Drilling fluids are of the utmost importance to successfully utilize the state-of-the-art drills and complete the bore in an economic timeframe.
Within the aforementioned industries, the type of fluids this article addresses are water-based fluids. This means that all the fluids will use fresh water for their make-up water, as opposed to oil- or salt-based muds, which are used mostly in oil and gas drilling. As you have heard on a regular basis, the quality of your make-up water is important. Since 95 percent to 99 percent of your fluid consists of water, it is critical that the water comes from a good source, has a low calcium content (<200 ppm) and has a pH in the range of 8-9. If the water is from a good source, and it has a high level of hardness (calcium) or low pH, then you can simply treat the water with soda ash at concentrations between 0.25-0.5 pounds per 100 gallons.