Canada - 1 Year $42.00 (plus 5% GST - $44.10) U.S.A. - 1 Year $60.00
Occasionally, Ground Water Canada will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.
Serving the Canadian Ground Water industry for 42 years.
www.groundwatercanada.com
LIFE OF A WATER
A new model shows it takes a team effort to keep a well healthy
12 ATLANTIC TREASURE
Water isn’t the only precious resource on Valley Well Drillers’ map
18 CONTAMINATION CONCERNS
A rise in contaminated ground water may be linked to increasing concern about water quality and testing, says a noted expert
MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 4X4 REPORT
Howard J. Elmer reviews a recent RWD van release.
ON THE WEB:
N.B. extends hydraulic fracturing moratorium
The New Brunswick government will extend the province’s moratorium on hydraulic fracturing indefinitely. CBC News reports.
NRC staff warned about tainted drinking water two years before notifying neighbours
The National Research Council protected its staff from firefighting chemicals in their drinking water for nearly two years before it told its neighbours about the problem, the Ottawa Sun reports.
Grow with strategic service
by Colleen Cross
I’m hearing from the industry about a general decline in the number of water wells being drilled compared with the volume of yesteryear. Residential growth appears to be happening largely in subdivisions and one notable trend is nearby rural residents choosing to connect to town water.
Well driller Jordan Rogers of Waterville, N.S., for one, told us he is seeing a decline in well numbers and prices remaining flat, a situation he finds a bit troubling for the future. Rogers, whose company, Valley Well Drillers, is profiled on page 12, believes the time has come to place a higher value on ground water and the work that goes into providing it.
When work becomes scarcer, one response is to raise prices not only to compensate for the shortfall but also to reflect the real costs of safely and efficiently accessing an essential resource. Customers aren’t necessarily aware – and it’s one of your jobs to remind them! – of the impact on your business of volatile gas prices, the costs of updating your drill rigs and the premium pay level often required to hire qualified, long-term staff.
Providing extended service and referrals may secure the repeat business that is so important when your customer base is limited.
Another response is to diversify your business. Larson’s Water Well Drilling and Servicing has made itself a household name in Lougheed, Alta., in part by selling everything from cattle waterers to water conditioning equipment to hot tub supplies. They even issue hunting and fishing licences.
But diversifying is not the answer for everyone: not every driller can afford to put in the time, training and regular practice that go into becoming a qualified water treatment professional, for example. Also, it’s about more than just making money, although that’s the obvious goal. “I don’t think we get rich doing all this but it’s a service,” John Larson told us when profiled last year.
Here he hits on a basic idea, but one that
enters most conversations I have with those in the industry: good service. I’ve yet to meet a well driller who isn’t keen to provide it. After all, it’s their name on the truck. But if market conditions won’t let you offer more service, maybe it’s time to focus on providing better service.
It’s a concept well known to Jim Clark, a well driller with decades of service under his belt. In this issue, Clark presents a deeper (pardon the pun) concept of a water well that takes into account both quantity and quality. He suggests we think of a well as having a life of its own. If all partners – be they well drillers, pump installers, water quality experts or well owners – put the health and effectiveness of the well above all else at each stage in its life, that well is more likely to be in good shape for many years to come.
Clark’s model also hints at business opportunities, among them, carrying out monitoring work for clients. If business isn’t growing horizontally, maybe you can expand it vertically. Keep tabs on the wells after they’ve been drilled – asking after them like a concerned family doctor. Educate well owners, let them know you’re a phone call (or email) away to answer questions, perform other services or refer them to more specialized tradespeople.
Providing extended service and referrals won’t solve the issue of declining work, but it may secure the repeat business that is so important when your customer base is limited.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a theme taken seriously in this industry. Incidentally, it sounds a lot like the idea behind our associations and one of many reasons they are important. As Jordan Rogers puts it, “We should be working together, and if one company does well, they all will.”
I couldn’t have said it better.
On that note, I wish you all an enjoyable and profitable summer!
INDUSTRY NEWS
Paul Hebert and John Falconer have joined the staff of Boshart Industries. Hebert is the company’s Canadian sales manager and Falconer is technical sales engineer.
BOSHART WELCOMES NEW STAFF
Boshart Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of plumbing and water well products, has brought on board associates Paul Hebert and John Falconer.
Hebert started as Canadian sales manager with Boshart Industries in March. He joins the company with a track record of success in water heater sales at EMCO and GSW before working in the fireplace industry. He will manage the company’s Canadian sales representatives.
Falconer joined Boshart as technical sales engineer in March. He comes to the company from Preferred Pump, and previous to that, Baker Manufacturing. “John’s experience will help us grow the industrial pitless line as well as work with engineers, consultants, etc., to get various products specified throughout North America,” Boshart Industries said in a news release.
“We are thrilled to have Paul and John join our team!”
REPORT MAKES SUGGESTIONS FOR NEW P.E.I. WATER ACT
The Prince Edward Island Environmental Advisory Council in May released a report based on feedback from the public and offering seven recommendations on the scope and direction of its proposed water legislation.
The report summarizes the findings of public and one-on-one consultations hosted by the council and completed in early 2016.
Those surveyed recommended any legislative, regulatory and policy framework support seven objectives:
• to conserve, protect and restore the health of aquatic and riparian ecosystems
• to safeguard and enhance drinking water
• to regulate water use in a manner that respects ecosystems and human needs
• to ensure water security through use efficiency and conservation practices
• to encourage and enforce land use management practices that protect water quality, associated watercourses, ground water and the integrity and health of watersheds
• to allow for continuous adaptation to water management rules as science advances or natural conditions change
• to standardize, streamline and make transparent government decision-making
The development phase will extend over the summer months. Once the first draft of legislation is complete, the province will then take the legislation back out to public consultation before finalizing Prince Edward Island’s Water Act, the P.E.I. government said in a news release. Input from this second phase will be used in preparing the final draft of the Water Act, which is expected to be complete in spring 2017.
To access the full consultation report, visit the province’s dedicated website at www.gov.pe.ca/wateract.
POTENTIAL OF FRACKING FLUIDS ESCAPING TO AQUIFERS STUDIED
A recently published scientific paper explores the potential for fluids related to hydraulic fracturing to escape into usable aquifers through nearby abandoned wells.
