Toronto – Settling basins in the historic R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant in Toronto are currently undergoing a multi-year, $22-million rehabilitation project – the first upgrade some have seen in more than 50 years. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Ancaster, Ont. – Arsenic levels in water at an iconic spring near Ancaster, Ont., are what they have always been but a new standard may cause the local conservation authority to shut it down. The Hamilton Spectator reports. | READ MORE

Chester, N.S. – Wells are running dry in the village of Chester, N.S., again this summer and some residents believe it's time for a municipal water system. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

San Joaquin Valley, CA – Residents of towns in California's San Joaquin Valley are struggling with contaminated drinking water from community water systems and private wells. Water Deeply reports. | READ MORE

Stoney Creek, Ont. – A family in Stoney Creek, Ont., is appealing to the City of Hamilton to help with high sulphur and iron in their private water well since the City's roadwork required them to shift their supply from a shallow well in their driveway to a 30-metre well in their backyard. The Hamilton Spectator reports. | READ MORE

Cook County, IL – A project to build 109 miles of deep tunnel and a 10-billion-gallon reservoir in Illinois is aimed at helping rainwater find its way into a treatment plant without first detouring through basements – a phenomenon caused by climate change and a rise in the amount of paved ground. The Chicago Sun-Times reports. | READ MORE

Alberta and Northwest Territories – The United Nations World Heritage Committee is calling on Canada to implement an action plan to address environmental and water quality concerns at Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Manhattan, KS – In the world of heavy metal poisoning, arsenic may have found a sidekick – and it's one that needs more research to understand its influence on human health, say Kansas State University researchers. Phys.org reports. | READ MORE

Calgary – Ground water has been seeping into the basin of a Calgary neighbourhood's outdoor pool, causing construction delays. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Kincardine, Ont. – Ontario’s electricity distributor has moved another step closer to storing low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste in a deep geologic repository near the giant Bruce Power plant in Southwestern Ontario. The London Free Press reports. | READ MORE

Washington, DC – A new, comprehensive analysis suggests septic systems in the United States routinely discharge pharmaceuticals, consumer product chemicals, and other potentially hazardous chemicals into the environment. Phys.org reports. | READ MORE

Alberta – There have been more than 1,000 hydraulic fracturing operations in Alberta since January. But finding out what's happening in any region of the province, and assessing its potential impact on ground water, is next to impossible. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Alberta – After years of being a magnet for job seekers, Canada’s oilpatch is turning into a bit of a no-go place — and that’s making a recovery harder. The Calgary Herald reports. | READ MORE

Princeton, NJ – A new report breaks down the international water well drilling rig market by size, share, trends, industry growth, application, and other characteristics through 2022.

Midland, TX – In the last year alone, Big Oil has spent more than $25 billion US on deals in the Permian basin, an area of West Texas and New Mexico. The land grab has put these oilfields back at the centre of the petroleum universe, a spot that not long ago was occupied by Canada's oilsands. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

This issue we’re showcasing a few items to give you an idea of what’s available in technology and capacity to suit your needs. All information has been supplied by the manufacturers and compiled by Ground Water Canada into an easy-to-read reference guide.

Denver, CO – The average Canadian rig count for December 2016 was 209, up 36 from the 173 counted in November 2016, and up 49 from the 160 counted in December 2015, according to the latest report from Baker Hughes Incorporated.

San Francisco, CA – GE said it was working with Maersk Drilling on a pilot program that uses advanced algorithms and sensor data to potentially increase productivity as well as cut maintenance costs of marine drilling. UPI reports. | READ MORE

Canada – Drilling activity should increase slightly next year but will fall well short of pre-recession levels in 2014, suggests a new forecast for the oil and gas industry. The Calgary Herald reports. | READ MORE

Canada – Drilling activity should increase slightly next year but will fall well short of pre-recession levels in 2014, suggests a new forecast for the oil and gas industry. The Calgary Herald reports. | READ MORE

Christiansburg, VA — Well drillers put historic machines on display and practices under the microscope as part of the Virginia Water Well Association’s annual Fall Field Day. The Roanoke Times reports. | READ MORE

Sudbury, Ont. – Boart Longyear will set up a surface and underground diamond drilling technology development office in Sudbury, Ont.

