Underground Water Storage: From Feasibility Testing to a Freshwater Cooperative

What is the feasibility of an innovative underground water storage system? That was the focus of Phase I of the Zoete Toekomst Texel project. Farmers are increasingly looking for new sources of fresh water for their agriculture to mitigate the impact of climate change. During Phase II the emphasis lies on scaling up, financial development and establishing fresh water cooperatives to enhance economic feasibility and scaling up the innovation.

Photo: Zoete Toekomst Texel

Key Takeaways

Underground water storage (ASR) is successfully tested to combat freshwater shortages due to salinization and drought.
Scaling the ASR technology, improving technical components, and developing Freshwater Cooperatives support the economic feasibility.
The ASR system captures excess rainwater in winter, filters it, stores it underground, and reuses it for irrigation during dry seasons.
The project addresses Texel’s complete dependency on precipitation and the salinity of local water sources, aiming to safeguard agricultural productivity amid rising sea levels.
Project findings and innovations are being made publicly accessible to raise awareness about underground water storage as a sustainable climate adaptation solution.

Project Details

Started: 2024 – To be completed: 2025 (Phase II)
Started: 2021 – Completed: 2023 (Phase I)

Ref: 241510 (Phase II) | Status: Ongoing
Ref: 201116 (Phase I) | Status: Completed

Title: Zoete Toekomst Texel

Background

Climate change is increasingly impacting coastal zone areas in the Netherlands. Salinization and drought are limiting agricultural production. Freshwater resources are under pressure. For islands such as Texel, this problem is even more eminent because of the lack of freshwater supply . Meanwhile, the sea level is rising which further increases salinization.

Agriculture on Texel is completely dependent on precipitation for its fresh water supply. Throughout almost the whole island, both groundwater and surface water are too saline to be used as irrigation water. As a consequence, average yields on Texel are lower than on the mainland.

Against this background, the project Zoete Toekomst Texel was initiated by the farmers on Texel in cooperation with a large number of partners. Between 2021 and 2023 at two locations, the Hoofdweg and the Postweg, a so-called Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) system was installed During this phase, the focus was experimenting with and researching innovative underground water storage combining a water treatment filter with a horizontal well.

Zoete Toekomst Texel – Dronefoto – Landbouwperceel met ondergrondse waterberging

Activities

In the ASR system, excess precipitation is collected in the fall and winter. This, by collecting tile drainage water, filtering it and then storing it in an underground aquifer creating a freshwater bubble. During the dry growing season, spring and summer, part of this water is recovered and used for irrigation.

During phase 1 the ASR system at the Hoofdweg became fully operational and in 2025 the participating farmers will be recovering water for the 3rd time. At the Postweg the horizontal well did not function as intended. This year a series of vertical wells were installed which will be used during phase 2 for subsurface storage from October onwards

Based on the results achieved between 2021 and 2023, phase 2 started in 2024. Phase 1 focused on proving the concept of underground storage. Phase 2 focuses on technology readiness as an innovative strategy against salinization and desiccation and creating the conditions for scaling up ASR.

Findings

ASR systems involve costs. Economies of scale can be achieved by constructing larger facilities serving multiple acres. This exceeds the acreage of an individual farm, requiring cooperation among farmers to achieve a higher return on investment. Besides this, water distribution during the recovery period is a key issue.

Financial costs and benefits of both pilot ASR systems will be further researched. Also, we will examine how the innovation could be scaled up further. For scaling up, bottlenecks which go beyond the technical aspects, must be identified. These include factors such as affordability, reliability, accessibility, user-friendliness and permit procedures.

Phase 1 laid the groundwork for freshwater cooperatives: partnerships of farmers who jointly purchase and/or manage an installation. In 2024, the first freshwater cooperative at the Hoofdweg was formally established. A milestone. Now, the Freshwater Cooperative Hoofdweg can gain further practical experience in maintaining and managing the ASR system.

Within Zoete Toekomst Texel we are developing a lot of new knowledge. It is crucial to document it well, share it and bring it to the attention of the right target groups. This contributes to the visibility of salinization, desiccation and underground water storage as solutions.

Project Areas

The locations of the underground freshwater storage facilities are in the Eierland polder: on Postweg and on Hoofdweg. At both locations, enthusiastic farmers are working together on the plan to make Texel self-sufficient in freshwater.

The locations differ in terms of their capacity to collect water. For example, the soil composition, the salinity of the shallow and deep subsoil, and the suitability of the subsoil for water storage are different. Based on the above differences between the locations, an innovative and optimal design is being developed to realize the ambition of sufficient fresh water for agriculture on Texel.

Geographic scope: local

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Underground Water Storage: From Feasibility Testing to a Freshwater Cooperative

Key Takeaways

Project Details

Background

Activities

Findings

Project Areas

Project location

Project location

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