SUPRA Hosts Technical Exchange on Deep Well Infrastructure with Balai Air Tanah and Johnson Screens
Indonesia's growing water stress, amplified by rapid urbanization, climate variability, and industrial demand, has elevated the importance of groundwater as both a strategic asset and a fragile resource. In this evolving context, national efforts to strengthen hydrogeological resilience increasingly depend on dialogue between public authorities, private actors, and global technology providers. A recent technical session hosted by Balai Air Tanah of Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) brought together PT SUPRA Internasional Indonesia and Johnson Screens, a brand of the Aqseptence Group, in a forum that examined the operational and institutional contours of groundwater development in the country.
The presence of Dr. Ahmad Taufiq, S.T., M.T., Ph.D., Head of Balai Air Tanah, established the technical and regulatory gravity of the event. From the private sector side, Johnson Screens was represented by two of its senior global figures, Craig Benson, Executive Vice President, and Moyez Poonawala, Asia Pacific Sales Director for Waterwell and Energy Markets, whose participation signaled a broader strategic interest in adapting global technologies to Indonesia’s geohydrological complexity. The discussion emphasized substance over ceremony, focusing on three intersecting themes: the variability of Indonesia’s subsurface lithology, the performance of advanced well infrastructure, and the need for deeper technical integration between regulation and field execution.
Indonesia's groundwater systems are marked by heterogeneity. From alluvial plains to volcanic slopes and coastal aquifers, the geologic conditions shift dramatically across relatively short distances. This variability requires well construction methodologies that move beyond generic borehole templates. Dr. Taufiq and his team presented national case studies where field instrumentation and predictive modeling were used to optimize borehole depth, casing selection, and drawdown management presenting the increasing value of data-led design even in traditionally empirical fields.
Responding to these challenges, Craig Benson and Moyez Poonawala outlined the global trajectory of Johnson Screens in similar environments. Their solutions, ranging from high-precision screen slotting, anti-clogging geometries, to modular construction techniques suitable for deep geothermal and high-salinity contexts, reflect decades of empirical refinement. Johnson Screens’ product portfolio also includes materials and configurations specifically tailored to high-capacity, low-turbidity wells, ensuring operational efficiency over extended cycles. The team shared technical perspectives on how their screen internals maintain structural integrity under variable loading and corrosive conditions, and how these systems have been adapted for markets as diverse as Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Equally important in the discussion was knowledge transmission. Beyond hardware, Johnson Screens emphasized the importance of skill development and diagnostic frameworks for local engineers and hydrogeologists. This aligns with national concerns voiced by Balai Air Tanah, which highlighted the skills gap in deep-well assessment, dewatering systems, and geothermal water resource development. SUPRA’s facilitation of this exchange reflects a growing institutional role in translating high-end engineering capabilities into operational relevance for Indonesia. As a private sector actor, SUPRA’s positioning is increasingly that of an integrator, enabling transfer of tools and institutional know-how and field-proven practice.
In the Indonesian context, where formal regulatory infrastructure is still evolving in parallel with technological progress, such dialogues offer early indications of potential reform pathways. They also reveal the practical need for policy frameworks that can accommodate differentiated approaches to groundwater development, rather than imposing uniform technical prescriptions.
As water scarcity concerns sharpen across the region, the capacity to match appropriate technologies with Indonesia’s hydrogeological variability will become a defining factor for national water security. The engagement between Balai Air Tanah, Johnson Screens, and SUPRA suggests a growing willingness to align technical capability with long-term infrastructure strategy through measured, grounded collaboration that privileges expertise, context, and institutional continuity.
The presence of Dr. Ahmad Taufiq, S.T., M.T., Ph.D., Head of Balai Air Tanah, established the technical and regulatory gravity of the event. From the private sector side, Johnson Screens was represented by two of its senior global figures, Craig Benson, Executive Vice President, and Moyez Poonawala, Asia Pacific Sales Director for Waterwell and Energy Markets, whose participation signaled a broader strategic interest in adapting global technologies to Indonesia’s geohydrological complexity. The discussion emphasized substance over ceremony, focusing on three intersecting themes: the variability of Indonesia’s subsurface lithology, the performance of advanced well infrastructure, and the need for deeper technical integration between regulation and field execution.
Indonesia's groundwater systems are marked by heterogeneity. From alluvial plains to volcanic slopes and coastal aquifers, the geologic conditions shift dramatically across relatively short distances. This variability requires well construction methodologies that move beyond generic borehole templates. Dr. Taufiq and his team presented national case studies where field instrumentation and predictive modeling were used to optimize borehole depth, casing selection, and drawdown management presenting the increasing value of data-led design even in traditionally empirical fields.
Responding to these challenges, Craig Benson and Moyez Poonawala outlined the global trajectory of Johnson Screens in similar environments. Their solutions, ranging from high-precision screen slotting, anti-clogging geometries, to modular construction techniques suitable for deep geothermal and high-salinity contexts, reflect decades of empirical refinement. Johnson Screens’ product portfolio also includes materials and configurations specifically tailored to high-capacity, low-turbidity wells, ensuring operational efficiency over extended cycles. The team shared technical perspectives on how their screen internals maintain structural integrity under variable loading and corrosive conditions, and how these systems have been adapted for markets as diverse as Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Equally important in the discussion was knowledge transmission. Beyond hardware, Johnson Screens emphasized the importance of skill development and diagnostic frameworks for local engineers and hydrogeologists. This aligns with national concerns voiced by Balai Air Tanah, which highlighted the skills gap in deep-well assessment, dewatering systems, and geothermal water resource development. SUPRA’s facilitation of this exchange reflects a growing institutional role in translating high-end engineering capabilities into operational relevance for Indonesia. As a private sector actor, SUPRA’s positioning is increasingly that of an integrator, enabling transfer of tools and institutional know-how and field-proven practice.
In the Indonesian context, where formal regulatory infrastructure is still evolving in parallel with technological progress, such dialogues offer early indications of potential reform pathways. They also reveal the practical need for policy frameworks that can accommodate differentiated approaches to groundwater development, rather than imposing uniform technical prescriptions.
As water scarcity concerns sharpen across the region, the capacity to match appropriate technologies with Indonesia’s hydrogeological variability will become a defining factor for national water security. The engagement between Balai Air Tanah, Johnson Screens, and SUPRA suggests a growing willingness to align technical capability with long-term infrastructure strategy through measured, grounded collaboration that privileges expertise, context, and institutional continuity.
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