The Subcommittee on Hydrogeology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) held its annual meeting on December 16, 2019 in Budapest. This year, the topic of the event was “Paradigm change in water management, tasks and opportunities of hydrogeology”. The presentations were focused on water retention and groundwater recharge possibilities in Hungary. The ENeRAG and the DEEPWATER-CE projects and their related pilot areas were introduced. Further talks were given related to water retention possibilities in lowlands, the use of artificial water recharge to improve ecological status of forests, and the legal environment related to Managed Aquifer Recharge.
The ENeRAG project was represented by Judit Mádl-Szőnyi (scientific coordinator of ENeRAG and head of the Hydrogeological Subcommittee) and Zsóka Szabó (PhD student). Zsóka Szabó in her presentation titled “MAR mapping in the Danube-Tisza Interfluve” presented the ENeRAG project and its objectives related to Managed Aquifer Recharge, the infiltration suitability map prepared for the area of the Western Water Supply Plan, the first field measurements near Ágasegyháza settlement and the future plans.
Hungarian water management was focused primarily on flood protection and excess water control (rural drainage) in the previous years. However there is a growing demand for water retention and water recharge by using excess flood water, harvesting rainwater, building surface reservoirs and there is increased interest in underground water storage and Managed Aquifer Recharge systems as well. The subcommittee meeting provided an excellent opportunity to present the results of the ENeRAG project and to expand the opportunities for cooperation with Hungarian professionals.