The article was published in the National Ground Water Association’s technical journal, Groundwater, the NGWA said in a news release.
The article suggests fluids related to hydraulic fracturing escaping to aquifers could lead to upward leakage of contaminants.
Flows into abandoned wells, however, do not conclusively demonstrate contaminants from a fractured shale reservoir can migrate into the overlying aquifer because hydraulic characteristics of the well may limit migration. Moreover, production of the horizontal well after hydraulic fracturing can play a significant role in reducing or inhibiting potential upward leakage.
“Influence of Hydraulic Fracturing on Overlying Aquifers in the Presence of Leaky Abandoned Wells” is authored by Joshua W. Brownlow of Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
THE LIFE OF A WATER WELL
New model shows a healthy well takes a team effort
The average water well outlives the contractors who work on it. Any number of people will service, maintain, monitor, repair, and replace its components, and, it is hoped, do so in a way that fosters sustainability for the well and for the ground water it taps into.
by CAROLYN CAMILLERI
Jim Clark’s Water Well Life Cycle graphic shows what transpires over the life of a well. The orbs represent the various trades involved. Overlap indicates one trade passing on work to another. It is vital that good communication occur as work progresses, Clark says. Each trade should submit documentation of their work, and well owners should be encouraged to file the data as it comes in over the years.
A key point is the line of arrows that runs backwards across the diagram from where the service tech may first discover trouble, Clark says.
To achieve an industry standard in keeping with today’s expectations and requirements takes teamwork over decades and an accurate, well-maintained reporting system. Ultimately, it means thinking about wells in terms of stewardship over the long term, which is the driving goal behind Jim Clark’s Water Well Life Cycle project.
“The idea is to enlighten those who work on wells to all of the steps involved from start to finish and how teamwork is needed to keep the life-cycle process going successfully and smoothly,” says Clark, a director of the British Columbia Ground Water Association (BCGWA). He has drilled wells for more than 40 years in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, an area of significant agricultural importance.
Clark points out that very few contractors have the knowledge, specialized equipment and skilled staff to complete all steps required
through a well’s life and that the average well will outlive those who work on it. A good paperwork trail is crucial to maintain a knowledgeable pathway and makes it easier for a contractor to understand how the well was constructed, what equipment has been installed “down hole,” and what maintenance activities have been performed to date.
“All commercial well owners need to be encouraged to keep a file and all contractors that visit need to document what they do,” Clark says. “The life cycle of a well stretches for years. A well may only expect one major visit per 10 years.”
A SOLID CASE FOR LONG-TERM MONITORING
Establishing early benchmarks, specifically for static and pumping water levels, flow rate, and specific capacity, is critical for tracking well performance and will help to alert the well owner of trouble long in advance, Clark says. He estimates less than 10 per cent of irrigation well owners know what their pumping level is and that few of these wells are fitted with sounding tubes to enable technicians to record those levels.
“Without this simple tube and wellhead access, the well owner is headed
for an unexpected meltdown as his pumping level slowly creeps down to the pump, often over many years,” he says.
Then, likely mid-August when temperatures are high and crops are wilting in the fields, there is an urgent need to initiate redevelopment, or in some cases, replace the well.
“Often, in a panic, patchwork is done to the system to try and nurse it through until the off-season,” Clark says.
“Usually, most of the money spent on patchwork by the well owner is lost, and there is some degree of crop loss, hitting the farmer hard in the pocket.”
A well owner or driller may avoid these often devastating situations through two simple steps: recording the static water level, pumping water level and flow rate when the well is new, and tracking these three measurements occasionally over the years.
“In most cases, the well owner will have several years to react to problems that are manifesting in his well, while avoiding costly panic patch jobs and crop loss,” Clark says.
Clark points to an evolving opportunity for contractors in alerting their customers to these potential problems and offering to set up monitoring programs.
“We need to understand the well owner will know very little about potential well problems,” he says.
The well owner without wellhead access is doomed to make repairs under downtime, most likely during critical crop-growing season in the case of irrigation wells, costing the farmer a “triple whammy” of money lost to patchwork, increased repairs, possible well replacement and lost crops.
“There are far too many production well users who rely totally on ground water to keep their business alive and who have no clue if the gas tank is full, empty, or has a hole in it,” Clark says.
“Monitoring brings everything into view, good or bad, and should a well owner go for 40 years with no major trouble, at least a little monitoring over the years has given him peace of mind.”
“Setting up monitoring programs is an easy way for pump companies to expand their horizons. This strengthens ties to your customer, almost ensuring pump sales and future service work,” Clark says.
He further explains that monitoring programs for most existing wells would likely see frequent readings in the first couple of years to establish good data benchmarks. If levels are stable, the number of readings can likely be reduced to one a year, and a year or two can even be skipped.
HIGH COST OF NOT MONITORING
Many well owners shy away from monitoring their wells because of cost. Clark says that those who don’t monitor often pay a higher price when faced with unexpected downtime, which often comes at the worst time for their operations.
“As the industry has evolved, smart operators turned ‘emergency downtime’ into ‘preventive maintenance,’ which is done at least once annually when a piece of equipment is shut down for overhaul,” Clark says. “Preventive maintenance sees parts swapped out that may or may not need to be. The idea is not to take chances and to cover the board.”
“By monitoring a well, you can identify exactly what needs servicing, which is defined as ‘predictive maintenance,’ ” Clark says. “This takes all the guessing
Pump Co. to advise Drill Co. of problems.
Pump Co. to set up
Diagrams courtesy Jim Clark
out and allows the well owner to schedule repairs at opportune times with the problem already identified.”
Being able to predict maintenance saves huge costs, every time, especially when crop loss is considered.
TAKING A BIG-PICTURE VIEW
Over the years, the refinement of the various skilled trades within the water well industry means it is very difficult and unlikely for one person to maintain a high level of knowledge of all those trades, Clark says. As a result, communication among the contractors has become increasingly important.
To illustrate the life cycle of a well and the importance of record keeping and teamwork among the various contractors, he has created a diagram. Clark’s Water Well Life Cycle graphic aims to highlight contractors’ individual roles
and reveals opportunities where they may want to expand.
