ASR (Aquifer Storage and Recovery) realised at Dutch eggplant grower

Climate change, rise of sea levels, subsidence, and salinization of the groundwater makes fresh water more scarce in the future. At the same time, there are more often periods with heavy rainfall. All that rainwater could provide a solution for fresh water shortage, but above-ground storage takes up too much expensive square meters of land.

Storage of fresh water surplus at a large scale underground could be a solution. Underground storage counters salinization and meets the difference in time and space between the water supply and the water demand. It is also possible to create space in the basins to collect peak rainfall.

Due to the above-mentioned causes, Greenbrothers has realised an underground water storage in the months of January and May. This source is an alternative to the traditional water basin. The source is filled with rain that falls on the greenhouses to use for irrigation water for the plants at a later time. You can keep on filling and using it.

"The good thing about an ASR is that you can collect the rain during the entire year, compared to a basin, which when full overflows to the adjacent ditch. Good quality water is lost with this, which has to be filled with less suitable mains water or even ditch water during times of extended drought. In fact, we will collect more clean water than required for irrigation, and so we are storing good quality water in the ground, which is good for the groundwater level", according to the explanation in the message shared by Purple Pride.