ABSTRACT
Wessex Water Services Ltd. started a year long trial of Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) in December 1997 in which treated drinking water is being injected into a confined Chalk aquifer. The object of the trial is to create a freshwater ‘bubble’ or reservoir within a non-potable aquifer that can be re-abstracted for public water supply without further treatment. The trial is of particular significance in that it represents the first large-scale ASR trial of its type in the United Kingdom. The results will therefore be of importance, not just to Wessex Water but to other British water companies, especially those who are considering ASR schemes in the Chalk. This paper describes the background and initial test results from the ASR trial and what this may mean in terms of its subsequent development.