“Most importantly, contractors need to be careful they don’t step out too far beyond their abilities,” he says. “Better contractors define their boundaries. It’s best to go in and do what you can do and pass the torch to another contractor when necessary. This leads to teamwork, which will enhance the outcome of the work for everyone involved.”
A key point is the line of arrows that runs backwards across the diagram from where the service tech may first discover trouble, Clark says.
“When dealing with a problem, a service man will always look back to the baseline data. Looking for the original specific capacity is often the carrot you are looking for,” he says.
To quickly assess the well’s condition, the service tech needs wellhead access to
obtain a current water level and specific capacity, and then relate it to the original specific capacity.
Specific capacity is standard practice for calculating and tracking well performance, says Kathy Tixier, the BCGWA’s managing director. It is calculated as the flow rate divided by the drawdown in water level in the well, or the difference between the static water level and the pumping water level.
“It is like the bang for your buck,” she says, explaining the amount of flow produced is the “bang” and the unit drop in water level is the “buck.”
“As well efficiency drops over time, so too does specific capacity,” Tixier says. “Tracking changes in specific capacity can help well owners schedule maintenance activities when they are needed and when operationally convenient.”
When the wellhead is easily accessed, well-informed decisions can be made. However, when there is no wellhead access, it can be a real downer, Clark says.
“If wellhead access is not available, everything comes to a halt and lesser quality decisions are made,” he says.
“Most of my job is to drive around and look at things. When I respond to a troubled well call that has good wellhead access, I jump out of my truck and run my sounder down and often have a good handle on the problem within minutes.”
When there is no wellhead access, he drives away far less informed about the problem.
“Guessing and assuming can often lead to poor decisions that cost everyone involved time and money,” he says.
Those expensive, time-consuming decisions are simply not sustainable.
For more information about the Water Well Life Cycle, contact Jim Clark at jimanh@shaw.ca.
Carolyn Camilleri is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and content strategist. She has been writing for consumer and trade magazines, as well as businesses and organizations across the country, for more than 15 years.
Jim Clark, a director of the British Columbia Ground Water Association, presented his Water Well Life Cycle model to association members at their annual conference and trade show in March.
l
l Heavy-duty run capacitor included eliminates relay and start cap
l Works on all brands of motors
ATLANTIC TREASURE
Water isn’t the only gold on Valley Well Drillers’ map
Jordan Rogers is fulfilling every child’s – heck, every adult’s –fantasy. When his company, Valley Well Drillers in Waterville, N.S., is not drilling for water, it goes in search of something else. Gold, that is – Atlantic treasure!
by COLLEEN CROSS
For two decades, Jordan Rogers and his team have been helping to dig for fabled buried treasure on behalf of some very determined explorers on Oak Island off the south shore of the province. The “money pit” area has been open-pit mined to 150 feet in the past and filled back in, Rogers says.
For two decades, Rogers and his team have been helping to dig for fabled buried treasure on behalf of some very determined explorers on Oak Island off the south shore of the province. The Curse of Oak Island, a reality show chronicling the hunt, has aired on the History Channel since 2014, making Rogers and his team minor celebrities in their circle.
“You don’t see too many water well drillers on TV,” Rogers says, with a chuckle.
Theories abound about a mysterious pit and its location on the island. Some scholars say pirate Captain Kidd buried his fortune there in the 17th century. Others say exiled Knights Templar dug the pit and that it might contain the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. Still others say the pit hides manuscripts showing Francis Bacon to be the author of Shakespeare’s
works. Rick and Marty Lagina, brothers from Michigan who bought the rights to much of the island in the 1990s, enlisted the help of Valley Well Drillers to try to solve a mystery that has intrigued people for 200 years, several of whom have died trying to strike it rich. They have been doing work on the project off and on since the mid-1990s. “We look for mine shafts, dug wells, and we’ve found wood at 200 feet. Some claim there are more than 1,000 wells drilled on the island between 25,000 and 27,000 feet,” he says. “The ‘money pit’ area has been open-pit mined to 150 feet in the past and filled back in. We have to drill with an overburden system to keep circulation and drill through everything ¬ boulders, gravel, till, large amounts of water and even wood – and hopefully not hit steel or another borehole.”
Photos courtesy Jordan Rogers
Rogers believes what was on Oak Island may have been found in the past, melted down and sold, but concedes, “It would make me and a lot of other people happy if something new was found to address some of the unanswered questions.”
So who are these treasure-hunting drillers?
The home base of Valley Well Drillers lies in a picturesque part of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley where the valley’s sandstone and shale meet the North Mountain’s basalt rock and the South Mountain’s granite and slate.
Owner Jordan Rogers is a quiet, thoughtful contractor who took the reins of the 41-year-old business in 2009 when his father, Bruce, retired.
His grandfather, Claude Rogers, started Valley Well Drillers in 1975 doing mostly residential and small commercial drilling.
After Claude’s death in 1979, Bruce Rogers followed in the business, as did his brother, Jordan’s uncle Kirk, who established KD Rogers Well Drilling in nearby Centreville, now run by his sons
Brent and Logan.
“Basically, if your name is Rogers and you’re in the Annapolis Valley, you’re either a well driller or related to a well driller,” the third-generation Rogers says. It was not his father’s intention that he follow in his footsteps. “My father tried to steer me around 16 years ago,” he says. “He wanted me to do anything but well drilling.”
Rogers tried his hand at a few different jobs and contemplated going out west to get into oil work, but it didn’t take him long to realize water well drilling was the path for him.
As teenagers he and his older brother and younger sister were expected to work in the family business washing, cleaning and doing other miscellaneous duties. As an adult, he came to enjoy the work.
Over the years, the business has offered a number of services, including residential, commercial and municipal rotary water well drilling, video camera inspection and well decommissioning.
After taking over the family business,
Jordan Rogers, a licensed well driller and pump installer, expanded the company’s services to include pump installation and geothermal drilling. Geothermal has since seen a downturn, as it has elsewhere in Canada, but there is a small demand for it in the inner valley where there is lots of water for supply and return wells, Rogers says. He adds that most of the demand now is in residential work.
