Rainwater Harvesting for Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)—A Case Study from Urban Centre in Punjab Pakistan

Journal of Hydrological Ecology and Water Security

Article

Rainwater Harvesting for Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)—A Case Study from Urban Centre in Punjab Pakistan

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https://doi.org/10.54963/jhews.v1i1.1590
Zakir-Hassan, G., Akhtar, S., Punthakey, J. F., Afzal, M., Shabir, G., Hassan, F. R., & Khan, M. A. H. (2025). Rainwater Harvesting for Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)—A Case Study from Urban Centre in Punjab Pakistan. Journal of Hydrological Ecology and Water Security, 1(1), 73–91. https://doi.org/10.54963/jhews.v1i1.1590
Volume 1 Issue 1 (2025)

Authors

  • Ghulam Zakir-Hassan

    Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Irrigation Department, Lahore 54500, Pakistan
    School of Agricultural, Environmental, and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury 2640, Australia
    Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Albury 2640, Australia
  • Saleem Akhtar

    Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Irrigation Department, Lahore 54500, Pakistan
  • Jehangir F. Punthakey

    Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Albury 2640, Australia
    Ecoseal Pvt Ltd Rossivelli, Bamaga 4895, Australia
  • Muhammad Afzal

    Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6DW, UK
  • Ghulam Shabir

    Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Irrigation Department, Lahore 54500, Pakistan
  • Faiz Raza Hassan

    Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Irrigation Department, Lahore 54500, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Ali Hassan Khan

    Department of Irrigation and Drainage, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan

Received: 9 March 2025; Revised: 25 May 2025; Accepted: 16 June 2025; Published: 23 June 2025

Rising trends in global population have resulted in increased urbanization, industrialization, and food demands. This has resulted in the rapidly increasing water demands for domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors; which have severely depleted groundwater resources in Pakistan. The urban centres like Lahore city—the capital of Punjab province and the 2nd largest city of Pakistan. To address this challenge, a field-scale Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) system integrated with Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) was developed and tested to evaluate its feasibility and efficiency for urban groundwater recovery. In this system, rainwater collected from paved surfaces was filtered and injected into a Pleistocene sand aquifer through recharge wells. Double filtration mechanism has been introduced in the model to ensure good quality rainwater is recharged into the aquifer. Field monitoring during multiple rainfall events demonstrated successful infiltration and aquifer-storage, with recharge volumes of 150,700, 281,097, and 89,887 L of rainwater corresponding to potential domestic water supplies for 132, 246, and 79 days for an average household respectively. The results confirm that decentralized RWH–MAR systems can significantly enhance aquifer replenishment in overexploited urban aquifers. The study underscores the viability of such systems for broader implementation in Punjab and other similar semi-arid regions, contributing to sustainable groundwater management and urban water resilience in Pakistan.

Keywords:

Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) Lahore Punjab Pakistan

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