Groundwater is a highly valuable resource especially in areas of low rainfall and low surface water supplies. The value of aquifers can be greatly increased by actually returning water to the aquifers when there is additional water available (be it from rainfall/runoff – treated effluent – diverted surface water flows etc). This process is known as Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) and has huge potential in South Africa. It has the added benefit that water stored underground is not prone to high rates of evapotranspiration. However it is a technology that can be quite
complicated with many technical and legal hurdles to clear. The world’s leading experts in MAR (from South
Africa and Australia) will present 3 day’s of detailed training on the topic.