They do commercial work when the opportunity arises. Three years ago, for example, they drilled an 18-inch well about 700 feet deep for a local chicken processor.
Rogers and his two-employee team have one rig – a Speedstar 25K – that was brand new in 1988. “We bought it from Rocky Milanto of GEFCO, the regional manager,” he says.
Most of the work done by Rogers and his team happens within a 200-kilometre radius of the office – “home base,” as he calls it. They do video camera well investigations, often uncovering such problems as a lack of sufficient well casing. This occurs in older wells – some 20, 30 or 40
Since 1979, Foremost’s Dual Rotary drills have delivered on the promise of better performance. They continue to make significant contributions to the productivity and profitability of operators worldwide. For a growing number of contractors, There’s simply no better way to drill.
years old – and lets in contaminants. Local contaminants include nitrates from nearby farms. Annapolis Valley farms have high nitrate counts, Rogers says. Another common source of contamination is earwig infestation. If a well does not have a proper well cap, earwigs can get into the well and die on the water. Get enough dead earwigs in your well and you may have to blast them out
Rogers shares the industry’s recruiting challenges. “To find good people, you have to pay the right price,” he says. “You can get just about anyone for $15 an hour, but to find educated, hard workers, you need to go up to $20 an hour.”
He puts a lot of stock in belonging to the Nova Scotia Water Well Drillers Association. “We get to discuss any problems with our regulations. Usually they have a person from the government
there to see what we’re talking about and note any changes we need made,” he says. At the last annual general meeting and awards dinner in Dartmouth, they also had some great musical entertainment with a kitchen party, he adds.
That 2015 event holds special meaning for Rogers; he was awarded the recently established customer service award for well drillers as a roomful of members erupted in applause.
Jordan Rogers took over Valley Well Drillers from his father, Bruce, in 2009. Claude Rogers, Jordan’s grandfather, started the business in 1975.
“I was surprised,” he says. “We had just finished dinner, I closed my eyes, having a little catnap, and I heard my friend say, ‘Jordan, you’d better wake up for this!’ ”
The awards are given to pump installers, well drillers, well diggers and founders who have “exceeded expectations or did a ‘good deed’ for a homeowner in need,” according to the Nova Scotia Ground Water Association newsletter.
Providing good customer service means a lot to Rogers and his team. “Making sure the customer is happy – that’s the biggest thing,” he says. “With today’s social media, one angry customer can cause problems. The situation may be out of our control – we’re battling Mother Nature every day, but that customer’s still got to be happy when you drive off the property.”
Sometimes all it takes is communication and helping the well owner understand why things didn’t go as expected, he says.
Firmly behind this honour is Valley Well Drillers’ practice of giving to the surrounding community. “We do as much as we can for community events and programs,” Rogers says. The business has made large donations to Scouts Canada and to a new arena project. About four years ago, the team donated and installed a water supply and pumping system to a facility called Camp Brigadoon that draws special needs children from across Canada every summer to have a fun camp experience. Staffed by volunteers, the grounds include 10 cottages, a dinner hall and a meeting room.
Rogers clearly takes a lot of pride in helping out. “When
Solinst Levelogger
The Levelogger Series of dataloggers are self-contained water level recorders that use a durable, corrosion-resistant Hastelloy pressure sensor and are powered by a lithium battery. Leveloggers use infrared data transfer to communicate optically, eliminating direct electrical connection. This unique feature, along with the Faraday cage design, protects Leveloggers against power surges and lightning strikes.
someone asks, we usually can’t say no,” he says.
As for the future of the water well industry, Rogers believes the time has come to place a higher value on ground water and the work that goes into providing it. He is seeing a decline in the number of wells being drilled but no sign of prices going up, a situation he finds a bit troubling.
“Everyone is still charging the same price,” he says. “We talk about raising the prices and sometimes we get a small increase, but then it gradually works its way down because people are hungry for additional work.”
Rogers subscribes to the philosophy that a rising tide lifts all boats. “We should be working together, and if one company does well, they all will.”
As for the future of Valley Well Drillers, there seems every reason to believe the business will stay in the family. Rogers and his wife, Cara, have four potential treasure hunters – Ava, 13, Orin, 12, Maverick, 4, and Roy, 2 – and a fifth on the way in August.
Carrying on the tradition of family involvement in the business, he brings his two oldest along on jobs, in part to educate them. “It’s good for them to understand water, where it comes from and how it gets into the house,” he says.
WATER QUALITY
CONTAMINATION CONCERNS
A rise in contaminated ground water may reflect growing concern about water quality, says one expert
We drink it, we bathe our children in it, we water our flowers with it – but do we really know what’s in our ground water? Ground water contamination is on the rise worldwide, with new contaminants being discovered every day.
by JULIE FITZ-GERALD
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) reports, “Nearly one-third of Canadians rely on accessible ground water extracted from geologic formations (aquifers) for private or municipal use. Besides being the only source of drinking water in many rural areas, ground water is also used for crop irrigation and livestock, and by numerous industries in Canada.”
With life literally depending on access to clean water sources, a push for further research and greater understanding of current waste contaminants and emerging contaminants in ground water is being echoed across the country.
Back in 2001, a candid report entitled “Threats to Sources of Drinking Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Health in Canada” was released. It was a collaborative effort written by Allan S. Crowe and Carol J. Ptacek of Environment Canada, National Water Research Institute; David L. Rudolph of the University of Waterloo, department of earth sciences; and Rick McGregor of J.R. Scientific. The paper sets out a framework for better understanding of ground water contamination, while also identifying major knowledge gaps and issuing a call to action.
The authors write, “Because we cannot observe ground water, we typically discover that the ground water is contaminated once a well or surface water body becomes contaminated. Surface water contamination occurs
quickly and can be stopped at the source. However, ground water contamination may commence years after the waste source is in place. The slow release rate causes it to take years to thousands of years to move through the ground water flow regime, and ground water can be difficult, if not impossible, to remediate, and prohibitively costly to remediate. Ultimately all contaminated ground water will discharge to surface water. Thus, should serious ground water contamination occur, the destruction of drinking water supplies and aquatic ecosystems occurs for decades to hundreds of years.”
