Evaluating Long-Term Effectiveness of Managed Aquifer Recharge for Groundwater Recovery and Nitrate Mitigation in an Overexploited Aquifer System

作者：Yuguang Zhu, Zhilin Guo, Sichen Wan, Kewei Chen, Yuxuan Wang, Zhenzhong Zeng, Huizhong Shen, Jianhuai Ye, Chunmiao Zheng · 发表于：Hydrology and earth system sciences · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.5194/hess-30-693-2026 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry、Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics、Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies

Abstract. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has been widely recognized as an effective strategy for groundwater restoration and has been implemented globally. In the North China Plain, over-extraction of groundwater has led to a continuous decline in water levels, forming one of the world's most significant groundwater depressions. Recent riverine MAR operations have shown significant local groundwater recovery; however, the long-term regional fate and spatial evolution of nitrate remain poorly quantified. In particular, it remains challenging to assess how geological heterogeneity interacts with biogeochemical processes to control remediation efficacy. Most existing studies rely on short-term field monitoring and emphasize localized responses. This study, focusing on the Xiong'an depression area, develops a coupled flow and multi-component reactive transport model to evaluate the long-term impacts of MAR on groundwater recovery and the spatiotemporal evolution of water quality. The results indicate that MAR leads to a basin-wide mean groundwater level rise of 1.11 m, with a maximum increase of 7.5 m near the river. Nitrate reduction is dominated by physical dilution (∼ 91 %) rather than denitrification (∼ 9 %).Furthermore, geological heterogeneity governs the spatial variability of water quality evolution by channelling flow through preferential pathways, which creates localized reduction hotspots, despite having a minimal impact on the total nitrate mass removal. These finding...