WorldWide Drilling Resource

by Tim Rasmussen October 19, 2018, dawned clear, bright, and cool. The temperature was really warm for the time of year in Spokane, Washington. This was the day Water For Life loaded the container for shipment to Guatemala. There had been a slight mix-up as to the date, but volunteers were ready on the Friday morning. The truck driver had been instructed to go to Lincoln Boulevard in the valley, but he got in contact with us and we corrected the instructions to come to Lincoln Road. He arrived about 10:15 a.m. Without any delay, the workers began loading pallets of materials for shipment. Over the years, we have gotten better about having things packed in pallets and staged for the loading. All went smoothly. There were no glitches or problems. Rod Bartholomew operated the forklift, and several men inside the container with a pallet jack made fairly quick work of the first part of the loading. Our driver this year, Terry Ottman of Moses Lake, Washington, was interested in what we are doing, and I talked to him a while about our project, giving him some details and insight into the varied mix of material being placed in the container. He was happy to be helping to do some- thing for folks who do not have access to clean water. Being able to converse with the driver was a treat for us. Often, the drivers are from other countries and speak very little, if any English. Also, we have had concerns about the driver’s ability to drive as we have watched them try repeatedly to position the truck at the loading dock or the gate to the shop. Not this year. Terry was obviously very skilled with the truck and had no issue following our directions, placing the trailer precisely where we needed it to be. The loading took about three hours. The shipping company allows two hours, but three hours is about the usual time it takes. Handling the casing pipe and thousands of feet of galvanized and plastic pipe took a little while because each pipe needed to be handled by hand and placed securely in the container. Finally, all was complete, the doors closed, and the seal attached. Terry was confident he could make it to the dock in Seattle by Saturday, and we would not miss the in-gate deadline for making the ship. The Mediterranean Shipping Company’s vessel, MSC ANZU , was at that moment heading for the Oakland, California, harbor for loading containers bound for Seattle. There was plenty of time, but there was also time for things to go wrong. Ships get delayed. Trucks can be delayed. Things happen. Once the cargo is out of our hands, issues can occur which can throw our plans completely askew. We trust the Good Lord as our shipping agent, and we all bowed our heads and sent up a prayer for safety for Terry and our precious cargo, bound for the highland jungle of Guatemala. Thank you to all our donors and friends. If you would like to help, contact Gary Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509-939-1941 Tim Tim Rasmussen may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com WTR 32 JANUARY 2019 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® California Natural Gas Pipeline Receives Upgrades Adapted from Information by Southern California Gas Co. In Southern California, more than 90% of residents use natural gas for heat- ing, hot water, cooking, drying clothes, or other uses. In addition, about 60% of all electricity generated in California is produced using clean-burning natural gas. Investment in the community’s natural gas infrastructure is important to ensure res- idents and businesses receive safe reliable natural gas service. Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) safely completed a five-year, $100 million project to modernize three high-pressure natural gas pipelines, which will enhance safety and reliability for nearly 375,000 residential and commercial natu- ral gas customers in the L.A. Gateway area. As part of the project, more than 13 miles of large transmission pipelines were tested and replaced with state-of-the-art steel piping. The project also involved DIR California Natural cont’d on page 46.