Given the significance of the issue, identifying contaminants and their sources, as well as minimizing their entry into the water system, is crucial. Peter S. Cartwright has been in the water purification and wastewater treatment industry since 1974 and is a leading expert in contamination issues. As president of Cartwright Consulting Co. in Minneapolis, and technical consultant to the Canadian Water Quality Association for the past 10 years, Cartwright deals with ground water contamination first-hand. “I think it’s becoming more prevalent. There’s no doubt we’re discovering more and more contaminated ground water, but it may be because we’re becoming more concerned about water quality so we’re doing more testing. Also, those supplies that are affected by surface water quality – there’s no doubt we’re contaminating our surface water at
an increasing rate, so to the extent that surface water may impact ground water quality, that’s going to go up too.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada divides ground water contamination into “legacy” contaminants – those that have been around for decades but are still unresolved, such as solvents, salts and metals from landfills – and “contaminants of emerging concern” –pharmaceutical residues, personal care products and perchlorate.
In the 2001 report, the writers note poor solid waste management practices of the past have caused severe water quality issues and the developing nature of the problem is prompting experts to identify new contaminants and set up better disposal practices. “Many of the
contaminants of the future currently exist, and perhaps have existed in water for years, we just have not begun to look for them yet (e.g., emerging persistent organic pollutants, pharmaceutical compounds). The contaminants which we currently know about will also continue to cause major problems and numerous challenges,” the authors explain.
radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.
In the municipal biosolids and septic systems category, the writers point out that as the population of Canada increases, so will solid and liquid wastes, generating larger quantities of biosolids from treatment plants and dramatically increasing the number of septic systems in rural residential areas, recreational areas and lakefront properties. Add to this the trend of converting seasonal cottages to year-round abodes and the issue continues to grow. An emerging issue in the mining waste category is the “potential release of heavy metals and oxyanions (i.e., arsenic) from subaqueous disposed mine waste as well as geochemical reactions occurring at the surface waterground water interface.”
Beauregard_7x3.25 3/21/06 7:45 AM Page 1
The report outlines five categories of waste that are contaminating the ground water system in Canada, including municipal/hazardous/industrial solid waste, mining waste, agricultural waste, municipal biosolids and septic systems, and other wastes that include contaminants from the petroleum industry, excess road salt, waste sediment from dredging of harbours and channels, and
Cartwright says that in Canada, the most common contaminants include arsenic, nitrate, hardness (although not a health-related contaminant, it’s a secondary contaminant universal in all water supplies), iron, manganese, and radon and hydrogen sulphide – both of which are gases. “The U.S. Geological Survey determined that of the ground water supplies – specifically residential wells – that they detected had primary contaminants above the maximum contaminant level (MCL), 80 per cent were naturally occurring, like arsenic, radon and hydrogen sulphide, he says. “Many of the organic contaminants and nitrates are human contributed. Nitrates are a
The discovery of more and more contaminated ground water may be the result of growing concern about water quality and increased testing, contamination expert Peter S. Cartwright says.
huge problem anytime you have a lot of agricultural activity, whether it’s crop production or animal production, or in vacation areas where there are a lot of septic tanks that may be placed too close to wells.”
He notes nitrogen contamination in areas of crop production is usually the result of over-fertilization. “I would say most nitrate contamination can be mitigated – it can’t be eliminated – but a bunch of it can be mitigated by better practices.” In the case of ground water contamination caused by a leaking septic tank, Cartwright says, “That’s an issue where it’s 100 per cent human error, where a septic system is placed way too close to the well and, again, different soil types will allow things like that to move through the soil more than others. To me, a lot of that human error is a result of ignorance, not malice by any means. They don’t know any better and haven’t talked to the right people.”
The co-authors in the report agree. “We can look back at many of our serious water contamination problems and identify poor disposal and management practices. However, many problems were not the result of bad management practices (in fact they followed existing regulations and engineering practices), but due to a lack of knowledge, which is now available. As such, several key areas require additional understanding and study.”
While a concerted effort into identification, remediation and prevention of ground water contamination is carried out
at a broader level, individual homeowners can also take measures to purify their drinking water for added peace of mind, Cartwright says. Point-of-entry systems, such as water softeners, will treat water before it comes into the house, while point-of-use systems provide treatment at the tap. The third option is a countertop distiller. While Cartwright is a strong proponent of point-of-use reverse osmosis systems, where the treatment is done at the tap, he notes that for families with young children who are likely to drink from an outside tap or from the shower, point-of-entry systems that treat the whole house may be a better option. For the removal of gases such as radon, reverse osmosis is not effective and an activated carbon is usually a good option.
From homeowners to water well drillers to farming and industry, every Canadian has a responsibility to protect our ground water. But this can only be achieved through a greater understanding of this precious resource and the contaminants that threaten it.
Julie Fitz-Gerald is a freelance writer based in Uxbridge, Ont., and a regular contributor to Ground Water Canada
A New Solution for an Old Problem
Franklin Electric’s newly designed SubMonitor Connect features the innovative FE Connect App that provides three-phase motor protection with the enhanced capabilities of real-time performance monitoring to improve troubleshooting. Also enjoy a simple plug-and-play design, universal power supply, and a NEMA 4X rated display. You can’t always predict overload, dry run, dirty power conditions or other electrical mishaps, but you can be protected from them.
Too busy to be productive?
by Jeff Mowatt
Let’s be frank – if you work for a company, then your primary goal is to make money. Period. You may have secondary goals to serve the interests of your customers, employees, and be a good corporate citizen, but your first priority is strictly return on investment. Profit.
I often find business owners and managers don’t have their priorities straight. The result is they lose customer loyalty, face increasing operating costs, scramble to replace staff turnover and struggle just to keep up with the competition. They may work hard and think positively, but their impact is marginal.
On the other hand, by simply realigning their priorities business owners can lead their company in a way that builds customer and staff loyalty, reduces operating costs, makes more money and serves as a model corporate citizen. You won’t have to work any harder; just smarter. To find out how, answer the following questions according to your current practices. Then read the accompanying suggestion for the best way to optimize your time and effectiveness.
