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Saving for a Dry Day
Experts are probing deep underground for natural sites that will hold hundreds of millions of gallons of water.

Kevin Spear | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted April 24, 2006

If it's wise to save money for rainy days, then maybe there's some wisdom in saving rain for days when you're poor -- water-poor that is.

It's an idea that's taking hold in fast-growing Central Florida to prevent future water shortages: collecting water during rainy season, storing it and then using it during the dry season.

But it's not an easy task.

Storing any significant amount of water could require hundreds of giant tanks or very large reservoirs. There is a cheaper and more effective way, environmental authorities say.

In Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties, experts are probing deep underground for formations of porous rock that will hold hundreds of millions of gallons of water.

The water would be treated to drinking quality and injected into a well. The underground rock would keep the water in place so it can be retrieved later through the same well.

That's "aquifer storage and recovery" in expert jargon. More important than what the technology is called is what it can do.

"You can store massive amounts of water," said Ronald Ferland, an Orlando environmental consultant for a storage project in east Orange County...Read more...
 
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