Recreational area Tull en 't Waal - Tull en 't Waal

If you feel like taking a dip in the Lek, then Recreation Area Tull en 't Waal is a fine place to do so. The area is meant for daytime recreation and because it is a dead arm of the Lek, it is safe to swim here. That too is a function of water: immersing yourself in it!

Tull en 't Waal is also a water catchment area. Every year, the water company is allowed to extract six million cubic metres of water from the ground here. It is purified and comes out of the tap as clean drinking water for residents of Nieuwegein, a small part of Houten and the city of Utrecht. By 2021, ten new water extraction wells have been drilled at a depth of 100 to 120 metres. The drill core provides the opportunity to look 120 metres - or 2 million years - back in time. The subsurface shows mainly a lot of clay. A clay layer above the level of water extraction protects the soil from serious subsidence. Groundwater extracted from a sandy layer comes from precipitation or was carried away by rivers in the past and eventually seeped into the soil.