The Hampton Roads Sanitation District is heading a Managed Aquifer Recharge project designed to build water resiliency for the district as well as meet recent regulations concerning effluent released into the Chesapeake Bay. The Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) project will include five injection well fields across the Virginian Coast. The first of these fields to be implemented is the James River site, scheduled to begin in 2025. A model of the Virginia Coastal Plain region was created in 2009 and has been used to simulate the combined impact of the full-scale SWIFT project. This study estimated the change in hydraulic head in the Potomac Aquifer System caused by the proposed James River recharge well field at a regional and local level. That estimation required the use of a widely accepted model of the Virginia Coastal Plain developed in 2009 which was subjected to a limited validation using USGS monitoring well data for comparison. That model was then used to establish boundary conditions for a local scale model surrounding the James River site, after which each model was used to run four pumping scenarios with varying rates of recharge. The validation of the Virginia Coastal Plain model found it to be satisfactory for the scope of this work, and it was therefore used to interpolate boundary conditions for the developed local model. The regional and local model both showed an increase in the simulated head values of the Potomac Aquifer System. The regional model simulated a sharper initial increase than the local model, however, long term the local model simulated a greater impact to the groundwater levels from the proposed recharge. / Master of Science / The Potomac Aquifer System (PAS) is a main water source for most of eastern Virginia and high pumping rates have caused notable drawdown in several areas. The Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) has initiated the Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) project that is designed to alleviate the stress on the PAS by artificially recharging the PAS through injection well. A regional groundwater model, built in 2009, has been used to estimate the impact of the proposed recharge for the SWIFT project at full capacity. This work validated the use of the regional model within the region of the first proposed SWIFT well field at the James River Site. Once the validation was complete, the regional model provided a framework to develop a more detailed model on a smaller scale. That model was then used to simulate the proposed injection well field at varying rates to estimate the effect of the James River Site. This study has shown that the regional model provides an adequate framework to build local scale models. The simulations run in both the regional and local models found that the proposed recharge increases the water levels in the PAS immediately surrounding the well field and that the impact is felt to distances exceeding 50 miles after 10 years.

No description available.

Water managers must balance the need for clean and safe drinking water with ever-increasing amounts of waste-water. A technique for treating and storing surface water called “managed aquifer recharge” (MAR) is frequently used to help maintain this balance. When MAR is used to produce drinking water, water managers must ensure that disease-causing microbial contaminants are removed from the water prior to its distribution. This thesis examined the processes responsible for removing a specific class of microbial contaminants called “enteric viruses” during MAR. Viruses are naturally removed in groundwater through adsorption and inactivation mechanisms. This thesis investigated how these virus removal mechanisms were affected by ionic strength (IS), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the age of the sand used in a MAR infiltration basin. This was done using batch and flow-through column experiments designed to mimic conditions characteristic of a basin infiltration MAR scheme in Uppsala, Sweden. Bacteriophage MS2 was used as a proxy for enteric viruses. All of the experiments were conducted at 4°C. Experimental data were modeled to describe the fate and transport of viruses in the infiltrated groundwater. Conventional least-squares optimization and generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) were compared as model fitting-approaches in order to determine how data uncertainty affects parameter estimates and model predictions. Results showed that the sand used in the infiltration basins accumulates adsorbed organic matter as it is exposed to infiltrating surface waters. This reduced the amount of MS2 that was removed due to adsorption and inactivation. Results from GLUE indicated that MS2 is more likely to inactivate in a time-dependent manner when in the presence of sand with high concentrations of organic matter. Both model fitting techniques indicated that virus attachment rates were significantly lower for sand with high organic carbon content. Neither methodology was capable of adequately capturing the kinetics of virus adsorption. Uncertainties in the experimental data had a large effect on the conclusions that could be drawn from fitted models. This study showed that the presence of natural organic matter reduces the value of the infiltration basin as a microbial barrier.