Reinjection borehole at Lord's
A team from Igne is working on site at Lord’s cricket ground in London; they are drilling a new reinjection borehole for an open loop ground source heating system.
Two new stands are being constructed at Lord’s, and the existing ground source heat system, which warms and cools the Warner Stand, is being extended to the new stands.
Why a new reinjection borehole is needed
The reinjection borehole that serves the existing open loop solution is 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.
Richard Lane, General Manager, 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
His team is on site drilling down 155 meters; they have drilled in 22 inches to 90 meters and installed a 90-meter string of 16 inch casing. This has been installed and grouted through the London Clay, Thanet Sands and sockets into the chalk.
They are now drilling below the casing to the terminal depth of 155 meters. Thereafter the borehole will be cleaned and airlifted. The installation will serve 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 will not only be 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 is drilling on one of the nursery pitches, surface protection is essential, and aluminium track matting is being used to protect the grass. The Igne’s mud trailer is also on site keeping everything clean, and all liquid and drill cutting spoil is being removed from site and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
Once the borehole is completed, the team will be test pumping to meet the Environment Agency licence stipulations, and then the final system will be commissioned to supply water to both heat pumps.
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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