The Well Field Model The withdrawal of groundwater is from a hydraulic point of view, the most complicated part of water supply. Natural processes like groundwater flow in the aquifers have to interact with technical installations such as wells, pumps, pipes and valves.
The backbone of a reliable water supply is a consistent abstraction of water. The management of a well field includes a number of areas of specialisation, as following elements are part of a well field: - The groundwater reservoir
- The abstraction wells
- The submersible pumps
- The raw water pipeline
system - The groundwater quality
These are complicated processes and especially for larger well fields it can be difficult to get a full understanding of how all these areas interact. To assist in managing all of these areas Orbicon has developed a computer-based tool: The Well Field Model. The model has been developed in cooperation with Odense Water Ltd.
The site specific Well Field Model is built by Orbicon and then handed over to the water supply management. To facilitate easy use of the Well Field Model the model is programmed using the spreadsheet Excel.
Using Excel for entering data and presenting results makes it possible to customise the user interface to the needs of the individual water supply. Hidden behind the Excel sheets, calculations are programmed in VBA. Grundfos has provided pump curves, which optimises the calculations for the submersible pumps. The Well Field Model provides therefore an excellent tool for optimising operation and economy of the pumps. Hydraulic conditions in the raw water pipes are determined by a network model running in the background.
Groundwater hydraulics is modelled through the use of well-known calculation methods, which have been developed specifically for Excel.
The Well Field Model provides answers to a number of questions regarding well field management ensuring minimal energy consumption and optimal water quality provision to the water plant. | 