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is widely applied for sustainable groundwater management. Despite its apparent simplicity, the evaluation of MAR schemes can be challenging especially with regard to feasibility assessment, planning but also operation. The absence of proper evaluation methods hinders the optimal operational management, reduces the level of public trust and raises questions about the impact of MAR on the affected ecosystem. The development of appropriate tools could help water utilities to maximize the use of groundwater while satisfying physical, financial, and sustainability constraints. As overall objective, the application of new and advanced tools can increase the understanding of the underlying processes and in that way increase the confidence in MAR and foster the successful implementation of MAR schemes. The thesis consists of three main parts which objectives are to: 1) understand the role of modelling in MAR and identify information gaps by a review of available modelling studies; 2) increase the availability of efficient database and analytical tools including their development and web-based implementation; and 3) improve and contribute to new advances in numerical modelling of MAR. A survey of conducted modelling studies, mainly based on numerical methods, revealed that groundwater flow models are most frequently applied to assess MAR schemes. Modelling objectives comprise the planning and optimization of the design and operation of a MAR facility as well as its impact on the groundwater system. Simulations help to assess the achievable recovery efficiency and occurring geochemical processes to minimize the risk of failure of a planned facility, also with regard to long-term impacts. Furthermore, site-selection and the influence of MAR on seawater intrusion are frequently analysed by modelling. The literature review served as a basis for the MAR model selection tool which enables, dependent on objectives, methods and model types, to extract suitable models and case studies. Based on analytical equations to determine groundwater mounding, saltwater intrusion or the pumping-induced river drawdown, further tools were developed and compiled on a web-based platform for easy access and utilization. The web-based applications can be used as screening tools to assess MAR-related issues. For a more detailed analysis, numerical models represent useful instruments to analyse MAR schemes on various scales. On regional scale, the feasibility of MAR implementation at proposed locations is often a challenging question due to the lack of detailed knowledge of the local groundwater system and its response to MAR. Consequently, an approach combining numerical groundwater flow modelling and GIS-based multi-criteria decision-analysis (MCDA) was formulated and subsequently tested for the city centre of Hanoi, Vietnam. The results indicate that MAR could help to reduce the local overexploitation of groundwater and stop land subsidence. For existing MAR schemes on local scale, the residence time in the subsurface is a critical parameter determining e.g. the removal of pathogens. As the influence of viscosity on the seasonal residence time is not fully clear, a numerical groundwater flow and heat transport model was set up for a MAR scheme in Berlin, Germany to evaluate the seasonal impact of viscosity. The results suggest that the consideration of viscosity in the numerical modelling scheme has an influence on the subsurface travel time and results in shorter residence times. At point scale, clogging represents a critical issue with regard to the long-term viability of a MAR scheme which is frequently neglected in numerical models. The numerical unsaturated flow model HYDRUS-1D/2D was enhanced to enable the simulation of time-variable hydraulic conductivities as an approximation of clogging. With the help of the time-variable scaling factor in combination with the reservoir boundary condition, the increasing water head in the laboratory aquifer well and infiltration basin due to clogging was reproduced. The presented tools and numerical modelling approaches are useful to assess a wide range of MAR-specific issues, to manage the risks associated with implementation and operation and improve