Drinking water supply in Germany is mainly based on groundwater. Abstraction is made by wells. The most popular form of a well construction is a vertical borehole with a filter screen in the middle and a gravel bed around. After a certain time in operation such wells are getting clogged. This is called well-ageing and is due to physical and chemical or biochemical processes between dissolved content of the groundwater and changing conditions with passing from the aquifer into the well construction.

Only a regular monitoring of wells can show necessity of well rehabilitation. The earlier the well becomes redeveloped the more is the chance for success and the fewer are the costs. One innovative, modern and environmentally friendly method to rehabilitate wells is by using high-energy Ultrasound. The technology was tested in several projects at the ESWE-Institute and they all showed that Ultrasound is able to remove iron- and manganese-oxide-coatings and biofilms from the filter gravel. Brought forward to well rehabilitation this means that ultrasound has the ability to cause a cleaning of the annular space. Compared to other methods for well redevelopment, Ultrasound works clean and fast.