Winnipeg – A legal challenge filed in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench could cost the federal government billions, if it is proven the government has violated the Charter rights of a large class of First Nations people for decades by failing to provide them with safe drinking water. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Halifax – Halifax Water is moving the dial forward on a landmark program to replace lead pipes on private property, citing an investigation published by Global News and the Star Halifax as a catalyst for action. Global News reports. | READ MORE

Pictou, N.S. – The overland portion of Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent pipe is being called “unacceptable” by the mayor of Pictou, N.S., because of the risk it could pose to the town’s only water supply. The News reports. | READ MORE

Waterloo, Ont. – Managing reservoirs for water quality, not just flood control, could be part of the solution to the growth of toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes, especially Lake Erie, every summer.

Steinbach, Man. – With abnormal fall flooding in the Southeast this year, the Seine Rat River Conservation District of Manitoba held a free well-water testing day that drew more than twice the residents expected. SteinbachOnline.com reports. | READ MORE

Shelburne, N.S. – An offer from a celebrity activist to pay to have a community water well drilled is giving rise to discussions and debate in a small town in Nova Scotia. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Princeton, NJ – A new Princeton University-led study in Nature Communications is among the first to indicate solar and wind energy not only enhance drought resilience, but also aid in ground water sustainability. The researchers show that increased solar and wind energy can reduce the reliance on hydropower, especially during drought, thereby reducing overall ground water abstraction. Science Daily reports. | READ MORE

Halifax – Sampling data collected as part of a national investigation by media outlets and universities across Canada indicates hundreds of thousands of Canadians are exposed to lead in their tap water. In Nova Scotia, the findings suggest widespread exceedances of lead amid lax government oversight of private well water and a lack of public awareness about the health risks. Global News reports. | READ MORE

Victoria – A new paper from the University of Victoria investigates the many possibilities associated with Water Sustainability Plans, enabled by British Columbia’s Water Sustainability Act, to address water challenges and promote sustainability.

Kelowna, B.C. – A group of First Nations in British Columbia are launching a co-ordinated campaign to confirm First Nations’ right to safe drinking water.

Charlottetown – Public meetings will be held in four locations this month to give the public an opportunity to provide input on new draft regulations under the Water Act. The Guardian reports. | READ MORE

Berkeley County, SC – Google's data centre in Berkeley County, S.C., needed more water for cooling, and South Carolina just granted permission for the search giant to pump up to 549 million gallons of ground water every year to cover that need. PC reports. | READ MORE

Challenging conditions are par for the course for water-well drillers. While one drilling company is restoring non-functioning and abandoned wells near Milan, Italy, with the help of diesel technology, another is using a new angled drilling technique to get water for desperate farmers in Quebec.

When Wellace Johnson incorporated Wellen Boring and Drilling Ltd. in 1975, he based his business on family, integrity and trust. Four decades later, these continue to be the founding principles of the company.

Texas – Operators active in reusing and recycling produced water for fracking in the Permian Basin of Texas offered their experiences and best practices at a conference, while emphasizing the need to protect water resources, writes The Midland Reporter. | READ MORE

A loan program in some municipalities of Nova Scotia provides qualified homeowners with help if their wells run dry.

This column is both hard and easy to write. Hard because I’m looking back on the career of Lewis Hopper, a champion of Canadian water well drilling who is no longer with us. Easy because I’m looking forward to a new generation of the industry – and they are an inspiring bunch.

By now, everyone in the industry probably knows this story, but just in case. In September 2015, in West Vancouver’s expensive, densely urban Kerrisdale neighbourhood, a homeowner contracted a homebuilder who contracted a drilling company to install a geothermal heating system.

Toronto – VersaDrill Canada has worked with Groupe Rouillier and RIDD to produce an Inner Tube Puller for mineral drilling that could potentially have applications for geotechnical, geothermal or core drilling.

You provide high-quality wells and servicing, but are you meeting your customers’ less tangible need for information and peace of mind? We spoke with a ground water educator, established drilling companies and a satisfied would-be customer to get insight into what constitutes great customer service.

Barbados – Barbados stands to gain significantly more foreign exchange from the sale of desalinated water being produced on the island, says the chairman of the company expanding a reverse osmosis plant on the island. The desalination facility is capable of supplying drinking water to about 20 per cent of the population, the Barbados Advocate reports. | READ MORE

West Chester, PA – The Schramm engineering group is upgrading its existing T450 rigs to use a CAT C15 ACERT, Tier 4 compliant engine.