What is normally your first task of the day?
a) returning phone calls
b) doing administrative paperwork
c) working on strategic projects
d) dealing with customers
e) responding to employee requests
Your first priority of the day should be c: working on strategic projects designed to prevent problems and increase profits. Typically, however, managers put off strategic work to do other work that has a deadline. They confuse urgency with importance.
It’s always easy to put off work that’s strategic in nature because the deadline is usually nonexistent or not urgent, and strategic work requires something many of us prefer to avoid –thinking. The problem is that if you continually put off projects designed to increase profits or reduce problems, then you end up having more crises to deal with.
A lot of managers and business owners secretly love putting out fires because it makes them feel like heroes. In fact, they live in a fool’s paradise,
treating symptoms every day rather than curing the disease.
Doing strategic projects for the first hour of your day puts you in a proactive mindset. Even though crises may spring up, at least you have the comfort of knowing you’re doing something to prevent these problems from reoccurring. In other words, doing strategic project work gives you a sense of control and a feeling that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
People talk about the emergencies that require their attention. The truth is, unless you work in emergency services, there is almost no problem or “crisis” or customer request that can’t be handled by someone else in the organization, or wait a mere hour and a half for your personal attention. Realistically, you’ll accomplish more in that hour and a half of strategic project work than the other seven hours of crisis management combined.
Of your major project work, which do you typically work on first?
a) the one with the most pressing deadline
b) the one that’s the easiest to do quickly
c) the one that will generate the most profits over the long term
Obviously, you should work on c: the project that will generate the most profits over the long term. Ironically, most managers don’t do it. They react to deadlines, submitting to the tyranny of the urgent. It’s fine to work on projects with urgent deadlines, but at least spend the first hour on the long-term profit project, then work on the other projects with the urgent deadlines.
The bottom line is that to be an effective manager, you don’t have to be the most intelligent, the most enthusiastic or even the hardest worker. You simply need to learn how to organize your workday so that you’re less busy and more productive.
Jeff Mowatt is a customer service strategist, Hall of Fame speaker, and bestselling author. For more tips, training tools or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team, visit www.JeffMowatt.com.
CARGO VAN REVIEW
SPRINTER 4X4 REPORT
The Mercedes-Benz RWD van navigates rough roads
The water well industry uses a lot of trucks to get its busi ness done. All manner of pickups move men, women and their equipment in and out of primitive, remote job locations. At least that’s how it’s always been; till now perhaps.
by HOWARD J. ELMER
The system’s AdaptiveESP is automatic, requiring only that the driver keep the accelerator depressed. On mountain roads, the feature requires a bit of a learning curve.
Mercedes-Benz is offering two four-wheel drive (4WD) systems on their 2500 and 3500 Sprinter cargo van. This move may well change the rough job site transportation landscape.
Moving crews of workers along with all their gear in often foul, nasty weather has been a job that 4WD trucks have always taken on because, frankly, without 4WD those trucks are just not getting to where they need to be. The idea that a van could do this job has no doubt occurred to contractors and managers – particularly in light of the need for large dry, warm spaces –but without 4WD that just wasn’t happening.
Now on some jobs, I’m sure the current crop of vans could manage. But on the rougher roads, in the mountains, it would be pure folly to expect a RWD van to do that job.
Recently I had a chance to see if this
Mercedes-Benz 4WD could actually handle the work sites of the B.C. interior. North of the town of Revelstoke, B.C., I travelled an in-use logging road. Twenty kilometres from pavement to the summit of the operation, with a rise of over 1,000 metres in between. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view), rain and rising temperatures had softened the frozen road surface and created challenging conditions for the Sprinter – none of which stopped it. Except where guys flagged me down to ask how I’d gotten a van that far up the mountain.
The first thing to know about the 4WD Sprinter is that it is a factory designed and built system – this is not an add-on or dealer installed option.
The truck comes from Germany already
Photos by Howard J. Elmer
assembled and its specifications include not only the 4WD components but also a lifted body. Up to 3.9 inches (100 millimetres) at the front and three inches (75 millimetres) in the rear. Suspension is also modified accordingly.
At this point it’s good to note that, for 2015 anyway, the Sprinter is the only 2500/3500 cargo and passenger van (including dual rear wheel) that will offer four-wheel drive.
The passenger van version may be of particular interest –certainly to the wood cutting crews I passed on my climb – as it has comfortable seating for as many as 10 and still offers lots of cargo space.
Two systems are available for the Sprinter, the key difference being one has a low-range setting while the other does not. However, while the Sprinter does offer two different diesel engines, the 4WD systems are available only with the larger OM642 V6 turbodiesel equipped ones (which marshals 188 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque).
Both 4WD systems work with a simple dash-mounted push button. When engaged, the engine torque is distributed 35:65 between front and rear axles. The system adds 271 pounds to the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the truck.
Called 4ETS, this is actually an electronic traction control system: it has no mechanical differential locks. Certainly this is a different method of getting up the hill. At this point, I was thinking that open differentials in really muddy conditions are not ideal, so why build it this way? In part, the advantage
of this system is that it eliminates weight and also the binding that comes with diff locks. As for traction, Mercedes has applied a different solution to spinning wheels common in this situation.
Named AdaptiveESP, this electronic traction control uses the ABS sensors to detect wheel spin and will then brake individual wheels, forcing torque back to the wheel with traction. This system is automatic, requiring only that the driver keep the accelerator depressed.
While it sounded good on paper, up the mountain it required a bit of a learning curve. My experience with locked differentials is a constant sense of motion – even when all four wheels are churning – and it’s intuitive to keep the accelerator depressed while those wheels are spinning. However, with the Sprinter I found that on the rutted inclines, as the van began to slip, I’d momentarily lose momentum as the wheels were braked and I’d want to lift my foot. This is exactly the wrong thing to do with the 4ESP/4ETS system. Lift and everything comes to a halt. Instead, wheel slippage is what the computer needs to send the braking command to the churning wheel. So, after a few failed attempts, I learned to allow the slippage and the braking and still keep my foot in it. The van slows for a moment, then you feel the brake, then it starts to dig through the slop. It’s this braking of the spinning wheels individually that increases the power to the wheels that aren’t spinning. The sensation is different, but give it a few seconds and it works.
