IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DATA

DR PHIL HAM5th October 2017

• 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)

PUMP FAILURE

• Pumps will fail– Cooling, Cavitation– Sand intake– Controls/filters

• 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 COLLECTION CONCEPT

Flow meter

Pump & VSD

Sensor:LevelConductivityTemperature

DATA

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Accessibility

IT CAN START SIMPLE

Water Level

Flow meter

MORE ADVANCED

VERY ADVANCED

DATA PRESENTATION ANDINTERPRETATION

• Data must be presented and interpreted to provide value to operations

DASHBOARDS

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

QUESTIONS?