Tatamagouche, N.S. – An exploratory mineral drill hole that is leaking high levels of arsenic and iron on Warwick Mountain should be a warning to Nova Scotia that more stringent regulations are required, an environmental group says. The Halifax Chronicle-Herald reports. | READ MORE

Here's a roundup of some of the major remediation projects happening in Canada – several of which impact ground water – and the technologies being used. Hazmat Management reports. | READ MORE

Ottawa – The federal government is on track with its pledge to end long-term boil-water advisories on First Nations reserves, but the overall reliability of the underlying water systems is little improved since the Liberal party came to power, according to a Globe and Mail analysis. | READ MORE

Victoria – New rules for agricultural waste management will better protect B.C.’s water and provide more clarity for the agricultural sector, the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said in a news release.

MN – A former Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner has asked for a study of nitrates in the ground water of the karst region of southeastern Minnesota. Although this duplicates two current studies of ground water and nitrates, writes Brian Todd in the Post Bulletin, there is plenty to learn about ground water, nitrates and how widespread the problem might be.  | READ MORE

Guinea – Water for Life, a major project of the United Methodist Church in Liberia, has now crossed into Guinea, with plans to build at least five water wells in the country. UM News reports. | READ MORE

Walkerton, Ont. – Ontario's Walkerton Clean Water Centre has added a new pilot-scale water treatment technology to its Technology Demonstration Facility.

Edmonton – As permafrost in the North thaws, it's releasing record levels of mercury into Arctic rivers and waterways, graduate students at the University of Alberta have found. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Ottawa – The federal government shared the preliminary findings and recommendations of United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including access to clean drinking water.

British Columbia – Veteran water well driller David Slade encourages B.C. farmers and ranchers who are well owners to have their wells licensed as a way to protect their rights and give regulators vital information about ground water mapping and use. Read his opinion piece in the Cowichan Valley Citizen. | READ MORE

Sioux Falls, SD – Officials in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, are grappling with well shutdowns as the extent of the city's water contamination from decades of firefighting foam use remains unclear. The Argus Leaders reports. | READ MORE

Armenia, WI – Rural communities in Wisconsin, Arizona and New Hampshire are concerned about a growing water crisis tied to industrial farms and slack regulations that has tainted residential wells, and made water quality and contamination election-year issues. The New York Times reports. | READ MORE

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

Qualicum Beach, B.C. – Ken Fyfe of Fyfe Well Drilling in Qualicum Beach, B.C., has worn many hats during some 43 years as a water-well driller. Fyfe shared with Ground Water Canada photos of his recently restored steam drill rig made by Keystone Company in Beaver Falls, Penn.

Toronto and San Bernardino County, CA – NewCastle Gold recently reported on the water supply drilling program for its Castle Mountain gold project in San Bernardino County, Calif.

Ground Water Canada visited Fleming College to see what students in the Resources Drilling and Blasting program were up to.

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.

Montreal –­ The Canadian GeoExchange Coalition welcomed the news that the Quebec government will continue its RénoClimat incentive program through to 2021.

Calgary – Epoch Energy Development Inc. will lead the Front-End Engineering Design study to assess the feasibility of the Geothermal District Energy System in Hinton, Alta., with the help of $1.2 million in joint funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Government of Alberta and Alberta Innovates.

Oshawa, Ont. – Durham College has received $14.7 million in funding from the Ontario government through the Greenhouse Gas Campus Retrofits Program, including $9.1 million to fund its Simcoe Geothermal Field project at the Oshawa campus.

A series of research papers on transboundary aquifers were recently published by the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies in the form of a special issue.

Kelowna, B.C. – The potential for large countries rich in freshwater such as Canada to contribute to environmental protection worldwide is being overlooked, suggests new research out of the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

Urbana-Champaign, IL – A new study has identified microplastic fibres, along with a variety of medicines and household contaminants, in two fractured limestone aquifer systems in Illinois.

Hamilton, Ont. – A new study by the United Nations University compares for the first time the effectiveness and costs of different technologies designed to remove poisonous arsenic from ground water.

Bacterial water contamination is a serious issue that has ramifications for human health. The importance of a health-unit water test cannot be overstated as it can identify potential for illness due to bacteria present in water.

A new paper looks at the degradation of water wells, which is observed as a reduction in hydraulic efficiency throughout their lifespan. The paper is an open-access study published by MDPI.  | READ MORE

Saskatoon, SK – An inexpensive Swedish invention, known as a biobed, uses bioremediation, or the breaking down of pesticide waste to keep it out of ground water, wetlands, rivers and lakes. Western Producer reports. | READ MORE

Berkeley, CA – A new study suggests fresh ground water is less abundant in several key U.S. basins than previously thought, and drilling deeper wells to access fresh ground water resources is not feasible extensively across the continent. Physics World reports. | READ MORE

The International Association of Hydrogeologists has added an education section to its website aimed at two audiences: the general public, and students and professionals.

