Impact of artificial recharge on water quality in groundwater depression cone

More than 100 regional groundwater depression cones have developed because of groundwater over-exploitation in recent years in China. The total area of the cones is nearly 15 × 10⁴ km² and the Daqing groundwater depression cone considered in this paper is the second largest. In order to control groundwater level and its related environmental side effects, artificial aquifer recharge (AR) will be implemented in the Daqing groundwater depression cone. Recharge water imported from the River Nenjiang will interact with native groundwater and the aquifer matrix during the process of artificial aquifer recharge and this will influence groundwater quality and affect the groundwater environment in the region. The interaction between recharge water, native groundwater and aquifer matrix was forecast by groundwater geochemistry modelling. The modelled results show a tendency of water quality change in aquifer, which is helpful to identify any health risks and assess the feasibility of artificial recharge in this region of China.