The Borehole Users Conference 2022 Retrospective

November 9, 2022

On the third of November 2022, experts from across the water industry gathered at Aspects, the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, to invest in a day of learning, knowledge exchange, and networking.


This year marked our 10th anniversary year. The conference was hosted in collaboration with the British Soft Drinks Association and was sponsored by DrilCorp.


We were privileged to have some fantastic speakers on the day. Following a welcome from Envireau Water’s conference hosts, Dr Phil Ham and Lauren Moore, Dr Mike Jones started the morning session with a keynote lecture building on the UN-Water’s theme ‘Making the invisible, visible,’ promoting the role of groundwater as a hidden resource, and how it can be effectively managed in the fight against climate change.

Envireau Water’s very own Penny Jenkinson then delved into the science behind siting new borehole supplies, and the practical dos and don’ts for locating water supplies. Christian Bird from Terradat UK and David Hingley from European Geophysical Services rounded off the morning session, exploring the role of geophysical techniques for siting new boreholes without breaking ground, and how below ground geophysics can be used to investigate what is going on inside existing boreholes.


The afternoon provided two parallel workshops, the first of which was co-ordinated by Phil Merrin, Lydia Yates, Carl Gilbert and Bethan Harrison from Severn Trent Water. The team led a series of interactive discussions about common borehole ‘myths,’ using case studies from the water industry to demonstrate what can go wrong with boreholes, and how to avoid them going wrong in the first place. The parallel workshop on Water Stewardship was run by Envireau Water in collaboration with Steve Brown from Central Solutions and Ben Davies from The Alliance for Water Stewardship. This practical, hands-on session covered what stewardship can offer to abstractors and the journey towards certification, with a focus on how to successfully undertake stakeholder engagement.


As we approached the end of an amazing day, Lois Leslie from the British Soft Drinks Association brought the conference to a close with a plenary session, providing an opportunity for our expert speakers to address the burning questions from the day!


As always, the conference was complemented by an exhibition that provided space to connect with a variety of leading industry suppliers who offer support for every stage of your water supply journey.


Exhibitors included the Alliance for Water Stewardship, Boode UK Limited, European Geophysical Services Limited, Franklin Electric, Geoquip Water Solutions Limited, In-Situ Europe Limited, Metasphere Limited, and WB & Morgan.


As the only conference in the UK dedicated to industrial and private water supplies, the annual Borehole Users Conference offers water professionals, whether owners or operators of private water supplies, the opportunity to engage with a variety of exhibitors and specialists in the industry.


To all our speakers, exhibitors, sponsor and delegates, thank you for attending the Borehole Users Conference 2022 and for making the 10th Anniversary year the best one yet!


We look forward to seeing you at #BHUC2023 next November.

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