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 British Colmubia Ground Water Assn. Tel: 604-530-8934 Fax: 604-530-8934 isecretary@bcgwa.org • www.bcgwa.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 ® JANUARY 2014 Water for Life International by Jon Hansen & Tim Rasmussen After we completed the well for Miss Lili in San Benito, Erica and I moved the rig to San Juan, Delores. This is about halfway between San Benito and Poptun, which is near our base at ICAP (Instituto de Capacitation Adventista del Peten). Once again, we were working about 100 feet off the main highway leading to Guatemala City. We were drilling a well on the property of Edgar and Beatriz Lopez. Edgar makes his living here oper- ating an automotive repair shop called “Taller Lopez Mechanico”. He can fix just about anything that moves, including the drill rig, which he helped repair a couple of times. We were all somewhat skeptical as to why we were volunteering to drill a well on private property rather than the more remote and ethnic villages we usu- ally provide with water. While enjoying Edgar and Beatriz’s hospitality and great food, we came to understand the impor- tance of this well to their community. All water in this area is hauled by truck from a water source in their town and stored in plastic containers - big and small. The Lopez family intends to let any- one with a need draw water from the well. They are also planning to build a church, and the well will be a focal point as it is designed to be on the property that houses that building. The well started out in hard lime- stone for the first few feet. You readers who drill with cable rigs know how much fun it can be to keep the tool moving up and down in a straight manner. After about 10 feet, it eased up and smooth- ly drilled to 65 feet where it started pro- ducing water in highly fractured and broken limestone. Then it started doing something I wouldn’t have thought possible. It began to heave up the hole as I bailed it. I’ve seen this often back home with sand and gravels, but not in Guatemala. We didn’t have enough water in the hole to make a reliable well, and it would- n’t stay open, so we started driving cas- ing and drilling out the materials inside the casing. At 93 feet, we had enough static water level in the hole to call it good. We installed a submersible pump and the water flowed. We pumped the well for over 24 hours before the lime- stone cleared enough to be able to take a drink. In the 90-degree weather it tast- ed cool and refreshing. To celebrate on the Sunday before we left, the Lopez family threw a good old back home barbecue for us. We met lots of family and made many friends, and the food was once again very good! Jon is one of our faithful volunteers and supporters. He has made several trips to Guatemala drilling for Water for Life and has recruited others to volun- teer. He also assisted us in getting a grant from the National Ground Water Association which will provide water for at least one village. We always strive to drill on public property like in a schoolyard or public area, but sometimes none is available where there is a great need. In those cases, we look for someone who is com- mitted to providing water to the people in the area without any restrictions or cost. We do the best we can to make sure the wells serve as many people as possible. 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 The Lopez family.