Towards an optimal management of wellfields; conduct of two pilots

We still don’t know enough about how well clogging, energy use and treatment management can be optimised in an integrated manner, and the extent to which integrated optimisation benefits supply security, resource use and/or costs. From the perspective of asset management, the following aspects of wellfields are important, and interconnected: supply security, well maintenance, energy use and treatment load. Over the past few years, a great deal of research has been done into the (reduction) of well clogging, while the other aspects have received less attention. This research is the first step towards gaining more understanding.

Two pilots conducted

With a view to making recommendations about optimisation, two pilots were conducted to gain a better understanding of: 1) energy use, and 2) methods of manipulating the treatment load through smarter switching.

Breakdown of energy use at Baanhoek: pumping share (A), friction losses horizontal transport (T), and the bridging of static head. Saving opportunities exist primarily in cutting A and T.

Wellfield optimisation is possible

Both projects show that the optimisation of wellfields is possible. But they also indicate that the right solutions need to be tailored solutions: they depend strongly on the wellfield’s site-specific circumstances, such as supply security requirements, the design and the location (subsurface, etc.). The prerequisites for an integrated assessment are proper monitoring and system knowledge. It is also important that the data be well validated: the pilots showed that a lot of effort is currently being invested in process monitoring, but less on data validation. As a result, there is often a belated realisation that the data do not suit the intended analysis objectives.