Process and Monitoring, Borehole Technology, Norman Ferguson, Managing Director, Northern Innovation.

1. n o r t h e r n
innovation – Intelligent Borehole Control

2. Introduction
 We are a privately owned Northern Ireland company formed in 2006.
 When set up, we initially provided process engineering consultancy to the
major manufacturing, food and drink companies in Northern Ireland.
 We continue to provide consultancy but we have developed to provide
specialist engineering design, fabrication and commissioning services.
 We have considerable expertise and experience in borehole pumping systems,
borehole pumping control, borehole performance monitoring and data
logging, and remote access.
 We are currently involved with control and monitoring of 42 individual
production borehole installations for a variety of customers.
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3. Boreholes
 Below the ground there exist water bearing
rock structures, known as aquifers.
 A borehole is simply a hole drilled into the
aquifer to gain access to the water.
 Once water has been found, it has to be
pumped to the surface using a submersible
borehole pump.
 When on the surface the water can be
treated (as required) to make it fit for the
customer’s use.
 Borehole water is now widely used to reduce
the procurement cost of mains water and
minimises risk of only one supply to a site
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4. Borehole Water Customers
 Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Company – soft drinks
 Nigerian Bottling Company – soft drinks
 Dale Farm – major UK dairy processor
 Moy Park – major Poultry processor
 Tayto Group – major UK snack manufacturer
 Linden Foods (Fane Valley) – major UK meat processor
 Belfast Health and Social Care Trust – Acute Hospitals
 Queens University – Laboratories & Research Units
 Hastings Group – Hotel and Leisure Complexes
 Linergy – major Rendering Facility
 Radisson Roe – Hotel Complex
 Small commercial users in micro-brewing, feed processing, etc.
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5. CCHBC - Northern Ireland
 Northern Innovation key personnel have been working with CCHBC in
Northern Ireland since 1996.
 We have designed, fabricated and installed wellhead plantrooms and
pumping control systems for all active boreholes supplying the new
£120 million Knockmore Hill Facility.
 We are responsible for monitoring overall borehole performance and
reporting back on performance trends and recommending
improvements.
 We currently provide ongoing maintenance services for all of the
boreholes suppling the factory including the transfer pipelines to the
factory.
 Bottled water production demands very high standard of borehole
design, aquifer protection, water quality and ground water monitoring
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6. Nigerian Contracts
 First introduced to NBC (Nigerian Bottling
Company) by Zenith International in 2014.
 2015 – Supplied pumps and borehole head
control system for 2 new boreholes in Ikeja
and commissioned plant.
 2016 – Supplied pump and borehole head
control system for 3rd new borehole in
Ikeja.
 Currently working on pump and control
system for a new borehole in Port
Harcourt.
 Provide a borehole monitoring service to
investigate performance and alarm
activations.
 Average borehole output of 80m3/hr at
30°C
 13 factories in Nigeria
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7. Nigerian Bottling Company - Ikeja - 2015
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Borehole head kit with field
instruments
Control system installed
Completed borehole headworks

8. Borehole Control System
 We have developed our unique borehole
control system over the past 20 years.
 The system controls the borehole pump
output based on delivery pressure and
borehole pumping level
 It maximises production from borehole
under all conditions and automatically
responds to seasonal aquifer fluctuations,
production demands, etc.
 The system has a data logging facility which
records all operating parameters remote
access facility for data logging and data
retrieval
 Remote access for control for diagnostic and
maintenance purposes
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9. Remote Access
Our remote access facility operates through data modem over existing 4G mobile
phone network.
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It uses proprietary hardware
and software as a foundation.

10. Water Treatment Options
Borehole raw water quality and intended use
of water on the site determine treatment
required.
 Filtration
 Iron/Manganese Removal
 Softening
 Chlorine Dosing
 Chlorine Dioxide
 Sodium Hypochlorite
 UV Sterilisation
 To meet European Drinking Water
Directive requirements
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11. Benefits
Maximises available water supply and provides sustainable and
reliable control
 Our system will maximise water abstraction from all existing and new
boreholes.
 Maximises cost benefit of borewell water to a site under all operating conditions
 It allows water drawdown level to fall to within 1.0 metre of the pump without
damage.
 It will protect the aquifer from over-abstraction thus ensuring sustainability and
reliability of water output.
 System allows multiple boreholes to be used to supply a single site and regulates
flow from each to meet optimum abstraction profiles
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12. System Configurations
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Our systems can be supplied to suit your requirements.
We can supply systems as a kit of parts or a complete turnkey plantroom.

13. Water Procurement – GroundStream Ltd.
 To enable companies to realise the benefits of a borehole water supply without
the need for capital investment, we have formed a subsidiary company.
 GroundStream Ltd. offers a water procurement contract over a 3 – 5 year
period.
 A borehole is drilled on the customers site and equipped to supply water of the
required standard to the customer at no cost to the customer.
 The customer pays monthly for every cubic metre of water pumped from the
borehole.
 As borehole water costs are significantly lower than mains water costs, the
customer benefits from the savings with no investment.
 At end of contract period the complete borehole pumping and treatment
installation can be purchased for a nominal figure by the customer
 GroundStream has one contract in operation and two others at discussion
phase.
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14. Contact Details
Northern Innovation (NI) Limited
Maryland Industrial Estate
286 Ballygowan Road
Moneyreagh
Newtownards
Northern Ireland BT23 6BL
Norman Ferguson, Managing Director
norman@northerninnovation.com
Mobile: +44 (0) 7768 323359
Office: +44 (0) 2890 449776
Fax: +44 (0) 2890 449019
Website: www.northerninnovation.com
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innovation – Intelligent Borehole Control