the overall performance and reliability of MAR schemes. Through the application of suitable data-based, analytical and numerical tools, the thesis contributes to the perception of MAR as a suitable and reliable technique for water resource management.:1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 ASSESSMENT OF MANAGED AQUIFER RECHARGE THROUGH MODELLING 11 3 WEB-BASED EMPIRICAL AND ANALYTICAL TOOLS FOR INITIAL MAR-RELATED ASSESSMENT 29 4 MANAGED AQUIFER RECHARGE FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT USING GIS-BASED SUITABILITY MAPPING AND NUMERICAL MODELLING 53 5 INFLUENCE OF VISCOSITY ON THE SEASONAL RESIDENCE TIME DURING MAR OPERATION 73 6 SIMULATION OF HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY CHANGES OVER TIME DURING MAR OPERATION 91 7 SCIENTIFIC IMPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES...113 Bibliography 117 A Appendix 143 / Grundwasseranreicherung (engl. Managed Aquifer Reharge, MAR) wird oftmals für ein nachhaltiges Grundwassermanagement eingesetzt. Trotz der scheinbaren Einfachheit von MAR, kann die Bewertung insbesondere in Bezug auf Machbarkeitsstudien, Planung, aber auch Betrieb herausfordernd sein. Das Fehlen geeigneter Bewertungsmethoden hindert ein optimales Betriebsmanagement, reduziert das Vertrauen der Öffentlichkeit und wirft Fragen über die Auswirkungen von MAR auf das betroffene Ökosystem auf. Die Entwicklung geeigneter Instrumente könnte daher Wasserversorgern helfen, die Nutzung des Grundwassers zu maximieren und gleichzeitig physische, finanzielle und nachhaltige Bedingungen einzuhalten. Als übergeordnetes Ziel kann die Anwendung neuer und fortschrittlicher Instrumente das Verständnis für die zugrunde liegenden Prozesse verbessern und so das Vertrauen in MAR stärken und die erfolgreiche Umsetzung von MAR-Anlagen fördern. Die Arbeit besteht aus drei Hauptteilen, deren Ziele es sind: 1) die Rolle der Modellierung von MAR zu verstehen und Informationslücken durch eine Überprüfung der verfügbaren Modellierungsstudien zu identifizieren; 2) die Verfügbarkeit effizienter datenbankbasierter und analytischer Instrumente einschließlich ihrer Entwicklung und webbasierten Implementierung zu erhöhen; und 3) mit Hilfe von neuen Fortschritten die numerische Modellierung von MAR-Anlagen zu verbessern und zu unterstützen. Eine Literaturrecherche bereits durchgeführter Modellierungsstudien, die vor allem auf numerischen Modellen beruhen, ergab, dass Grundwasserströmungsmodelle am häufigsten zur Beurteilung von MAR-Anlagen eingesetzt werden. Die Modellierungsziele umfassen die Planung und Optimierung des Aufbaus und des Betriebs einer MAR-Anlage sowie deren Auswirkungen auf das Grundwassersystem. Simulationen helfen, die erreichbare Rückgewinnungseffizienz und die auftretenden geochemischen Prozesse zu beurteilen, um das Ausfallrisiko einer geplanten Anlage auch im Hinblick auf langfristige Auswirkungen zu minimieren. Darüber hinaus wird die Standortauswahl und der Einfluss von MAR auf das Eindringen von Meerwasser häufig durch Modellierung analysiert. Die Literaturrecherche diente als Grundlage für das MAR-Modellauswahl-Tool, bei dem in Abhängigkeit von Zielen, Methoden und Modelltypen geeignete Modelle und Fallstudien extrahiert werden können. Weitere Werkzeuge, die auf analytischen Gleichungen zur Bestimmung von Grundwasseraufwölbung, Salzwasserintrusion oder der pumpinduzierten Durchflussreduzierung im Fließgewässer basieren, wurden entwickelt und auf der webbasierten INOWAS-Plattform für einen einfachen Zugang und Nutzung zusammengestellt. Die webbasierten Anwendungen können als Screening-Instrumente zur Beurteilung von MAR-bezogenen Problemen eingesetzt werden. Für eine detailliertere Analyse stellen numerische Modelle nützliche Instrumente zur Analyse von MAR-Anlagen auf verschiedenen Skalen dar. Auf regionaler Ebene ist die Machbarkeit der Umsetzung von MAR an den vorgeschlagenen Standorten oft eine schwierige Frage, da das lokale Grundwassersystem und seine Reaktion auf die Anwendung von MAR nicht hinreichend bekannt sind. Dazu wurde ein Ansatz entwickelt, der numerische Grundwasserströmungsmodellierung und GIS-basierte multikriterielle Entscheidungsanalyse (MCDA) kombiniert, um die Machbarkeit und mögliche Auswirkungen der MAR-Implementierung zu bewerten. Der kombinierte Ansatz wurde im Stadtzentrum von Hanoi, Vietnam, getestet, wo die Ergebnisse darauf hindeuten, dass MAR dazu beitragen könnte, die lokale Übernutzung zu reduzieren und die Bodensenkung zu stoppen. Auf lokaler Ebene bei bestehenden MAR-Systemen ist die Verweilzeit im Untergrund ein kritischer Parameter, der z.B. die Entfernung von Krankheitserregern bestimmt. Da der Einfluss von Viskosität auf die saisonale Verweildauer nicht eindeutig ist, wurde für eine MAR-Anlage in Berlin ein numerisches Grundwasserströmungs- und Wärmetransportmodell erstellt, um die saisonalen Auswirkungen des Prozesses zu bewerten. