Water Well Journal

July 2016

Water Well Journal

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1982 Begins the first Spanish edition of WWJ. 1974 First discussion about changing the name to NGWA is raised with a column in WWJ. 1974 Entire EPA report on "Ground Water Pollution from Subsurface Excavations" begins publishing over span of 12 issues. 1974 WWJ begins using masthead that features drill stem image in word "Well." This remains until 2001. 1975 Editor-in-chief Jay Lehr on Today Show talks about controversy of Mississippi River water causing cancer to New Orleans residents. 1975 December issue first to include Index of Articles from entire year, aiding readers who keep issues as educational tools. 1977 WWJ has a heat pump installed in a house in central Ohio and monitors its use. Article in April issue on heat pumps generates major interest. 1979 Kevin McCray hired as assistant editor with WWJ. In 1995, he becomes NGWA's executive director. 1980 A survey finding 100% of contractors upset with federal regulations is published. 1981 WWJ introduces Ground Water Monitoring & Review. Now, Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation, the publication remains today. Breaking News WWJ has always tried to educate its readers on the latest technologies and industry happenings impacting groundwater professionals. And as the midway point of the 1950s hit, so did WWJ articles on submersible pumps. Articles began appearing regularly on all aspects of sub- mersibles—installation, selling, and handling (after all, stated one article: "they're more fragile than other pumps"). A series of articles on submersibles was published in 1955 and the NWWA convention that year marked the first event where submersible pumps outnumbered any other type of exhibit. The buzzwords at the end of the 1970s had shifted to "groundwater heat pumps." In fact, in 1977, WWJ had a heat pump installed in a house in central Ohio and monitored its use. An article in the April issue promoting heat pumps as an energy source generated an amazing amount of interest around the country. Thousands of requests poured into WWJ 's office for copies of the issue. WWJ was there for its readers as the shift to protect the resource grew in the 1970s as well. In 1974 and 1975, it pub- lished an entire U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report in 12 installments on groundwater pollution resulting from subsurface excavations. The WWJ staff in the 1980s tried to show where the indus- try—and the world for that matter—was heading. McCray authored two articles in 1983 about computer technology. The title of the April article was "Someday is Today." By 1988, the journal was publishing a bi-monthly column titled "Bits & Bytes," which featured author Bob Williams answering computer-related questions from readers. A query to Williams in 1988 was, "Does the technology exist to print pages in color?" Constant pressure was the hot topic as the 1990s were coming to a close. State-of-the-art pumps providing "city- like" water pressure on variable demand began being offered by most major pump manufacturers. Feature articles, columns, and advertisements on constant-pressure products began appearing throughout the pages of WWJ. They certainly still do today. "I recall being challenged by a state legislator as to how nothing changes in the water well industry, so why should the regulation under consideration be changed," McCray says. "I responded we had been producing a monthly trade journal for more than 60 years and there was something new in every issue. He said that was good enough for him, and he sup- ported the change being sought by the industry in that state." While the World Watched Some of the most memorable articles for both readers and authors have been the ones not necessarily on technologies, but on the people of the groundwater industry. The December 2010 WWJ told the amazing story of 33 Chilean miners who were rescued after being trapped 70 days 2000 feet below ground. "Lending a Hand" was authored by current Senior Editor Mike Price and featured details of the rescue which featured several groundwater professionals lending their expertise to the life-saving mission. Price was honored one year later with an APEX Award of Excellence for his work. Eight years earlier, WWJ took readers behind the scenes of another life-saving effort with "To the Rescue!" in its Septem- ber 2002 issue. Jill Ross, WWJ 's editor from 1996-2004, provided day and time details of groundwater professionals aiding the rescue of nine coal miners who were trapped 250 feet below ground in Somerset, Pennsylvania. Some of WWJ 's staff talks with Editor Jay Lehr (far right). waterwelljournal.com 30 July 2016 WWJ 70 YEARS continued from page 29

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