The National Ground Water Association released guidelines for dealing with methane, one of many potential water well problems for residential systems. NGWA’s newest best suggested practice (BSP) document aims to help water well drilling professionals and others in the groundwater industry. It may also prove valuable to well owners, though the group urges professional assistance with methane issues due to health and safety concerns.
Drillers know they make an impact, but that doesn’t usually mean helping to supply water for hundreds of thousands of people. Steven Bryan sensed the scope of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District project when he got the call. Working the project, which involves several 24-inch wells that will supply a swath of central Utah, only confirmed the impact.
There are many situations where the water demand on a well water system exceeds the production capacity of the well. For instance, 10 gpm is typically considered the minimum flow rate needed to adequately supply a single family residence.
The basics of drilling, like the basics of writing, don't change much. Drillers poke a hole in the ground, and useful things come out—water, energy or minerals. Likewise, writers put fingers to keyboard (or pen to paper) and, hopefully, useful things come out. Those basic mechanics remain relatively constant, and have since people have sunk wells in the ground or attempted to write the next great novel.