Vadose zone wells (VZW), or drywells, allow for high infiltration rates combined with small area demand. Nevertheless, they are rarely used for managed aquifer recharge, since turbid water leads to gradual clogging and a reduction in infiltration capacity. Established redevelopment measures require backflushing, which is commonly considered impossible for VZWs, making them “non regenerable”. In this study, the possibility of backflushing a VZW is discussed. Key to the underlying approach is isolating the lower (clogged) section of a well and saturating its surrounding with water by infiltration via the upper (unclogged) screen. Subsequently, underpressure sucks water from the surrounding soil into the isolated section. The approach was tested with and without a gravel pack, on laboratory scale, showing a successful reversal of flow direction in both cases. The degree of redevelopment was quantified by measuring the drainage time of the well, which increased from initially 45 s without gravel pack and 40 s with gravel pack to 9,500 and 11,000 s, respectively, after clogging. After backflushing, the well with gravel pack showed a median drainage time of 95 s, which remained stable over ten cycles of clogging and backflushing. In contrast, drainage time of the well without gravel pack increased continuously to >170 s, even after vibrator application. In conclusion, it can be stated that the backflush of a VZW with the presented approach is possible and has an effect on the well’s infiltration capacity, though it seems more effective for wells with gravel pack.

包气带井 (VZW) 或干井可实现高渗透率和小面积需求。然而，它们很少用于管理含水层补给，因为浑浊的水会导致逐渐堵塞和渗透能力降低。既定的重建措施需要反冲，这对于 VZW 来说通常被认为是不可能的，这使得它们“不可再生”。在本研究中，讨论了反冲 VZW 的可能性。基本方法的关键是隔离井的下部（堵塞）部分，并通过上部（未堵塞）筛网渗透，使其周围充满水。随后，负压将周围土壤中的水吸入隔离部分。该方法在实验室规模的有和没有砾石充填的情况下进行了测试，结果表明在两种情况下都成功逆转了流向。通过测量井的排水时间来量化再开发程度，堵塞后排水时间从最初无砾石充填的 45 秒和有砾石充填的 40 秒分别增加到 9,500 秒和 11,000 秒。反冲洗后，砾石充填井的中位排水时间为 95 s，在十个堵塞和反冲洗循环中保持稳定。相比之下，即使在应用振动器之后，没有砾石充填的井的排水时间也持续增加到>170秒。总之，可以说，用所提出的方法对 VZW 进行反冲洗是可能的，并且对井的渗透能力有影响，尽管它对于砾石充填的井似乎更有效。