Robert Carvalho, co-owner of Hanford, Calif.-based West Valley Drilling, started drilling water wells in the mid ‘80s and says he gave up the gig after just three or four years. Most recently he made a living in the real estate business, and now he’s stepping back into the world of water well drilling. If you’re wondering why the back and forth, the reason is simple. When Carvalho first started, he says competitors were drilling 16-inch wells 500 and 600 feet deep for $50 a foot. He couldn’t make it at that price, so he called it quits. But now, he says, those same wells are going for around $200 a foot. He officially started specializing in residential and irrigation water well drilling just last year, and hasn’t looked back.