Environmental Hydrogeology
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Clogging mechanisms near water wells
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Researchers: ir. A.H. de Zwart, dr. R.J. Schotting
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In the Netherlands water work companies produce over more than one billion cubic meters of water
every year by about 2500 water wells. The water production part of the whole process is confronted
with problems. One of the problems in water production is well clogging. In summer 2001, a study is
performed on the occurrence of well clogging at five drinking water companies. The results of this
study show that about 50% of these wells have severe clogging problems. The mechanisms that cause
clogging of wells are poorly understood. This research focuses on the clogging mechanisms in the
water bearing formations. These mechanisms can be microbiological, chemical or mechanical.
The research consists of three main steps:
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Theoretical research and selection of the mechanisms
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Numerical modeling of the processes and describing the relation between different mechanisms
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Performing lab experiments to validate the model
This PhD research is embedded in a larger project in which 10 companies from the drinking
water industry are involved. The project is funded by the Ministry of Finance (BTS-project).
