• How does this apply to independent abstractors?– Where is the value to me?– What should I be doing?– How do I do it?– What can I do right now?– Does it really matter?
• Examples!
WHAT I WILL TALK ABOUT
WHY DOES MY BOREHOLE KEEP FAILING?
• 200m deep sandstone borehole in Liverpool• Abstraction rate = 100m3/hour• RWL = 43m• PWL = 145m
FractureFlow!
CascadingWater!
PWLtoo low
BOREHOLE FAILURE
• Boreholes don’t run dry, or not often(pumps run dry)
• Boreholes can fail– Clogging >90%– Collapse
Pumping Water Level
Drawdown (s)Water flow
Rest Water Level
Pumping rate (Q)
• It’s not just because Dave & Diane said so– Sustainability– Regulation
• It’s about– Understanding what you’ve got– Keeping boreholes running longer– Less downtime– Less unexpected maintenance– Better resource management– Improved business/client confidence
WHERE’S THE VALUE IN DATA?
I WANT TO SAVE YOU MONEY!
Preventative maintenance costs
~40% of a strategy of running a borehole to
failure!
Abstraction rateGroundwater level
Production boreholesObservation boreholesAnything else?
Pump loadQuality indicators
Electrical conductivityAnything else?
DATA TO COLLECT
Boreholeperformance
TO CONSIDER:FrequencyCalibration
Storage
Pumpperformance
Sustainability
DATA PRESENTATION ANDINTERPRETATION
• Data must be presented and interpreted to provide value to operations
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Time Time
Flow/Drawdownm3/m/m
Pump Load/Drawdown (Amps/m)
• Monitor for change
Normal
Deteriorating?
Improving?
Normal
Deteriorating?
Improving?
Monitor Performance
Sign of Deterioration?NO
YES
CONTINUE OPERATION
Diagnose the problem
Modest = Rehabilitate Minor = MaintenanceSignificant = Replace
ACTING ON CHANGE
• Maintenance decision tree
EXAMPLE DECISION TREE
< 80% target specific capacity
> 80% target specific capacity
Treatment/Rehabilitate/
Replace
Start or continue maintenance program
Borehole condition survey & tests
MonitorHydraulic
Performance
CONTINUE OPERATION
• A borehole is for life• Understand how it works
– Borehole construction– Groundwater system
• Preventative planning and design • Preventative operation and treatments• Monitor performance & sustainability• Rehabilitation – to restore performance• Replacement – not where we want to be!
SUMMARY
Plan, Design,Operate, Maintain,
Rehabilitate