WorldWide Drilling Resource

Environmental Monitoring by Thomas Kwader, Ph.D., P.G. Let’s be Open to New Ideas in the Drilling Industry Last year while attending a large groundwater convention and trade show, I had the opportunity to talk to some younger “sons” of family-owned drilling businesses. I was surprised to learn there was some frustration that the fathers were still in control of their businesses and were not open to “new ideas or methods” of drilling wells. Basically, the wells were drilled pretty much the same way for the last 20 or more years. In some cases, the young drilling contractors were not sure they wanted to follow in their fa- ther’s footsteps. I personally have seen many significant, positive changes in the way wells are now drilled. When I started as a field in- spector with the State (Florida) in the mid-1970s, we basically had two types of drilling rigs for four-inch domestic wells in North Florida - rotary and cable tool. Rotary rigs were of the Failing 1500 variety driven by chains and rotating sprockets. Drill rods were tightened and broken apart with 36- or 48-inch iron pipe wrenches with “cheater bars” (pipe slid on the wrenches to make them longer). Cable tool rigs were of the same type employed over the last 100 years, with the casing “pounded” into the ground. Drilling was a very physical occupation and strength was very important - lifting pipe, drill rods, tightening couplings, and mixing 94-pound bags of cement. In the 1980s, hydraulics revolutionized the drilling (and many other) business(es). Physical size and strength were not as important, drill rods were lifted with high-speed wirelines to carousels, which were “automatically” fed to the tophead drive motor. Air and percussion hammers sped up the drill penetration rate. The need to lift more than 50 pounds of weight is now almost a thing of the past. The “good ol’ days” may not have been so “good”. New and innovative ideas have made drilling easier, faster, safer, and more profitable. I urge you to explore new ideas and see the many new ways in which the drilling industry is evolving. Go to state, regional, and national groundwater shows every chance you get. Take classes, read trade magazines, and stay current with many products and methods to keep the drilling profession one we can be proud of. Be open-minded to the young drill operators’ ideas - they are the future of our profession. Tom Tom Kwader may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com )0&"%1 "6)&4 ,, ,, 2)&0 -%3120*"+ )0&"%1 "-% 312., )0&"%1 "-3'"$230&0 .' -&02*" !&+%&% 0*++ */& 3"+ !"++ 0*++ */& !*0&+*-& 0*++ .% "1*-( .,/.1*2& !*0&+*-& 0*++ .%1 .-*$ 0*++ */& "1*-( *21 &0$311*.- "1*-( *21 0*++ .++"01 *1)*-( ..+1 3#1 2"02&0 .%1 "-% 2"#*+*7&01 0*++ */& -$ )*0% 2 8 !*-12&% ).-& 8 8 "5 2., %0*++/*/&*-$ $., 8 444 %0*++/*/&*-$ $., 46 JUNE 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®