UNESCO, an organization within the United Nations, recently published a book on Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) that is freely available online. MANAGING AQUIFER RECHARGE: A Showcase for Resilience and Sustainability offers 28 real-life examples of MAR use in collaborative water resources management aimed at improving the quantity and quality of water supplies while buffering against drought and other emergencies. The cases show that people at all levels, from village to state, can incorporate MAR in the design of workable and sustainable solutions to their water supply challenges. All 28 examples were evaluated for their environmental and social sustainability using nine indicators specifically developed for this book, and economic cost-benefit ratios were also estimated. For one case study, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal joined co-author Kenneth Seasholes, manager of Central Arizona Project Resource Planning and Analysis, in describing the Arizona Water Banking Authority and the value of institutional support for MAR (Case Study 21). The case study shows “how a strong regulatory framework, coupled with public institutions and funding can help support the adoption of MAR on a large scale, and how MAR can achieve broad water management and public policy objectives.”

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