Newport, WA – A third-generation water well driller discusses the ups and downs of the job as well as public perception about the business. The Spokesman-Review reports. | READ MORE

South Jordan, UT – The "Village Drill," a model envisioned by John Renouard and developed by Brigham Young University students, is human-powered and capable of drilling up to 295 feet into the ground – deep enough to reach clean, unpolluted ground water almost anywhere in the world. The Deseret News reports. | READ MORE

Vancouver – A $350-million geoexchange system at Vancouver International Airport involves drilling 850 wells 152 metres down into the sand of Sea Island. The Vancouver Sun reports. | READ MORE

Edmonton – A district energy system will replace traditional furnaces, air conditioners and boilers in homes and buildings in an Edmonton neighbourhood and distribute heating and cooling energy between all types of buildings. The City of Edmonton reports. | READ MORE

Vancouver – The biggest building in the province, Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., will get a new heating and cooling system that will include one of the largest geoexchange systems in the country. Richmond News reports. | READ MORE

Vancouver – An Italian company and its two principals are facing four charges each for the breach of a massive aquifer on a residential construction site in Vancouver in September 2015. The breach has cost the city more than $10 million to fix. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

DEEP Earth Energy Production Corp. has begun drilling on the first well for its geothermal power facility, located in southeastern Saskatchewan.

Vancouver – GeoExchangeBC has shared with its members information provided by the B.C. government related to the Water Sustainability Act and regulations that are relevant to the geoexchange industry. GeoExchangeBC reports. | READ MORE

Newport, RI – A ground-source geothermal system has been installed at The Breakers, the former summer home of the Vanderbilt family in Newport, Rhode Island, in order to stabilize humidity and reduce the building’s carbon footprint.

Iran – In a new study of geothermal heat pumps published in The Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, systems using ammonia (R717) or n-butane (R600) were found to be more efficient than those employing R22 or R134, as well as more economical. Hydrocarbons21 reports. | READ MORE

Irving, TX – The Plastics Pipe Institute Inc. has created two groups as part of its Building and Construction Division: the Polypropylene Pressure Pipe Steering Committee and the Geothermal Steering Committee.

Moncton, N.B. – The federal government will invest almost $51 million to help New Brunswickers make energy-efficient upgrades to their homes, businesses, and industrial operations.

Montreal – The Canadian GeoExchange Coalition and its members welcomed the news that New Brunswick Power has released a range of energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives including for GeoExchange (a.k.a. geothermal heat pump) technology.

Peterborough, Ont. – Fleming College will install a new geothermal heating and cooling system at its Sutherland Campus to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions thanks to funding from the provincial government.

Chatham-Kent, Ont. – A resident in Ontario's former Chatham Township whose well has been contaminated with pump-clogging sediment since turbine construction began around his property is now dealing with gases bubbling up his well casing when he turns his pump on. The Chatham Voice reports. | READ MORE

Durham, NC – A new study that combines measurements from nearly 1,400 drinking water wells across North Carolina estimates that more than half of the wells contain levels of cancer-causing hexavalent chromium in excess of state safety standards.

Edmonton – New technology developed by engineers at the University of Alberta shows potential in cleaning and decontaminating process water from oilsands production. Folio reports. | READ MORE

A study by hydrologist Inge de Graaf from the University of Freiburg in Germany in co-operation with the University of Victoria and other institutes, indicates that almost 20 per cent of the catchment areas where ground water is pumped suffer from a flow of streams and rivers that is too low to sustain their freshwater ecosystems. SciTech Daily reports. | READ MORE

WSP Canada Group Ltd. has won a prestigious award from the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-British Columbia for its work in developing an innovative solution for safe water in remote communities. Journal of Commerce reports. | READ MORE

SkyTEM has mapped 1,000,000 kilometres of the Earth – equivalent to almost 25 trips around the world – and collected and delivered more than one million kilometres of airborne electromagnetic data.

No well driller wants to encounter a water well that produces gas. Besides the danger associated with gas production, which may be flammable or explosive, problems can also arise with gas locking of pumps and/or pressure tanks.

Iowa – University of Iowa researchers have found that a state-funded program for testing private wells suffers from “severe underutilization." In recent years counties have left unspent as much as 55 per cent of the total funding allocated each year for counties to test residents’ wells for certain kinds of contaminants. Iowa Public Radio reports. | READ MORE

Saskatoon, Sask. – Drinking water resources must be monitored long-term for potential contamination, not only from fracking but also from conventional oil and gas production, suggests a study published in the journal Groundwater by hydrogeologists from the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Arizona. | READ MORE

Beijing – A new study looking at the effect of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan on ground water systems in China is shedding some light on how Earth’s subsurface can be affected by large earthquakes. Earth & Space Science News reports. | READ MORE

A research paper published in Water Resources Research presents a simple model (an equation) that approximates how intermittent water systems (those closed during certain hours) behave, suggests why the method is so common and highlights the challenges of improving such systems. | READ MORE

Researchers at the UI and Iowa Geological Survey developed an interactive database that displays approximately 100,000 private wells across Iowa to inform well-drillers and property managers about geology and water contaminants. The Daily Iowan reports. | READ MORE

The Model 105 Well Casing and Depth Indicator from Solinst Canada, is useful in determining where metal casing starts and ends in new or existing wells as well as various other applications.

