Lots of people talk. Few people act. Oregon State University Professor Michael Campana easily fits into the latter group. The Driller spoke with Campana about his “H20 Talk” at this month’s National Ground Water Association 2013 Groundwater Expo in Nashville, Tenn. His talk, “Hydrophilanthropy: What can you do?,” discusses his efforts bringing water systems to those in need in Central America, and what groundwater professionals can do to make a difference.
Drilling mud—also called drilling fluid—is an essential component of the drilling process. Drilling mud aids in the process of drilling a borehole into the earth. Such holes are drilled for oil and gas extraction, core sampling and a variety of other purposes.
I was contracted to fly to California as an expert witness for an attorney who was suing a well contractor because the well casing had been damaged due to an attempt to drive a dropped pump in the well.
Pinpointing a gas leak isn’t complicated—drill a hole through the pavement, drive the rod through the soil, insert a tester and move to the next spot until you detect the highest level of gas. But determining exactly how you’re going to dig the hole—or, more precisely, with what—can be more complicated. Wrapped into the decision is everything from efficiency to response times to workers’ compensation.
Check valves are an important component of every submersible pump water system. In this article, we will talk about the reasons for using check and the different types of check valves, and show which ones are best for submersible applications. And, finally, we will go over the proper placement of check valves in these systems.
With drilling equipment costs likely to increase in 2014 and beyond, contractors need cost effective solutions and alternatives to ensure that they have the right machine for the job without breaking the bank.
In my last column, I talked at some length about selecting screen openings and then ended up by describing one installation method: just driving a pointed screen into a water-bearing formation. Now, I am aware that in this day and age many screens are either threaded or glued directly to the bottom of the casing in a rotary hole. This certainly works, but if the screen has the wrong openings or fails for some other reason either at installation or later, it is impossible to pull. I’m going to limit my comments to screens that can be pulled and would be used in a cable tool or hollow rod drilled well.
Sue Luft knows first-hand about the problems that occur when a community’s well demands for water far exceed the amount of available water. The Paso Robles, Calif. vineyard owner has faced water shortages due to acutely stressed wells in her area and it has seriously impacted her livelihood.
Chris Preston at Xylem has an official job title of Product Manager, but what he’s really good at is problem solving. As one of the speakers at this year’s National Ground Water Association Groundwater Expo in Nashville, he will be sharing his knowledge about troubleshooting submersible and jet pumps.
The bentonite used for drilling fluids, grout and sealants is primarily mined in the area encompassing Wyoming and surrounding areas in the western United States. This sodium-based bentonite is an ore whose major constituent is the clay mineral, sodium montmorillonite. Montmorillonite is a three-layer mineral consisting of two tetrahedral silicate layers sandwiched around a central octahedral aluminate layer.
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