Inside a hangar at the York River Treatment Plant in Seaford, Virginia, an experiment of unprecedented scale is taking place. Over the next 15 months, scientists from the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) will determine whether millions of gallons of wastewater can be purified to potable standards and then injected into the ground to prevent what some are calling a nightmare in slow motion. [1]
The project is designed to replenish an aquifer that has been slowly and deliberately whittled down to dangerous levels. Within Hampton Roads, which encompasses Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Portsmouth, thousands of industries and nearly half a million households are depleting the region’s most important aquifer – and causing the land to sink in the process. Groundwater in the district is primarily pumped from the Potomac Aquifer, which is one of the smallest aquifers in the nation. Over the past five decades, the constant pressure on the aquifer has resulted in land sinking nearly 4 millimeters a year – or more than 1 ½ inches by 2026. [1]
HRSD’s attempt to counter-balance massive withdrawals and sinking land comes down to punching 30 holes roughly 500 feet deep and injecting purified wastewater. HRSD has stressed that aquifer recharge has added benefits beyond replenishing groundwater and halting land subsidence. It also has the potential to drastically reduce the amount of wastewater entering the Chesapeake Bay tributaries. In an interview with the Washington Post, lead researcher Ted Henifin explained, “The project will be full scale between 2020 and 2030. It will be the biggest aquifer recharge in the country, more than 100 million gallons per day.” [1]
Although half a million households in and around HRSD rely on the aquifer, over 60 percent of the water is pumped by several business and municipalities. These bulk consumers, such as the West Point and Franklin paper mills, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and the James City Service Authority are the reason why over the past 100 years artesian wells have gone from pumping water from 31 feet above sea level to 200 feet below. For this reason, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality earlier this year took a major step forward and dramatically cut water-withdrawal permits. [1]
For now, the project is still in the research phase and has to go through a litany of regulatory checks and balances prior to operation. However, according to the Washington Post’s interview with Jack Eggleston, a hydrologist with the EPA, the importance of reviving the region’s most important aquifer cannot be understated. “Are we excited? Yes. Groundwater is fabulous, because it’s fresh almost everywhere, drinkable everywhere. Nevertheless, extracting it can cause major problems. Measuring it is really important. You want to know what’s happening so you can take action.” [1]
Published: 11/29/2016
[1] Fears, Darryl. Hampton Roads’ solution to stop the land from sinking? Wastewater. Washington Post, October 20, 2016. Web. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/hampton-roads-solution-to-stop-the-land-from-sinking-wastewater/2016/10/20/9537865a-8198-11e6-b002-307601806392_story.html