WorldWide Drilling Resource

WorldWide Drilling Resource ® is proud to be a member of these international associations. New Zealand Drillers Federation, Inc. +03.324 2040 Ontario Groundwater Association Tel: 519-245-7194 Fax: 519-245-7196 ogwa@ogwa.ca www.ogwa.ca Australian Drilling Industry Association adia@adia.com.au Canadian Ground Water Association Tel: 902-845-1885 Fax: 902-845-1886 info@cgwa.org Alberta Water Well Drilling Association Tel: 780-386-2335 awwda@xplornet.com Atlantic Water Well Association Tel: 888-242-4440 Fax: 902-435-0089 nsgwa@ns.aliantzinc.ca • www.nsgwa.ca 45 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MAY 2013 Water for Life International by Tim Rasmussen Los Pinos is the name of the orphan- age in Guatemala where the work of Water for Life began nearly ten years ago to solve a contaminated water prob- lem. Our first wells served this orphan- age and school, and our shop and living facilities are located on the campus of the school. Over the years, the pumps serving this facility have required normal service, but sometime last fall, one of the wells stopped working because the pipe broke and the pump fell to the bottom of the well. They switched to a backup well and pump, but unless we could get the pump out, this well would be of no use permanently. So, one of the first things Gary did this year was address this prob- lem. Like any good drill operators, he and Pat Clark went fishing. The well was about 300 feet deep with the pump being set at about 280. The pipe had broken about 200 feet down and the wire, unable to carry the weight of the pump and pipe hanging in the hole, broke as well. It appeared the wire had broken near the pump, but be- cause we do not have any down hole camera equipment, it was impossible to tell what really happened at the point of the broken pipe. The first thing our tool brought up was a crushed water bottle and green plastic lid. It seems children cannot resist putting anything that will fit down a hole. Perhaps they like to listen for the splash as things fall to the water level. We have found small rocks on top of cylinders and other things. Gary was working inside the four-inch plas- tic liner, but several at- tempts to get the tap into the broken pipe were not successful, so Gary used an upside-down funnel to try and cen- ter the broken pipe inside the liner. With several modifications, the funnel finally went down on the pipe and centered it in the hole. With this accomplished, Gary and Pat were able to get the tap into the broken pipe and carefully turned a few times to cut some thread into the pipe to try and lift it out. Very gingerly, Gary and Pat began to lift the pipe. The lift went slowly and smoothly; finally the pump came up, and was out. The pipe had broken at the point where it bells out to make a coupling. We have seen this be- fore, and believe it is a manufacturing de- fect. Quality control in manufacturing in Guatemala is not what it is in the United States. If someone would like to be of real service to us, a down hole camera would be a great help. We were able to res- cue this well and put it back in service, but there are times a camera would be invaluable. If you would like to help, please contact Gary Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509-939-1941 Tim Tim Rasmussen may be contacted via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Pat Clark and the broken pipe.