling muds
Borehole logging
Well casing
Development
Descripción
Sumario:The lack of water in the coastal areas demands an onerous search for an appropriate solution. One solution is that of water transfer from areas of surplus, but this is itself problematical. Technological developments have introduced the possibility of utilizing desalinated seawater as a drinking water source at a competitive price. Abstraction from coastal aquifers that are connected to the sea appears to be the cheapest means of supply. However, pumping poses some problems due to the corrosiveness of seawater. These problems include the difficulties of choosing suitable sites for the abstractions, drilling method, casing, filter pack, as well as the design of a monitoring system to assess aquifer behaviour as a result of the generally high exploitation rate. The 31 boreholes that have been drilled in the Andarax Delta near the city of Almeria are cited as an example of a real application.