Water Well Journal

July 2016

Water Well Journal

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I also needed to see if the well location required a dry site to get equipment in and out. If it did, I made sure the home- owner knew good weather would be required to get the equip- ment in and out, or a road or drive built by the homeowner to facilitate this. Talking with the Well Owner Good communication with the landowner was key. I often insisted I speak to the homeowner to ensure they understood the necessity of what I needed to do and why—so there were no surprises. I took a three-ring binder with site pictures to show the new homeowner as many had no idea of the size of the drill or equipment that was going to show up on site. This made it much easier to have them understand what I needed and why. I also suggested some little things often overlooked by contractors unless someone pointed them out. These included: • Putting a piece of 3- or 4-inch PVC under the footing in the location where the water line would come into the home. This facilitated getting the water line into the home without either having to dig under the footing later or drilling a hole through a basement wall later (which oftentimes is hard to get sealed properly). • If the property was going to have other outbuildings where water was needed, I suggested putting a valve manifold in their utility room that would allow them to control the water from their utility room in lieu of "teeing" into the line outside without a valve or having to use a curb stop. If this was the case, I would then recommend a second 3- or 4-inch PVC be placed under the footing to facilitate placement of this line. I also explained to the customer if the water needed to be shut off to the outbuilding for whatever reason, it would still allow water in the home without having to shut down the whole system. Also, in Iowa where the winters can be harsh and deep in snow, going outside to shut off a curb stop is not a pleasant thing. Being able to go into the utility room and simply turn a valve is much more enjoyable! • I also recommended a drain be put near the pressure tank (if the system was to be a conventional system) as the tank often sweated in the sum- mertime and water would need to be flushed from the system. I recom- mended a stand pipe drain be placed in the vicinity of the pressure tank to facilitate a softener backwash drain. I can't begin to tell you how many homes were built where both of these were missing. It created a mess for the homeowner later on (water trick- ling across the floor from a sweating pressure tank) and extra expense to get a drain line to the water softener. Suggesting many of these little things left the homeowner with the impression I really cared about their project and wanted to ensure they had a home that minimized problems later. I often spent more time discussing these issues than I did the well or how we were going to construct the well. Siting a well can give you a lot of satisfaction that you are really helping the landowner to have their home be functional while eliminating headaches for them later on. Take time with your customers. They can be your best advertising for you and they are paying you for your expertise. WWJ Gary Shawver, MGWC, is president of Shawver Well Co. Inc., an employee stock ownership plan company in Fredericksburg, Iowa. He has been in the water well industry for 40 years and is a Master Groundwater Contractor. He has served as president of the Iowa Water Well Association, the Iowa Groundwater Association, and most recently served on the NGWA Board of Directors. Shawver is semi-retired, having recently sold his business to his employees. He contributes to NGWA's member e-publication and can be reached at grs@shawverwell.com. DACUM Codes To help meet your professional needs, this article covers skills and competencies found in DACUM charts for drillers and pump installers. DO refers to the drilling chart. The letter and number immediately following is the skill on the chart covered by the article. This article covers: DOA-1, 2, 3, 4, 5; DOB-1, 2 More information on DACUM and the charts are available at www.NGWA.org. Become a Certified Well Driller Author Gary Shawver, MGWC, is a Master Groundwater Contractor. Find out more about certification at www.ngwa.org/ Professional-Resources/certification-exams/pages/default.aspx. WWJ July 2016 39 Twitter @WaterWellJournl

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