Seattle
General Information:                                                                                                                        View Larger Map

Seattle's Highline Well Field contains 3 production wells (as of 2000), with a 10 million gallons per day capacity. Injected water, via 2 ASR wells, is obtained from Cedar River; this water is treated to drinking water standards before final distribution. The project began operating at full capacity in 1991, and is funded and supported by various government agencies, including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Seattle Public Utilities. 


Additional Information:

3 hydraulically connected aquifers are present within the storage zone. 

Aquifers include:

  • Upper Aquifer: shallow, unconfined, fine to medium grained sand
  • Principal Aquifer (intermediate): confined, glacial aquifer bounded by clay aquitards     
  • Deep Aquifer: sand/gravel outwash, clay and silt present
Recharge occurs under vacuum conditions. Water is injected under gravity flow into the aquifer through annular space between the well casing and pump column.

Cost in 1994:

Project cost typically higher than other ASR projects. Total Cost=$2,454,215. Federal Management Cost= $2,388,420. Seattle's Cost=$609, 639.                   

Supplementary Information:

Above information obtained from:

Reclamation, 2000. High Plains States Groundwater Demonstration Program: Program Summary Report. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Denver, Colorado


The following article is also available through American Society of Civil Engineers:

"High Plains States Groundwater Demonstration Program"

ASCE Conf. Proc.

Bridging the Gap: Meeting the World's Water and Environmental Resources Challenges

Proceedings of World Water and Environmental Resources Congress 2001

Eric A. Stiles

The High Plains States Groundwater Demonstration Program was initiated in 1983 in response to widespread concerns regarding the potential depletion and degradation of groundwater in the arid Western United States. The program consisted of 14 applied groundwater recharge demonstration projects and investigations to evaluate the effective use of recharge under a variety of hydrogeologic and institutional circumstances. A program summary report was issued in late 2000 to describe the program results and experience concerning groundwater recharge. The authorizing legislation designated the Bureau of Reclamation as the lead agency to administer and coordinate program activities. Applied demonstration projects were undertaken through cooperative arrangements with water management agencies and research organizations. The program also sponsored investigations by the Western States Water Council and the National Academy of Sciences to examine issues that can influence the appropriate role of recharge in water management. The demonstration projects represented a variety of water management problems and mechanisms to accomplish recharge objectives. Eight projects involved recharge to augment municipal supplies, four were intended to supplement irrigation water, and two projects involved generalized recharge of groundwater resources without direct recovery. Recharge technologies included active and gravity injection wells, spreading basins, and watershed practices used to enhance natural recharge.


General information of the High Plains States Groundwater Demonstration Program can be obtained here.