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Mr. Kwader, I liked your thoughts on shallow groundwater, as that is where I have made my living, digging shallow wells via false casing, for over 40 years. Watching our surface water get polluted is hard, seems as if no one, including (the Department of Environment and Natural Resources) in all states [cares]. For example, here in South Dakota, we are allowing a cheese factory to expand, requiring another 84,000 cows. In addition to this, our regulators have happily agreed to allow the factory to put up to two million gallons of effluent (right word in my mind), carrying up to 18 ppm (parts per million) of nitrates. The Sioux River is already at 5 ppm - cities and rural water systems draw water from the river via shallow well recharge. A milk cow makes about a short ton of manure per week. Somehow this has to be handled, generally not to benefit everyone. Des Moines, Iowa, is fighting with farmers polluting Raccoon River, where their water comes from. So far, farmers are winning. Closer to home, Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water, who we drilled their first wells for in the late 70s, can no longer use the Holland Well Field due to ele- vated nitrates. This happened over 40 years. A local pump service fellow in the Pipestone, Minnesota area, saw his nitrates go from 4 ppm to 12 ppm over 40 years in his domestic well. One of the rural water systems in Iowa we drilled for noticed it is taking more chemicals to polish water than it used to - again shallow wells. For my part, at age 79, I’m not happy with the way we are destroying our environment, but not many folks are listening, are they? . . . As to the photo, this is a hobby which got out of hand! My nephew is willing to carry on “Uncle Jim’s” dream (nightmare), so Uncle Jim keeps gathering. Buildings are largely full of old ag-related and other interesting items I have collected since I was about ten years old. Enough from here. Jim Lacey Lacey Well Drilling, Inc. Dell Rapids, SD Environmental Monitoring by Thomas Kwader, Ph.D., P.G., WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Hydrogeologist Tom Kwader’s Response to Jim Lacey’s Letter Jim, Thank you for the kind and informative response to my column in WWDR . It is always sad to hear about a naturally pristine water body that has become contaminated above the EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency’s) drinking water standards. The “standards” are set to protect our health and to main- tain aesthetic goals for taste, color, odor, etc. The potable water list of standards is very long to encompass a wide range of potential contaminants. The contaminant nitrate (N) you are referring to is common in high densities of cattle grazing or housed over a shallow water table or aquifer. Also, nitrates do not naturally break down to harmless compounds. The current EPA standard for nitrates in groundwater is 10 mg/L (milligrams per liter) [naturally occurring levels of nitrogen are usually less than 2 mg/L (Mueller, et al, 1995)]. Nitrates can be removed from groundwater by uptake from plant root systems (denitrification) in areas where plants are abundant, and the water table is within a few feet of land surface. Once a deep aquifer is contaminat- ed with N, it is difficult to remove it; how- ever, dilution from rainfall infiltration will help in lowering the levels to some degree. In almost all cases, a permit for a dairy farm should not be allowed to exceed the 10 mg/L limit beyond their property boundary as detected in moni- toring wells. Thanks again, Tom Tom Kwader may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Reader’s Response Congratulations to : Hair ’ s Pump Service Pump Service Winner for June! Time for a Little Fun! Win a prize! Send completed puzzle to: WWDR PO Box 660 Bonifay, FL 32425 fax: 850-547-0329 or e-mail: michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Word List: PH FLUID BIT PURGE CAP SWITCH PIPE DRAWDOWN SITE INJECTION VOID IRRIGATION DEPTH June Puzzle Solution: T&T Carbide, Inc. SIMCO ® Drilling Equipment 18 JULY 2020 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®