Reinjection borehole at Lord's
A team from Igne worked on site at Lord’s cricket ground in London; they drilling a new reinjection borehole for an open loop ground source heating system.
Two new stands have been constructed at Lord’s, and the existing ground source heat system, which warms and cools the Warner Stand, needed to be extended to the new stands.
Why a new reinjection borehole is needed
The reinjection borehole that served the existing open loop solution was not performing sufficiently to support the expansion of the system. Therefore, the team at Lord’s needed to find a company with extensive experience drilling water extraction boreholes in London’s complex ground conditions to solve this challenge.
Having not only this required experience, but also having diagnosed and solved countless borehole problems in the past, Igne was the obvious choice to help.
Ben Cornish, Igne Director of Watewr Wells explained that to eliminate the issues the first borehole had, it was a case of his team installing and grouting the casing to the right depth.
The construction of the Lord's borehole
Ben's team drilled down 155 meters; they drilled in 22 inches to 90 meters and installed a 90-meter string of 16 inch casing. This was installed and grouted through the London Clay, Thanet Sands and sockets into the chalk.
They then drilled below the casing to the terminal depth of 155 meters. Thereafter the borehole was cleaned and airlifted. The installation serves as the reinjection hole for the entire open loop ground source heating system, with the new pump having a flow rate of 16 litres a second.
The system is not only being used for heating the stands, but reversed for cooling meaning spectators can be assured of cold beer at future test matches!
Protecting the hallowed turf at Lord's
As the team was drilling on one of the nursery pitches, surface protection was essential, and aluminium track matting was used to protect the grass. Igne’s mud trailer was also on site keeping everything clean, and all liquid and drill cutting spoil was removed from site and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
Once the borehole was completed, the team test pumped it to meet the Environment Agency licence stipulations, and then the final system was commissioned.
How we can help you:
If you’re encountering complex ground conditions, have a failing borehole or just want to ensure you’re employing the best company for your water or ground source heat borehole, contact Igne.
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