Artificial groundwater recharge in wetlands: pre modelling for a pilot study in Forsmark, Sweden.

Sammanfattning: The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, SKB, is planning to construct a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel in Forsmark, Sweden. Leakage of groundwater into the repository during the construction and operational phases might cause a groundwater drawdown that in turn may affect the hydrological conditions in sensitive habitats in the area. The sensitive habitats in question are wetlands, home to several protected species. SKB has planned to take mitigation measures in the case variations of the surface-water elevation are identified for the concerned wetlands. The mitigations measures consists in infiltrating water in the ground in the direct vicinity to the wetland to create a higher groundwater pressure that then will propagate to the surface-water. This study describes the modelling of a pilot-study of such a measure and aims at serving as one of the background materials for the planning and design of the pilot study. The aims of the pilot study are to show that the surface-water level in a wetland can be controlled and to gain knowledge and experiences regarding artificial groundwater recharge for this purpose. The pilot study would take place before the construction of the repository so the undisturbed case is considered. The results show that an infiltration facility can control the surface-water level in a wetland. It is also shown that an infiltration rate of 0.5 L/s is enough to manipulate the surface-water level in the undisturbed condition.