WATER / WASTEWATER © Adobe Stock no. 642465685
WITHOUT WATER EVERYTHING COMES TO A HALT
WMD Drinking Water in the Netherlands produces more than 35 million m3 of drinking water every year and prevents everything from coming to a halt in 200’000 households and businesses. A visit to the Ruinerwold production station gives an insight into the extensive water supply system and highlights the contribution made by the DCX-22AA groundwater data loggers from KELLER Pressure.
Ruinerwold is one of 12 WMD production stations that supply drinking water to end users via thousands of kilometres of pipes. To ensure that the supply of water is reliable and effective, the water catchment areas have to be monitored closely. As in many other water catchment areas, until recently the groundwater level was measured manually twice a month. This was always done on the same day of the month and, if possible, at the same time of day.
New legislation and new opportunities
Following the introduction of the BRO Act (Basis Registratie Ondergrond or basic registration of subsoil) in the Netherlands, more is required than simply manual measurements and records. The new legislation has also had a positive side effect: “In the past we were not concerned about the data we had collected. Instead we were busy meeting the requirements of our licence. We didn’t appreciate the added value that the data had to offer. The result of the new BRO registration was that we looked at the entire measurement network for the fi rst time, which gave us a genuine feeling of responsibility,” says Joop Mentink, a geohydrologist at WMD.
“In the past, the focus was mainly on monitoring the costs and meeting the requirements. Now we have a better understanding of the background and can put more effort into managing the measurement network. We need enough accurate data so that we can always make the right decision about each transition.
The Basis Registratie Ondergrond (BRO)» is a new piece of legislation which introduces a basic registration programme in the Netherlands and which is working to establish a national facility with reliable information about the soil in the country.
© WMD, Louis Snelders records well data
An important part of this is an accurate and regular record of the groundwater used per head of population,” says Mentink, summing up the change in the company’s culture.
The BRO Act has made it possible for the entire management system to be digitalised with the help of smart software. The information collected in relation to the water catchment areas and the monitoring of groundwater make it possible to carry out an accurate analysis of the relationships between activities and water levels. Now, together with other hydrologists, WMD Drinking Water can record increasingly accurate information which allows it to fi nd better answers to ever more complex questions. “We can now supply the hydrological models with good-quality data and that represents a big step forwards,” says Mentink, who is very happy about the digital developments.
A mix of old and new
But the BRO Act was not the only trigger. A few years ago, a policy came into force in the province which requires every water extraction licence to be updated every 10 years from now on. “As a result, we carried out a thorough inspection of the entire monitoring network. Our plants are made up of old and new components. At the new plants, measurements were made using modern measuring equipment, but we were not able to take measurements at the old plants with the same level of accuracy. We had to fi nd out from every measurement well how the coordinates had been obtained and how accurate they were.”
BRO information box, logo
https://basisregistratieondergrond.nl
Mentink explained that the company decided to remeasure all 800 sites. Over a period of around year, the coordinates of the individual measurement wells were recorded again and a comprehensive inventory was carried out. All the wells were photographed and information about the materials, diameter and condition of the wells was obtained. A new software package
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was purchased specially for the purpose and the surveyor Louis Snelders was promoted to become manager of the monitoring network. This is a pleasant role, because the monitoring wells are located in beautiful spots where there is an interesting variety of fl ora and fauna.
Investigative work
Snelders and Mentink both speak with pride about WMD Drinking Water. The company has, after all, been in existence for 85 years. “The fi rst municipal drinking water companies were established at the end of the 19th century. These municipal companies merged to become one provincial organisation.”
The work carried out by Mentink and Snelders could be described as investigative. One of them ensures that the data can be collected and the other puts the pieces of the puzzle together and looks for connections. “For example, we can fi nd out where contamination comes from and what effects certain decisions have had. To create accurate models, we obviously need long- term data and there is also a calibration phase. When there are deviations, we can fi ne-tune the models. But when we know the source and understand how the model works, we can estimate the impact of problems in advance. There is a growing demand for drinking water and we are investigating the right approach to take in changing conditions.”
The catchment areas are all very different. The soil structure and the composition of the groundwater, the deposits made by the sea, rivers, the wind and the ice age all vary depending on the location and can be tasted in the water. “Every formation layer was created by specifi c deposits. For example, here at this production station we pump iron-rich water with a hint of methane so we have to degas the water,” says Mentink, explaining the specifi c smell at the site. “We do this by aerating it in a vacuum and using a sand bed to fi lter it.”
© WMD, Joop Mentink on the tour through Ruinerwold
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