WorldWide Drilling Resource

The Economy and the HDD Industry by John Christ J.C.’s Drilling Consultant The horizontal directional drilling (HDD) industry has always had ties to the economy. Today, it’s as bad as it’s ever been. This type of drilling can be found in many industries. If a person doesn’t have their own water well, they are on a public system which has distribution. The distribution is done hor- izontally. Chances are, if they receive water, they also get to have their wastewater removed too. These two systems were designed as 50-year systems. How old are the local systems? I’m willing to bet older than that. Local municipalities can’t or won’t replace these systems. The HDD industry has come up with cost-ef- fective processes to replace these aging systems. The local municipalities seem to be willing to wait until there is a failure. This isn’t a cost-effective way of repairing the failure. They really have to make this a priority instead of a scheduled repair. If it’s a water-related issue, they have the loss of product, and chances are, repairs due to erosion. Up until now, I have talked about municipalities. A homeowner who has a water well and/or septic system, they are the water and sewer departments. As those departments, hopefully they will want to be preventive. Test the water well on a regular basis. In fact, have the whole system checked. Have the septic system cleaned out regularly. They can have a camera run down their systems as a preventive measure. Who pays for these preventive measures? The homeowner does. Back to the municipal systems then, the homeowner pays as the consumer. So, when a municipality says they can’t pay, maybe it’s because they don’t have the money to. Nobody likes a tax increase, but sometimes it would be cheaper in the end. I happen to be on both water and sewer from a municipality. I regularly contact them and ask what preventive measures they are doing now. What are their plans for the future? Is there money in place for these measures? It will take a few visits to get this information. Be polite and persistent. They will understand you are on their side eventually. Then with this information, I next talk to my representatives. Don’t be afraid of these people. They work for you. Again, once we start a relationship, things and information will be easier to get. Maybe as an HDD contractor you can contact anyone who provides water or wastewater services. That is, if you have the will to invest in the equipment. As for homeowners, contact water well drilling or septic companies to offer them the services. There are many other HDD industries we can explore in future articles. The statements and comments in this article are based on information and references believed to be true and factual. If you have any questions or comments, please forward them to me in care of WWDR . John John Christ may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com )' ) % ) ' # *# $ ' : &4)1*4 *18*4 : : &4)1*4 *18*4 : : &4)1*4 *18*4 : : &4)1*4 *18*4 % ( ) ' ) '%# : &4)1*4 *18*4 : : &4)1*4 *18*4 : : &4)1*4 *18*4 : &4)1*4 *18*4 : &4)1*4 *18*4 ' $ + *#&( $ )% ! &4)1*4 *18*4: # #4 3 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : # #4 3 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4: 24 : 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : 4 4 8* 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : # #4 3 *:>> ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : #4 3 *:>> > ! ! ;)4&7 ( 4276 703 ? ;)4&7 ( 4276 703 ? ;)4&7 ( 4276 703 ? '%*) *#& * ") * *#&( : &52 73 *: ! ! : 9* 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : #4 3 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : 73 *: ! ! &4)1*4 *18*4 : 73 *: ! ! &52 : 73 *: ! ! '#()'%$ $ % $ "% 6, "64**6 = 2(&,216&5 $" < 2745 &;5 & %**. = &: %&665 $" &1&)& 62 21)&; 4 )&; "** 274 %*' &+* 999 &4056421+0&(, 1* (20 0& ))4*55 &0( &4056421+0&(, 1* (20 34 JULY 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®