Geochemical impact of aquifer storage and recovery operation on fate and transport of sediment phosphorus in a large shallow lake

In response to the impact of climate change, the US Army Corps of Engineers proposed a large-scale implementation plan for an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) project in the Kissimmee River Basin, Florida, in 2009. It is envisaged that the routine operation of the ASR will deliver recovered water from ASR wells into Lake Okeechobee with inherently different water quality parameters. However, the addition of ASR well water into such a large, shallow lake has raised concerns about sediment phosphorus stability, which could lead to increased eutrophication in Lake Okeechobee. This paper presents a geochemical assessment to explore possible impacts of the addition of ASR well water on lake sediment in terms of phosphorus adsorption, desorption, and diffusion processes via laboratory-scale batch and column tests. Based on five different mixing ratios of ASR well water and lake water, estimated isotherms, and piston velocity calculations, a mechanistic modeling analysis provided a better understanding of the fate of sediment phosphorus and its transport processes. A final multicriteria decision analysis suggests that the mixing ratio of 1:10 between ASR well water and lake water is deemed more applicable than others based on the given composition of ASR well water, which might buffer more external phosphorus loading in the long run.