Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/498253
CPI Certification Gives Water Well Contractors Leading Edge The National Ground Water Association Well Construction and Pump Installation Certification Program, which started in 1970, is the only national certification program for contractors and pump installers in the groundwater industry. Through this program, you may earn the Certified Well Driller (CWD) and/or the Certified Pump Installer (CPI) designation. "The certification process lets the customer know that choosing a licensed and certified groundwater professional is in their best interest and will assure them that the man or woman on the job understands their project and is up to the task at hand," says Todd Hunter, CWD/PI, owner of Ground Water Pump Systems in Boulder, Colorado, and a member of NGWA's Board of Directors. Governed by groundwater contractors who understand the daily activities in the field, the program is designed to demon- strate pride in the job and promote professionalism in the groundwater industry. It is recognized as the leading program in the industry by numerous state agencies, which have adopted the tests for their own programs. To learn more, visit www.NGWA.org. Under the "Profes- sional Resources" tab, click on "Certifications and exams." NGWA Provides Resources to Help with Pump Installations Go to NGWA's Online Bookstore to get resources that will help with your pump installations. The NGWA Pump Installation Cost Calculator (catalog #X964) enables you to plug in costs to all the categories that contribute to your overall cost of pump installations to help you see what is needed to achieve the profits you want for your company. The NGWA Pump System Sizer (catalog #X967) is a digital tool that helps you determine the size of the various components of a typical water pump system. Both products are designed as easy-to-use Excel work- books and are free to members of NGWA. Nonmembers can purchase the products in NGWA's Online Bookstore at www.NGWA.org. NGWA Adds 239 Members in February NGWA began the year by adding 239 new members in January. The total consisted of 89 scientists and engineers, 84 contractors, 60 students, 4 manufacturers, 1 supplier, and 1 associate. A total of 1135 members renewed their membership as well. To learn more about NGWA and how to become a member, visit www.NGWA.org/Membership. NGWA Certification Tests Administered in February A total of 46 NGWA certification tests were given in February. There were 31 tests administered for state licensing (18 received passing scores) and 15 tests were proctored for NGWA's Voluntary Certification Program (five passing). For the first two months of the year, there were 107 exams given: 72 for state licensing (42 passing) and 35 were given for NGWA certification (16 passing). If you have questions about the NGWA certification pro- grams, contact Jessica Rhoads, NGWA certification coordina- tor, at jrhoads@ngwa.org, or call (800) 551-7379, ext. 511. If outside the United States, call (614) 898-7791, ext. 511. National Groundwater Awareness Week Makes a Splash The numbers are still rolling in, but indications are National Ground- water Awareness Week, March 8-14, hit the heights in 2015. One of many positive indicators was from the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS Groundwater Awareness Week web content (http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/ngwaw/2015.html) received more than 1000 page views that weekânearly 50% more than in 2014. It was one of the USGS Office of Groundwater's top five pages and landing pages for the week. The site's Ground- water Watch got more than 300 page views through the Groundwater Awareness Week content. "It seems that National Groundwater Awareness Week was a success getting some additional traffic to our webpages," said Rodney A. Sheets, acting assistant chief, USGS Office of Groundwater. A number of groundwater industry firms embraced Groundwater Awareness Week to promote groundwater and water well stewardship. For instance, Layne Christensen Co. conducted an excellent Twitter campaign involving a series of quotes and photos from company personnel, including their President and CEO Michael Caliel. Circle of Blue, a premier journalistic website covering world water issues, gave high profile to Groundwater Aware- ness Week as a means of drawing attention to "21 Stories on the World's Most Abundant Source of Liquid Freshwater." Scores of nonprofit organizations also trumpeted ground- water awareness messages throughout the nation, including the Iowa Environmental Health Association which ran a full webpage of content borrowed from NGWA's WellOwner.org. Mark your calendars for NGWA's next big event: Protect Your Groundwater Day on September 8. To learn more, visit www.NGWA.org and click on Protect Your Groundwater Day under the "Events/Education" tab. The LOG NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL GROUND WATER ASSOCIATION 16 May 2015 WWJ waterwelljournal.com