Rainham Centre, Ont. – The Canadian Drilling Rig Museum celebrated its 20th anniversary with a weekend-long open house that not even heavy rain on Saturday could dampen.

Mountain View, CA – Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. is venturing into the residential geothermal heating and cooling market with a "slender" drilling technique. Tech Times reports. | READ MORE

Vancouver – BC Ministry of Environment government staff overseeing environmental and natural resource sectors will provide regular updates to GeoExchange BC members, and to the geoexchange industry at large, related to legislation and policy development and program activities that may affect the geoexchange industry.

Gibsons, B.C. – Gibsons, B.C., council has decided to exclude Park-land Phase 3 from the requirement to connect to the Town-owned geothermal system, the Gibsons and District Energy Utility, writes Sean Eckford for the Coast Reporter. | READ MORE

Edmonton – Thousands of unemployed energy workers are looking to the federal budget hoping their jobs can be brought back to life, when and if abandoned oil wells are used again. News 880AM reports. | READ MORE

Hamilton, Ont. – New Horizon Development Group is starting construction on the third phase of its City Square condo project in downtown Hamilton, Ont. It is the 10th structure the company has built in the Hamilton-Burlington area to use geothermal energy rather than natural gas. The Hamilton Spectator reports. | READ MORE

Sussex, N.B. – PotashCorp's original mine at Penobsquis has been capped and allowed to slowly to fill with water, and according to the town's economic development co-ordinator, that water could play an unexpected role in the town's energy future. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Gibsons, B.C. – More than two-dozen Parkland, B.C., residents packed Gibsons Town Hall Feb. 15 hoping for answers about the problems that plagued the geothermal heating system during one of the coldest stretches of the year, says The Coast Reporter. | READ MORE

Reno, NV – A small-scale geothermal district heating system in Reno, Nevada – the largest in the state – is likely to be shut down due to expensive investments required to update the system. ThinkGeoEnergy reports. | READ MORE

Mississauga, Ont. – The Ontario Geothermal Association will focus on low carbon emission heating in a warming climate and tackle such questions as "Why are we not using more geothermal in Ontario?" at a conference.

Ottawa – National Resources Canada has created an interactive map to promote learning about Canada’s clean-energy resources and projects.

Toronto – A new video has been created by the CSA Group on the standard for the design and installation of ground source heat pump systems for use in the United States and Canada.

Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy and its Geothermal Technology Office have shared details about new drilling technology funded under its programs that could help equipment withstanding higher temperatures in geothermal projects. Think GeoEnergy reports. | READ MORE

Oxford, U.K. – Smart systems, big-data technologies and decentralized solutions for water treatment are expected to grow in the next five years as aging infrastructure, leakage management and intelligent sewer networks rise up the utility agenda.

Five free webinars to help household water well owners with issues including drought, turbid water, and well disinfection are being offered July through early September by the National Ground Water Association. The Globe reports. | READ MORE

Forest, WI – An artesian well, set back just a few feet from the road in the town of Forest in Wisconsin's Fond du Lac County offers a continuous flow of water from a stainless steel spigot. The Fond du Lac Reporter details the history of the artesian well. | READ MORE

Canada’s Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water recently released a report on lead in drinking water with an eye to updating the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. Comments were taken from the public until March 15.

Kitchener, Ont. – The Waterloo Wellington Children's Groundwater Festival welcomed more than 1,000 students on May 31, the last day of the annual event at Doon Heritage Village in Kitchener, Ont.

Australia – A newly developed mobile application can come to the aid of experts looking to source data on ground water level and create awareness about the issue among farmers. Money Control reports. | READ MORE

California – Stanford Earth’s Rosemary Knight recently spearheaded a project to map underground freshwater resources and forecast the intrusion of saltwater into aquifers beneath the California coastal town of Marina.

Los Angeles – A new study by researchers from UCLA and the University of Houston reveals significant ground water loss in California’s Central Valley during the recent drought and sparks questions of sustainability for the important agricultural area. UCLA reports. | READ MORE

Whereas oil, gas, uranium, and other metal and mineral reservoirs (including diamonds!) are understood in this country, ground water reservoirs are still not fully understood.