Waterloo, Ont. – Costly water losses in municipal water systems could be significantly reduced using sensors and new artificial intelligence (AI) technology, suggests new research from the University of Waterloo.

University Park, PA – Chemical clues in waters near Marcellus Shale gas wells in rural Pennsylvania can identify new drilling-related sources of methane contamination, according to scientists at Penn State University.

Assiniboine River, Man. – A new computer simulation tool being used to conduct a computer modelling project on Manitoba’s Assiniboine River Basin shows how healthier soils can reduce runoff on the landscape caused by flooding. Alberta Farmer reports. | READ MORE

The Monitor high-efficiency pitless spool is new from Bakers Hughes Water Systems. Each design integrates the manufacturer’s patented Monitor Flow Divider (U.S. Patent No. 8.960.275).

Yonkers, NY – Consumers Report experts weigh in on the pros and cons of tankless water heaters and storage tank water heaters, based on test results and payback time. | READ MORE

Heron Instruments has launched the dipperLog SMART, an independent, wireless, real-time data transfer system that allows for collating, viewing and recording remote data from water wells on any computer, tablet or smartphone from anywhere.

Every region of Canada has unique geographic features that set them apart from the rest.  However, while that description also applies to our newest province – Newfoundland – when you are there, there is also a vaguely perceptible “other world” sense about the place. 

Drilltracker was demonstrating what its business management software could do for drilling companies at Groundwater Week. The Australia-based developer has designed a program to help drilling businesses give their clients high-quality reports quickly, easily and directly from the drilling site.

Flomatic Corporation introduces their new Model 508S6 Ball Check Valve; a simple, yet reliable 316 stainless steel check valve.

Flexcon Industries had its CIPHEx award-winning Argosy pressurized composite buffer tank suitable for both geothermal and hydronic systems.

TDH Manufacturing’s pump hoists got some attention at Groundwater Week. The company, of Fort Worth, Texas, had several of its pump hoists on display at the annual trade show in Las Vegas.

Canature WaterGroup announces the Aqua Flo High-Efficiency Reverse Osmosis (H.E.R.O.) system.

The Model 101D Water Level DrawDown Meter from Solinst Canada Ltd. indicates static water level, monitors falling hydraulic head and switches easily between water level and drawdown modes.

Small-diameter SlimJim Electric Pump Systems, manufactured by manufactured by Q.E.D. Environmental Systems Inc., provide flows up to 30 gallons per minute in smaller risers without a control panel.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business recently hosted a free webinar on how small businesses can pay bills and get paid more efficiently. The emphasis was on how Interac e-Transfers work and their benefits for businesses.

If you’re one of the people experiencing extreme cold this week and you have to venture outside, the National Ground Water Association has shared a handy chart with tips for protecting yourself from the cold.

It’s hard not to feel good about the future of the ground water industry after talking with 10 young people who work hard and love what they do.

Westerville, OH – The U.S. National Ground Water Association is inviting contractors, scientists and engineers, manufacturers and suppliers to share their expertise with other professionals at Groundwater Week 2019, to take place Dec. 3-5, 2019, in Las Vegas. 

Our fall edition showcased 10 fine young ground water professionals. Unfortunately finding great employees like those we featured seems harder and harder to do. It’s still the No. 1 challenge and threat to the water well industry.

Groundwater Week welcomed more than 5,000 attendees and 286 exhibitors to Las Vegas for a unique opportunity to learn about their own and other facets of the industry, scope out new products and compare notes with their peers.

Las Vegas, NV – The National Ground Water Association has created this slideshow of highlights from Groundwater Week 2018. Get a glimpse of the speakers, award winners and the trade show floor.

Charlottetown – Prince Edward Island's environment minister says the province will soon get their first look at some of the regulations to go with the province's Water Act. First to be dealt with will be regulations for well construction and municipal water systems, followed by regulations for high-capacity wells. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

It’s hard not to feel good about the future of the ground water industry after talking with 10 young people who work hard and love what they do.

My visit to Hub Well Drilling Ltd. on a rainy September morning near Truro, N.S., begins with a tour around the business office, shop and storeroom, and a lively chat with owner and operator Brian Johnson.

It’s hard not to feel good about the future of the ground water industry after talking with 10 young people who work hard and love what they do.