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass Viskosität einen Einfluss auf die unterirdische Verweilzeit hat und zu einer Verkürzung der Aufenthaltszeiten führt. Auf kleiner Skala stellt die Kolmatierung ein wichtiges Thema dar, das den Erfolg eines MAR-Systems erheblich bestimmt, jedoch in numerischen Modellen häufig vernachlässigt wird. Das numerische ungesättigte Strömungsmodell HYDRUS-1D/2D wurde erweitert, um die Simulation von zeitlich variablen hydraulischen Leitfähigkeiten als vereinfachte Näherung von Kolmatierung zu ermöglichen. Mit Hilfe des zeitlich variablen Skalierungsfaktors in Kombination mit der Speicherrandbedingung konnte der im Labor gemessene, durch Kolmatierung verursachte, ansteigende Wasserspiegel im Brunnen und Infiltrationsbecken reproduziert werden. Die vorgestellten Werkzeuge und numerischen Modellierungsansätze sind nützlich, um eine breite Palette von MAR-spezifischen Fragen zu bewerten, um die mit der Implementierung und dem Betrieb verbundenen Risiken zu managen und die Gesamtleistung und Zuverlässigkeit von MAR-Anlagen zu verbessern. Durch den Einsatz geeigneter empirischer, analytischer und numerischer Werkzeuge trägt die Arbeit dazu bei, dass MAR als eine geeignete und zuverlässige Technik für das Wasserressourcenmanagement angesehen wird.:1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 ASSESSMENT OF MANAGED AQUIFER RECHARGE THROUGH MODELLING 11 3 WEB-BASED EMPIRICAL AND ANALYTICAL TOOLS FOR INITIAL MAR-RELATED ASSESSMENT 29 4 MANAGED AQUIFER RECHARGE FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT USING GIS-BASED SUITABILITY MAPPING AND NUMERICAL MODELLING 53 5 INFLUENCE OF VISCOSITY ON THE SEASONAL RESIDENCE TIME DURING MAR OPERATION 73 6 SIMULATION OF HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY CHANGES OVER TIME DURING MAR OPERATION 91 7 SCIENTIFIC IMPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES...113 Bibliography 117 A Appendix 143

Soil aquifer treatment (SAT), the removal of contaminants during percolation through soil, is a strategy employed in managed aquifer recharge (MAR), one method of indirect potable water reuse. As part of Hampton Roads Sanitation District's (HRSD) MAR project, The Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT), a soil column study was performed using four columns filled with sand taken from the Potomac Aquifer System (PAS) as well as water from various stages in SWIFT's 1MGD demonstration facility. Two pairs of two columns were operated in series, simulating 3 days and 1 month of travel time through aerobic to anaerobic conditions. During Phase 1 of testing, each pair of columns was fed from different stages in the SWIFT treatment process. During Phase 2 of testing, one set of columns was spiked with a conservative tracer bromide, and several contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). The contaminants monitored during both phases included total organic carbon (TOC), nitrogen species, and the disinfection byproducts bromate and NDMA. During Phase 2 of testing, CECs, iron, arsenic, bromide, and sulfate were monitored in addition to those monitored during Phase 1. About 50% of the TOC was removed within 3 days of travel time, with no additional removal observed in 1 month. Nitrate was conserved in the 3-day columns, but completely removed after 1 month, indicating denitrification. Bromate and NDMA were reduced significantly in the 3-day columns and mostly non-detect in the 1-month effluent. Many of the spiked CECs were reduced significantly in the 3-day column indicating degradation. Three compounds exhibited some retardation through both columns but were not degraded. A few compounds, notably perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), showed no retardation or degradation. / Master of Science / In order to continue to meet the water demands of the future, potable reuse is a necessary and effective solution. HRSD's SWIFT project aims to create a sustainable source of drinking water through advanced treatment of its wastewater effluent and subsequent recharge of the Potomac Aquifer in a process known as managed aquifer recharge (MAR). During MAR, chemical and biological contaminants are attenuated or removed through a process known as soil aquifer treatment (SAT). HRSD installed pilot-scale soil columns at their 1MGD SWIFT demonstration facility to evaluate the potential removal of contaminants. During the study, removal of contaminants, both regulated and unregulated, was observed. This study demonstrated that SAT provides an effective environmental barrier against many contaminants and helped to inform the level of treatment necessary to protect public health during MAR potable reuse projects.

Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) during managed aquifer recharge has been studied as a method of providing additional environmental barriers to pathogens and contaminants in indirect potable reuse (IPR) applications. A soil column study was conducted by Hampton Roads Sanitation District in order to evaluate the effectiveness of SAT, as a component of its IPR project involving the replenishment of the Potomac Aquifer System (PAS), in providing a sustainable source of drinking water. Four packed soil columns were constructed with sand from the PAS and were designed to simulate the travel time of 3 days and 30 days. The tests conducted aimed at evaluating pathogen removal (MS2, E. coli and Cryptosporidium oocysts); evaluating attenuation of regulated (nitrate, nitrite, bromate, trihalomethane (THM), haloacetic acids (HAA), organic carbon) and unregulated contaminants of concern that affect drinking water quality. Effective pathogen removal was observed with 6 to 7-log removals of MS2 and E. coli and 3 to 5-log removals of microbeads, used as a surrogate for Cryptosporidium. Removal across 3 day columns was comparable to 30-day columns but the potential to achieve higher removal with longer retention time was acknowledged. Nitrate, bromate, THMs and HAAs were completely reduced in 30-day columns. Total organic carbon was removed at 25 – 35% in all four columns. Seven out of the 106 contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) tested were consistently detected in the column feed and effluent at concentrations greater than 100 ng/L; some compounds showed potential for removal while no conclusive results were drawn for the remaining compounds. / MS / Potable reuse is a sustainable solution to the increasing water demands of the present and more so the future. Hampton Road Sanitation District (HRSD) aims to treat effluent from its wastewater treatment plants using advanced treatment process for direct recharge of the Potomac aquifer system. This is a method of indirect potable reuse termed as managed aquifer recharge (MAR). MAR can provide additional environmental barriers to contaminants present in water through a process of natural attenuation called soil aquifer treatment (SAT). A soil column study was conducted at HRSD’s pilot scale facility in order to asses SAT under controlled conditions at a meaningful scale. Attenuation of pathogens; regulated contaminants (nitrate, nitrite, bromate, etc.) and contaminants of emerging concern was evaluated through the soil columns. The results showed effective removal of most contaminants of interest which demonstrated that SAT potentially improves water quality and meets public health standards in potable reuse applications.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is the purposeful recharge of an aquifer for later recovery or environmental benefits and represents a valuable method for sustainable water resources management. Models can be helpful tools for the assessment of MAR systems. This review encompasses a survey and an analysis of case studies which apply flow and transport models to evaluate MAR. The observed modeling objectives include the planning or optimization of MAR schemes as well as the identification and quantification of geochemical processes during injection, storage and recovery. The water recovery efficiency and the impact of the injected water on the ambient groundwater are further objectives investigated in the reviewed studies. These objectives are mainly solved by using groundwater flow models. Unsaturated flow models, solute transport models, reactive geochemical models as well as water balance models are also frequently applied and often coupled. As each planning step to setup a new MAR facility requires cost and time investment, modeling is used to minimize hazard risks and assess possible constraints of the system such as low recovery efficiency, clogging and geochemical processes.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is the purposeful recharge of an aquifer for later recovery or environmental benefits and represents a valuable method for sustainable water resources management. Models can be helpful tools for the assessment of MAR systems. This review encompasses a survey and an analysis of case studies which apply flow and transport models to evaluate MAR. The observed modeling objectives include the planning or optimization of MAR schemes as well as the identification and quantification of geochemical processes during injection, storage and recovery. The water recovery efficiency and the impact of the injected water on the ambient groundwater are further objectives investigated in the reviewed studies. These objectives are mainly solved by using groundwater flow models. Unsaturated flow models, solute transport models, reactive geochemical models as well as water balance models are also frequently applied and often coupled. As each planning step to setup a new MAR facility requires cost and time investment, modeling is used to minimize hazard risks and assess possible constraints of the system such as low recovery efficiency, clogging and geochemical processes.