United States – A new web-based service offered in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Texas and now California aims to make finding information on water rights  easier for individuals and institutions alike. Water Deeply reports. | READ MORE

Manchester, U.K. – A team from the University of Manchester have demonstrated the real-world potential of creating adequate clean water sources using graphene-oxide for new filtration technologies. RandD Magazine reports. | READ MORE

Peace River, B.C. – Geoscience BC is set to continue work this spring on its mapping of ground water resources throughout the Peace River valley. Information from these wells will be used to ground-proof results from previous aerial surveys. Alaska Highway News reports. | READ MORE

Franklin Electric wants to help water-well contractors and pump product dealers run their businesses smarter. The company’s Key Dealer Program provides a suite of services to help contractors distinguish themselves from their competition and elevate their business.

Rock Monster HD backreamers from Ditch Witch are desgined to help horizontal directional drilling operators improve drilling performance in hard-rock conditions.

Bay Shore Systems' TR40-30/50 features adjustable width and height, ease of transport, and drilling depths from 30 to 80 feet.  

At Groundwater Week in Las Vegas, Brian Curliss and Phil Chatlosh of Proheat in Richmond, B.C., described to us the company’s 45,000-BTU coolant heater, which may be used to preheat engines, heat vehicle interiors and prevent freezing of fluids.

Hoskin Scientific’s EXO3 Multiparameter Sonde combines the manoeuvrability of the EXO1 with the powerful antifouling wiper of the EXO2.

Heron Instruments has fine-tuned its water level meter to help users tackle every project and meet every budget.

Solinst Canada's new LTC Levelogger Edge is a compact, sealed instrument designed to provide reliable datalogging of water level, temperature and conductivity measurements.

Hoskin Scientific has a line of fully automated portable samplers for environmental, wastewater, surface water and industrial treatment markets.

Aquatic Life’s i::scan is a new miniature multi-parameter spectrophotometer probe suitable for both simple, cost-sensitive applications and more complex water grids in small, unmanned plants or buildings.

Heron Instruments H.0IL Interface Meter is designed to help you measure the interface level between two liquids in the same tank, vessel, well or aquifer.

Hoskin Scientific Ltd. has introduced a line of fully automated portable samplers for environmental, wastewater, surface water and industrial treatment markets.

The Evolution Pump Hoist from SkyQuip is a 5,000-capacity pump-pulling crane that is a smaller, lighter version of the company’s 8,000-capacity model.

Personalization can mean anything from remembering customers’ names to issuing timely email reminders. As customer service expert Shep Hyken writes, creating a great personalized experience for customers leads to the best kind of word-of-mouth marketing.

When was the last time you called your business? I recently spoke at a conference. After the speech, the client gave me a gift: the list of everyone in the audience with their contact information. She suggested I pick up the phone and let everyone know they should hire me to speak at their next meeting. (Now, that’s a nice gift!)

The Ontario Ground Water Association drew a good crowd for its annual convention and general meeting at the tranquil Nottawasaga Inn, Resort and Conference Centre in April.

Sonoma Valley, CA – The new order of ground water regulation is just starting to come into shape and will take several years to implement, with still-undefined costs, monitoring and limits that may fall primarily on rural well owners, including residents and farmers. The Sonoma Index-Tribune reports. | READ MORE

Westerville, OH – Terry Morse has been selected as the incoming chief executive officer of the National Ground Water Association. He is the successor to Kevin McCray, CAE, who, after 22 years as CEO and 35 years in the ground water industry, is retiring Dec. 31, 2017.

Ottawa – The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum will host a two-day workshop on apprenticeship technical training in Ottawa in October.

Your most effective and cost-efficient source of new business is referrals. However, many business owners feel it makes them appear needy, desperate, or imposing. Here are five ways to ask for referrals without making you – or your customer – feel uncomfortable.

What does it mean to be a customer-centric business?

Started by his father, Maurice, in 1964 under his own name, it quickly became M&M Drilling Rivers Ltd. (not to be confused with M&M Drilling of Alberta).

Las Vegas, NV – Water treatment as a diversification opportunity for water well system professionals was the topic of a workshop at 2016 Groundwater Week. Water Well Journal reports. | READ MORE

Alberta – After a lengthy downturn, many oilpatch workers have left Alberta to go back to their home provinces, while others have found new opportunities. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

California – With a June 30 deadline approaching, agencies, farmers and others in affected California groundwater basins are working to finalize the formation of locally controlled ground water sustainability agencies, which are required under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Ag Alert reports. | READ MORE