WorldWide Drilling Resource

41 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2014 Library Builds Quality of Life Adapted from Information Provided by CONEXPO-CON/AGG During the Great Recession, the construction industry was hit harder than many other economic sectors. It con- tinues to persevere, though the strug- gle is not completely over. CONEXPO-CON/AGG is recog- nizing these efforts through the Quality of Life campaign, inviting contractors from the front lines of the industry to submit stories about those who have benefited from the work being done there. The following is an excerpt from a story submitted by Mike Porcaro. It is just one of the many great stories pub- lished so far. North Bend is about 45 miles north- west of Omaha, [Nebraska], situated in the southwest corner of Dodge County on the Platte River. Sitting in the middle of rich farmland that supports our qual- ity of life through agricultural productiv- ity, the town is known as the “Pride of the Platte.” As if to punctuate this moniker, this 158- year-old town, pop- ulation 1200, raised $1.5 mil- lion to build a new library to replace the pre- vious 100-year- old one. The innovative heating and cooling system was instal led by a local company, Dvorak Well, Inc., a company founded by Steve Dvorak in 2003. The special geothermal system will efficiently heat and cool the building for another 100 years; and that’s a consid- erable amount of library use and books read by the residents of North Bend. The new single-story library is 7150 square feet. It is built to be accessible for all ages. It features an adult reading area, computer lab, genealogy/research room, children’s section, and multipur- pose community room with seating capacity for 75 people. A cost analysis determined that a geothermal system would save $2000 in operation expenses annually. Even better, an additional savings of $22,000 was estimated for avoiding a potential replacement of a mechanical system within the first 10 years. That’s when the general contractor hired Dvorak Wel l Inc. to instal l a geothermal well. Dvorak drilled 16, six- inch-diameter holes extending approx- imately 300 feet deep to accommodate the loops that circulate fluid to and from a heat pump. “Drilling was sometimes tough,” said Dvorak, who is familiar with the challenges posed by Nebraska’s land- scape. “It seems like it rained every day, making for a high water table. We were drilling on top of a mountain of rock, sand and gravel, limestone, and shale. Some of the holes were filled with water; so we had to manage that.” On the day of the library’s dedica- tion, what Dvorak remembers most was the heat. “It was hot! When I walked into the library, it was as pleasant as can be. I felt proud knowing that the geothermal system cooled the building really well.” Other residents felt the same, and when Dvorak drives past the newly constructed North Bend Public Library, he holds his head high knowing his company is now a part of the library’s legacy.