Howard "Porky" Cutter tells the true story of a water well driller who drilled a water well for a customer that ended up pumping lots of sand.

Talk to almost any driller and that person will tell you he or she has never drilled a well that pumped sand.

However, here is a true story of a water well driller who drilled a water well for a lady customer in southern Georgia that did in fact pump lots of sand, and the professional way he quickly addressed the problem.

A few weeks after the driller completed the well, the customer called to ask, "Do you have to dust off your dishes after washing them?" The driller replied, "No, ma'am." The customer then asked, "Do you have to vacuum out the bath tub after taking a bath?" Again the driller replied, "No, ma'am." His customer was very nice but quite serious. The driller advised the woman that he would be right out. Upon arrival, the driller found what she had told him on the telephone to be quite true.

The driller proceeded to remove the pump from the well and develop the well further with air. After several hours of blowing out some two dump truck loads of sand, the well continued to blow fine sand, increasing the elevation around the well about 2 feet. At that point, the driller decided to drill a new water well. After drilling, developing and installing the pump in the new well, all appeared to be OK. Then the driller proceeded with flushing the pressure tank, water lines, the hot water tank, the toilets and the faucets. At that point, both the customer and the driller were satisfied.

After several weeks, the lady called the driller to advise that everything was working fine, that she had no further problems. This woman eventually turned out to be a satisfied customer. However, not all customers are so understanding or patient.

Over the years, I have found that most customers are reasonable and that some are never happy. The unhappy customers are seldom capable of ever being satisfied.

In the United States, people expect good water; in foreign countries, people appreciate good water. Professional water well drillers are always highly respected in foreign countries.

Only professional water well drillers are respected in the United States, which brings us to another story - the importance of being a certified water well driller and being a member of a professional ground water industry group.