Les facteurs qui régissent l'intensité et la répartition de la recharge naturelle et artificielle dans les aquifères cristallins altérés et fracturés sont mal connus. Ce sont cependant les caractéristiques déterminantes de ce type de roche—ces roches sont très hétérogènes—qui rendent difficile l’estimation des flux dans ces milieux ainsi que des propriétés hydrauliques qui les contrôlent. La première partie de ce manuscrit fournit un état des connaissances sur la recharge des eaux souterraines et ses méthodes d’estimation, permettant de comprendre les défis scientifiques et sociétaux abordés dans cette thèse. La deuxième partie présente les travaux numériques et expérimentaux menés pour approfondir notre compréhension de la dynamique des flux d’eaux souterraines dans ces milieux hétérogènes à plusieurs échelles. Le premier axe de recherche porte sur les processus de recharge naturelle à l’échelle du bassin versant. La recharge diffuse a été modélisée avec un modèle physique simple d’infiltration et comparée à des estimations préalables de recharge totale. Nos résultats illustrent la forte dépendance de la recharge aux précipitations et à l’irrigation, et l’importance de la recharge focalisée. Les facteurs responsables de la distribution spatiale de la recharge sont aussi étudiés. Le deuxième axe est basé sur le suivi de la mise en eau d’un bassin de recharge artificielle dans un site hautement monitoré et bien équipé. Ces observations ont été interprétées avec des modèles analytiques et numériques. Ces modèles ont mis en évidence l’existence de flux préférentiels horizontaux, mais aussi d’une compartimentation latérale qui entrave la propagation des intrants de recharge. / The factors governing the intensity and distribution of natural and artificial recharge in weathered and fractured crystalline aquifers are poorly understood. However, it is the defining characteristics of this type of rock—these rocks are very heterogeneous—that make the estimation of fluxes and the hydraulic properties controlling them difficult. The first of its two parts provides the theoretical framework on groundwater recharge processes and its estimation methods for comprehending the scientific and societal challenges discussed in this thesis. The second part presents the numerical and experimental work carried out to deepen our understanding of the dynamics of groundwater flows in these heterogeneous underground environments at several scales. The first line of research focuses on natural recharge processes at the watershed scale. Diffuse recharge was modeled with a simple physical infiltration model and compared to previous estimates of total recharge. Our results highlight the strong dependence of recharge on rainfall and irrigation, and the importance of focused recharge. The factors responsible for the spatial distribution of recharge are also studied. The second axis is based on the monitoring of the filling of an artificial recharge basin at a highly monitored and well-equipped site. These observations were interpreted with analytical and numerical models to improve our knowledge of flow dynamics in fractured crystalline rocks at the medium scale. These models illustrated the existence of preferential horizontal flows, but also of a lateral compartmentalization that hinders the propagation of recharge inputs.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is a low-energy subsurface water treatment system with the potential of being an important component of sustainable water reuse schemes. Alongside common wastewater contaminants, MAR systems have been shown to attenuate a range of trace organic chemicals (TOrCs). Despite several factors being possibly important for TOrC attenuation, many have not been investigated in depth. This research effort investigated three factors affecting attenuation of the moderately degradable TOrCs: primary substrate, adaptation of the microbial community to presence of TOrCs, and groundwater temperature. The overall goal was to optimize TOrC attenuation using different MAR configurations considering how these factors affect TOrC attenuation. The primary substrate composition and concentration significantly impacted attenuation of the moderately degradable TOrCs. Lower primary substrate concentrations and more refractory carbon generally resulted in better TOrC transformation, a more diverse microbial community in the infiltration zone and more diverse capabilities for TOrC degradation. The enzyme group cytochrome P450 may be important for TOrC transformation since its genes were more abundant under carbon-starving primary substrate conditions. Adaptation of the microbial community by pre-exposure to TOrCs was not required in order to degrade them. However, adaptation to the primary substrate was necessary for TOrC biotransformation due to its effect on the microbial community. Attenuation of most TOrCs was unaffected by changes in temperature. Some moderately degradable TOrCs, however, were better attenuated at higher temperatures likely due to increased microbial activity. Others were better degraded at lower temperatures likely due to favorable sorption conditions. In the context of applying MAR systems to potential water reuse schemes within Saudi Arabia, a reconnaissance study of TOrC occurrence in treated wastewater effluents was undertaken. Most of the TOrCs targeted were detected at similar concentrations to US effluents at comparable plants. One of the plants studied, however, displayed a significantly different TOrC footprint from the other treatment plants due to the large number of international visitors in its sewershed. Findings from this occurrence study as well from other tasks provided inputs to a risk assessment framework to compare the effectiveness of MAR systems as part of a multiple-barrier water reuse scheme.