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What is ASR?
Aquifer Storage and Recovery has a variety of different meanings, so providing an exact definition is a bit difficult; some define ASR as the injection and recovery of water within an aquifer via the same well, while others define ASR as the injection and recovery of water within an aquifer by means of a variety of methods including, vadose zone injection, basin infiltration, multiple well injection and/or recovery sites etc. Furthermore, those interested in aquifer recharge should not limit their investigations to only include the acronym ASR, as other terms have also been used to define the same process. For example, Southwest Hydrology included the following in their May/June, 2008 publication (p 16): 

"Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR): To some, this means strictly recharge and recovery from the same well. Others believe it is the most widely recognized term—at least in the Southwest—to refer broadly to all forms of aquifer recharge, storage, and recovery. 


Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR): Has the greatest international use; less common in this country. The original definition referred to intentional banking and treatment of water in aquifers. 


Managed Underground Storage of Recoverable Water (MUS): Introduced in 2008 by NRC’s Committee on Sustainable Underground Storage of Recoverable Water to define “purposeful recharge of water into an aquifer system for intended recovery and use as an element of longterm water resource management.” Southwest Hydrology is using the broad definition of ASR." 

Since, no clear consensus exists regarding an exact definition, the term ASR throughout most of this website will refer to the injection and recovery of water via wells, irrespective of the number of wells, provided that such wells directly access the storage aquifer; in addition, injected and recovered water is used as a water resource management tool and aquifer restoration purposes. This definition puts parameters on the hydrogeologic conditions required for an ASR scheme to be deemed feasible and for the development of such projects to be used primarily for the purpose of boosting water supply and/or enhancing overdeveloped aquifers.


For a general overview of the basics of ASR and the importance of groundwater, please view the following presentation:

So, what is Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR)?  

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Southwest Hydrology. 2008. Aquifer Storage and Recovery. Southwest Hydrology-The Resource for Semi-Arid Hydrology. 7 (3): 44 p.