It’s National Groundwater Awareness Week – Borehole construction and the effect on groundwater
This week is the US National Groundwater Awareness Week but we are promoting it here in the UK this week to and will be informing our customers and suppliers when they call and e-mail us.
Today on our news section, and in the last of our items associated to National Groundwater Awareness Week, we are considering the importance of a properly constructed boreholes and the effects on groundwater
When we drill a borehole to tap in to groundwater resources we give a lot of consideration to the likely availability of groundwater and the likely chemical characteristics of the water via our borehole prognosis. However, we also give a lot of consideration to how to properly construct the borehole and the associated infrastructure and the likely effect that that work will have on the groundwater. When drilling a borehole we recognise that the drilling works themselves will have an impact on the groundwater.
Initially as drilling progresses toward the groundwater table the groundwater will be suppressed as a result of the downward pressure being exereted by the drilling. Once a water strike has occurred and the water table has been intercepted we have exposed a controlled water and it is therefore important that all works from this point forward protect the water both for the sake of the proposed use, such as drinking water, but also to protect the environment. Any additives used need to be suitable and not potentially damaging. Sealants and materials used to construct the borehole have to be used appropriately to ensure that they do not contaminate the groundwater.
Post construction the borehole needs to have been constructed such that no contamintion can migrate down to the water table as the borehole forms a direct pathway to the groundwater.
If you’d like to find out more about groundwater awareness week you can visit the US National Groundwater Association page here and contact us to see how you can benefit from groundwater and find out more about how we go about our borehole drilling.