Strategies to design and construct a more efficient water well often will require a re-thinking of basic development methods, says David Kill - the National Groundwater Association's newest McEllhiney Distinguished Lecturer. Kill - a regional market development manager for Goulds Pumps, ITT Industries - is the fifth Distinguished Lecturer selected by an NGWA panel of ground water contractors to share his or her work with the industry at the association's annual conference. His lecture is titled, “Well Efficiency Is Not a Myth.” An employee of Goulds Pumps since 1996, Kill is a registered civil engineer in Minnesota, having received his B.S. in agricultural engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1965. He has lectured on ground water, water well design, and pump selection and application, including several courses given by the University of Wisconsin Engineering Professionals Development Department.

“Going back to the basics often is very helpful in designing and constructing water wells for any use,” Kill says. “To construct sand-free wells in unconsolidated aquifers, the proper screen slot opening must be selected and an engineering guideline must be used. However, this does not mean that every well has the same size screen opening, and naturally developed wells are not old-fashioned.”

Kill explains that his lecture suggests a “rethinking of development methods as well as the design and review of various development methods. The bottom line: Are we really effective with the method used or could we construct a much more efficient well that gives the customer a better water supply?”
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