Innovations in Water Monitoring
can access almost everything from my smartphone, so why not my sampling
With In-Situ’s new Aqua TROLL® 600 Multiparameter Sonde featuring wireless Bluetooth® connection to Android™ devices, now I can! Slick, app-based control lets me automate sampling setup and calibration, monitor and record the stabilization of key water quality
and automatically generate and share reports, all from my smartphone. When it comes to low- ow sampling events, it keeps me fast, mobile, and e cient – just the way I like it.
New Aqua TROLL 600 Low-Flow Sampling System Available for purchase or rent. Learn more at in-situ.com/gwcanada.
ProuD to Serve our InDePenDentS
Goulds
•
•
• Loyalty discounts and rewards
• Warranties for authorized dealers only
Grow your business with the team that’s proud to serve you. Learn more about our services and benefits at goulds.com/independents
The second 4WD system comes with the low-range option. It’s called ZG3. This is a manually selectable reduction gear. The truck needs to be at a standstill for it to be engaged. This feature lowers the ratio between the engine and wheels by about 40 per cent, which then increases the corresponding torque. This option works well in really difficult terrain and at particularly slow speeds.
Another option that can be added to the ZG3 drive train is Downhill Speed Regulation (Code ZH4). Using the lowrange transfer case gearing this system is, in effect, setting a slow-speed cruise control. I had a chance to use this coming down the mountain during my test.
As I said, the logging road I was on dropped over 1,000 metres over 20 kilometres of switchbacks. At least half of the run was in excess of 10 degrees of grade. This system is manually controlled with a push button right beside the low-range setting. Once engaged, the transmission holds the van at a speed between 4 and
18 km/h. The driver can set it by braking to the desired speed and then not touching the accelerator. If the accelerator is depressed, the DSR is overridden until the accelerator is once again not touched. If the speed climbs above 45 km/h, it automatically switches off.
The beauty of this is that during long, slow descents attention can be focused on steering the best line through rough roads while also saving the brakes.
In all, I spent several hours on logging roads where I never thought I’d be driving a van. It works. Go see for yourself.
The 2015 Sprinter Cargo Van 4x4 starts at $49,900 and the Passenger Van 4x4 at $57,300.
What else is new?
Sprinter introduces Crosswind Assist. This safety system will always be active at speeds of 80 km/h and over. Using the same AdaptiveESP computer system that brakes spinning wheels to push torque to the 4WD system, it intervenes (with braking) when the track of the vehicle is
pushed off course by heavy crosswinds.
Maintenance intervals have been increased to 30,000 km; up from 25,000 km. Less time at the dealer equals more time on the job site.
Lastly, though Mercedes-Benz is getting ahead of itself, it now makes SULEV engine certification available on its diesels. This design complies with new clean diesel standards that don’t take effect till the 2020s.
As a point of interest, Mercedes-Benz says 75 per cent of all Sprinters sold will have some type of upfitter modification made to them. To this end, the manufacturer has a program in place to ensure the quality and safety of all modifications by vetting these companies. There are currently over 25 approved upfitters operating in Canada.
The 4WD Sprinter is a factory
NEW PRODUCTS
WATER LEVEL METERS SUIT NARROW APPLICATIONS
Solinst Model 102 Water Level Meters feature narrow diameter coaxial cable and probes to help ensure accurate manual depth to water measurements in tight spaces.
The new P10 Probe is stainless steel, 3/8 inches (10 millimetres) in diameter and features 10 segmented stainless steel weights for flexibility.
This design is ideal for greater depths (lengths up to 1,000 feet, or 300 metres), and for more easily getting around down-well instruments or other restrictions, the company said in a press release.
The new P4 Probe is 0.157 inches (four millimetres) in diameter. It has no weights, making it suitable for measuring in the channels of a Solinst
CMT Multilevel System or in narrow piezometers and open tubes.
Also available, with either probe design, is the Model 102M Mini Water Level Meter, which uses a small compact reel.
www.solinst.com
VECTOR ROD SYSTEM IMPROVES DRILLING RELIABILITY, PRODUCTIVITY
Rockmore International considers its new Vector Rod System a breakthrough in improving the performance and service life of extension drill tools in surface and underground percussive drilling applications. The new line of drill tools offers advantages in productivity and reliability, the company said in a press release.
Through research and development followed up with monitored field tests in various ground conditions, Rockmore engineers developed a new “XT” thread design that incorporates revolutionary new guided cylindrical
contact zones between the male and female thread joints. These guided surface features are located in the nose and rear of the thread connections and serve various benefits and improvements over traditional threads, Rockmore said.
The XT thread profile is based on the traditional trapezoidal “T” thread design and is compatible with industry standard thread types such as T38, T45, and T51.
The XT thread guide feature aims to improve thread alignment and reduce the impact duration when “rattling” rods,
as required in uncoupling connections. This leads to lower wasted energy transmission, cooler couplings on rods and to longer rod life.
One advantage of this rod system over traditional threaded components is its ability to create straighter holes and minimize its deviation, the company said. The guided XT thread feature increases the rigidity and stability of the connections between the shank adapters, rods, and bits so significantly that overall rod bending is minimized and hole straightness improved. This improvement allows for larger and deeper blast holes to be achieved using existing rod diameters, but only by converting to XT threaded components.
The Vector Rod System drill string components are designed to improve drilling productivity and reduce extension drilling operating costs in surface and underground percussive drilling.
www.rockmore-intl.com
DEMAND UP FOR PURIFIER ACTIVATED CARBON, REPORT SAYS
International demand for activated carbon, a technology that adsorbs impurities from liquids and gases, is on an upswing, says a recent report from research firm ReportBuyer.
Activated carbon’s ability to adsorb impurities from liquids and gases makes it suitable for use in several applications related to air and water purification, the report says, adding that a number of industrial processes that employ adsorption technologies may widen the future market for the material.
International regulations related to water and air pollution, depleting clean water resources due to population growth and rising levels of contaminated ground water needing purification are three factors contributing to high demand for activated carbon, the report says.
In addition, the supply of raw material for activated carbon has been tight, requiring producers to increase prices of virgin activated carbon. This scenario has fuelled demand for reactivated carbon in various areas, such as refineries for reducing volatile organic compounds in gas phase applications, ground water remediation and wastewater treatment processes.