Acuva Technologies of Burnaby, B.C., recently announced two new water purification systems that use the company's technology to deliver high disinfection with low maintenance requirements.

Burnaby, B.C. – Canature, one of the largest manufacturers of residential and commercial water treatment systems and components in China, has partnered with B.C.’s Acuva Technologies for UV-LED water treatment technology solutions.

Rising health claims due to increasing hearing loss among Canada’s military personnel is a cautionary tale for industries with high noise levels.

Flomatic has released its Heavy Duty Deep Well Check Valve Model 80MDW-VFD for use with variable-frequency drive (VFD) controlled submersible pumps or other conventional pumps.

Merrill Manufacturing Company has announced four new stainless steel insert tees (3/4-inch, 3/4x1 inch, 1”, and 1-1/4 inch) and two new stainless steel insert elbow sizes (3/4-inch and 1x1-1/4 inch).

PolyScience has developed a coliform bath with a temperature accuracy to within 0.07 C to provide reliable results.

A new reference book called The Art of Water Wells by registered professional geologist Marvin F. Glotfelty provides a comprehensive overview of well systems for everyone working in the ground water field.

Flomatic has a new Wafer Style Silent Check Valve that is compatible with VFD controlled pumps in an all 316 stainless steel valve body, stainless steel poppet, seat ring and spring.

Franklin Electric Co. Inc. has introduced the MagForce High Efficiency Motor System in a 60-horsepower model, a product line that offers three distinct models capable of covering pump horsepower ratings from 7.5 to 60.

When Mercedes-Benz entered the Canadian market with the second-generation Sprinter in 2010 (it was sold as a Dodge previously in Canada), the full-size cargo van market in Canada was vastly different than it is today. Ford was selling the E-Series, Nissan had not yet launched the NV in Canada, and the Ram ProMaster was being sold in Europe as the Fiat Ducato.

Toronto – Ontario will reward its safest employers with an estimated $140 million for excellence in occupational health and safety as part of a new program.

Ann Arbor, MI – Recent studies and news reports have many Canadians concerned about the possibility of lead in their drinking water. Fortunately, a wide variety of residential drinking water treatment and filtration devices to reduce lead are available to consumers. But how can you be sure they work?

Choosing words that enhance trust and differentiate your service to customers can make price less relevant and gain co-operation with customers who aren't paying, writes customer service expert Jeff Mowatt.

Conestogo, Ont. – The Ontario Ground Water Association had a beautiful day for its third annual golf tournament Sept. 20 to raise funds for annual scholarship awards for graduates of Fleming College’s resources drilling and blasting program.

Feedback is a gift that anchors your relationships in honesty. Everyone depends upon the feedback they receive to appreciate and reinforce their areas of strength, and to identify areas for personal and professional growth and development.

Standardized procedures in an organized office cut down on lost time and money. In turn, this consistency increases client and employee confidence in a company’s ability to produce reliable work.

I recently wrote about the concept of predictive customer support. Now, we take a slightly different angle with the concept of proactive customer support.

Heading into fall seems a good time to get our offices in order.

Penticton, B.C. – The British Columbia Ground Water Association has announced its 2020 Convention and Trade Show will be held in Penticton, B.C., April 16 to 18, 2020. 

Vancouver – Testing for impairment from cannabis is no “magic bullet”. Rather, effective oversight, worker supervision and having an impairment-management program are key to navigating the post-legal-weed world. This was the message that Tom Brocklehurst, director of prevention practices and quality with WorkSafeBC in Richmond, B.C., delivered at the 2019 West­ern Conference on Safety in Vancouver. OHS Canada reports. | READ MORE

Red Williams Drilling Ltd. provides a range of services, including well drilling, water treatment, water delivery, and pump service, and covers an area of central Vancouver Island that stretches about 300 kilometres from the home base in Parksville.

Toronto – Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks has released an updated guide for municipal councillors to help them understand their responsibilities under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 and provide them with information on how Ontario’s drinking water is safeguarded.