The report analyzes key applications, including air purification, automotive canisters, food and beverages, medical and pharmaceutical and water treatment. The global markets for these product types are analyzed in terms of both metric tons and U.S. dollars. The worldwide market for activated carbon was estimated at $2.7 billion US in 2015, forecast at $3 billion US in 2016 and expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of 12.8 per cent between 2016 and 2022 to reach a projected $6.2 billion US by 2022.
The report reviews, analyses and projects the activated carbon market for the period 2012-2022 internationally and in regional markets including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and Rest of World. Regional markets are further analyzed for 15 independent countries: the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, the United Kingdom, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Argentina and Brazil.
NUMA WELCOMES GRIFFITHS TO FIELD TECHNICIAN TEAM
Jared Griffiths has joined down-hole hammer and bit designer and manufacturer Numa as a field technician.
“Numa continues to support our customers both in engineering of superior products and on the job site technical support,” Numa president Ralph Leonard said in a news release. “The relationship with our customers is paramount to our success and we are committed to providing expertise in the field where it is needed most.”
In this role, Griffiths will support Numa customers on hammer start-ups and provide ongoing technical support. He will advise drillers on best practices for using Numa products including tips on drill prep, assembly, air pressure, weight on bit, rotation speed and drilling techniques to improve performance.
He also will carry out consulting and test engineering to match hammer and bits to appropriate jobs based on ground conditions.
In addition to providing field support, Griffiths previously manufactured hammer and bit parts and was at times responsible for assembly and repairs.
CANADIANS CONCERNED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, FIRST NATIONS WATER, RBC SURVEY SAYS
Canadians are aware of the potential threats of climate change to the country’s fresh water supply and more than 80 per cent are concerned about fresh water conditions on First Nations reserves, an RBC survey suggests.
A fifth of Canadians polled rank climate change as the number 1 threat to Canada’s fresh water supply, up significantly from 2010 when just seven per cent rated it the top concern.
Despite this awareness, the RBC Canadian Water Attitudes Study, conducted by GlobeScan this spring, raises alarm bells over Canadians’ acceptance of personal vulnerability to extreme weather events, RBC said in a news release.
Results show three-quarters of Canadians feel the area they live in is not prone to flood or drought. In contrast, however, historical climate records and Canada’s Drought
Monitor show almost all areas across the country have experienced drought at one time or another over the past decade. Also, with the frequency of severe storms on the rise, Canadians are experiencing more intense rainstorms, wind events and flooding.
Despite awareness of flooding threats, Canadians are less prepared to deal with the effects of flooding and drought than other adverse weather events: less than one-third are worried about flooding and just over one-third are prepared to cope with it.
“Awareness is important, but this study reinforces the fact that we need to re-assess our vulnerability and better prepare for how global warming will impact us all,” said Robert Sandford, EPCOR chair, water and climate security, United Nations University. “What we’ve witnessed with various recent catastrophic
events is the powerful effect of temperature fluctuations on our local weather and water.”
The survey also suggests about half of Canadians rank fresh water as Canada’s most important natural resource, ahead of oil and gas, agricultural land, forests, and base metals and fisheries.
Other perceived threats to fresh water include the illegal dumping of toxins and the runoff of pollutants from land to water.
The study also sheds light on Canada’s drinking water quality. Nearly one-quarter of respondents have lived under a boil water advisory and 83 per cent are very or somewhat concerned about fresh water conditions on First Nations reserves. Despite this, 84 per cent of Canadians report having confidence in the quality of their home’s tap water.
Conducting a great interview
by Mitch Joel J
ust write out some questions and ask them.” That could well be one of the biggest mistakes when it comes to conducting an interview.
A friend shot me an email and asked for my opinion on how to conduct a great interview. Instead of letting the response die in a personal email chain, here are some tips for conducting a great interview.
DON’T CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW, HAVE A CONVERSATION.
One of the biggest mistakes people make in the interview setting is to conduct it as if it appears in a magazine (question and answer). Don’t make that mistake. Forget about the questions and just have a comfortable conversation. Keyword: comfortable.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
The only way to avoid getting stuck asking questions is to do so much research that you don’t need them. Know your interviewee, know the issues and know what the public would want to know if they could sit down with the candidate.
DON’T STICK TO YOUR AGENDA.
Most interviewers follow the questions that they have lined up in the order they wrote them, instead of letting conversation flow based on what the interviewee is saying. I’ve seen many great follow-up conversations lost because the interviewer was following their flow instead of the flow of the conversation.
HAVE NOTES, NOT QUESTIONS.
It’s OK to have some notes about concepts you would like to discuss, but don’t hold it in your hand and look down at it – that will break the conversation and turn it into an interview.
WATCH THE CLOCK.
Try not to go over 30 minutes. You should be able to capture everything you need in 15 minutes or less.
ASK OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS.
Always start your questions or commentary with words like “how” and “why.” Those two words can never be responded to with the words, “yes” or “no.” If you want something more than one- or two-word answers, use “how” and “why” whenever possible.
DON’T SAY ANYTHING.
This is an old journalism trick, but it works wonders. Many people have been interviewed many times and they know the questions they are most likely to be asked, so their answers are practised and canned. If you want to get a little bit more out of them or something original, wait for five seconds after they finish their last sentence and do not say anything. More often than not, that moment of silence will get them thinking and they’ll start speaking from their heart (and with a whole other perspective than their standard canned answers).
BE THE AMBASSADOR FOR YOUR AUDIENCE.
Don’t forget that your role as the interviewer is to ask the questions that your customers would want the answer to if they could be in that room. They can’t be there. You are. Be their ambassador. Ask the questions they want answered.
HAVE FUN.
If you’re stressed or focused on your notebook and the questions in it, your candidate will “feel it” and will pick up on your nerves or apprehension. Remember that the best conversations are the fun conversations. Have fun.
Mitch Joel is president of Mirum – a global digital marketing agency. His first book, Six Pixels of Separation, named after his successful blog and podcast, is a business and marketing bestseller. His latest book, CTRL ALT Delete, was named one of the best business books by Amazon in 2013. You can find him at www.twistimage.com/blog.
