YOU ARE INVITED TO THE 37TH ANNUAL
B.C. GROUND WATER ASSOCIATION
TRADE SHOW AND CONVENTION

Coast Hotel and Convention Center
Langley, BC
Wednesday March 28th to Saturday, March 31st, 2007.
click here for location info

Seminars and Workshops * Manufacturer and Supplier Info * Spousal Program

The B. C Ground Water Association is pleased to welcome the current McEllhiney Lecturer, Edd Schofield

This convention is the most important annual event for all people working in the drilling and ground water related fields, as well as for groundwater system owners, users and designers.  We will once more be providing information and answers on the newly implemented regulations, and insights on regulations yet to come.  There will be three workshops this year on the Tuesday and Wednesday, before the start of the seminars and trade show on Thursday and Friday.

Click below for the Draft 2007 Convention Schedule.
Proposed 2007 Convention Schedule Adobe PDF
Proposed 2007 Convention Schedule MS Excel

Workshops

(click HERE for more information on all available Workshops)

The first Work Shop will be for Level 1 & 2 Pump Installers in preparation for challenging the Canadian Ground Water exam as a prerequisite for Provincial Registration as a Qualified Well Pump Installer.  Dave Mellis and Pump Systems Inc. (PSI) will host this workshop on the Tuesday and Wednesday.  An opportunity to sit the Canadian exams will be provided at the Convention.  If you wish to participate in this workshop and/or write the exams please contact the BCGWA office early, as pre-registration is required.
Click here for information on the DRILLERS TRAINING WORKSHOP

Two additional workshops will be offered on Wednesday the 28th.  The first will be a Confined Space Entry training course hosted by Arbor Safety Consulting.  This training is a Worksafe BC requirement for all people who work in confined spaces.  These include some well pits, sumps, pump houses, and tanks.  Safety and liability are both dependent on proper worker training.
Click here for information on the CONFINED SPACE ENTRY WORKSHOP

The second workshop, also on the Wednesday, will focus on driller and field technician training in regards to proper/standard soil and rock identification, yield testing, well record documentation and correct use of handheld GPS equipment for site locating.  This workshop sponsored by the BCGWA, the MoE, Agriculture Canada and Johnson Screens is designed to bring a higher level of professionalism and consistency to drilling records, well testing and soils identification throughout the province.
Click here for information on the DRILLERS TRAINING WORKSHOP

Convention and Trade Show

The convention will start on Wednesday evening after the workshops with a meet and greet and registration.  We are very pleased (and proud) to announce that Edd Schofield, 2007 McEllhiney Distinguished Lecturer, has accepted our invitation to be our keynote speaker.  He will lecture on the topic “Water and Oil – They Really Should Mix”.  This will be the only stop in Canada of the McEllhiney Distinguished Lecture series.

Information sessions will start on Thursday morning, with the Trade Show open in the afternoon.  Complimentary drinks, a light dinner and entertainment by the Higgins Family, will be provided in the Trade Show area where we are expecting 24 booths.

Friday will start off with the trade show open, and a continental breakfast provided.  Trade show will remain open until noon, followed by educational seminars in the afternoon, and an evening banquet in the Summit Theatre followed by a live and interactive entertaining game of “Name That Tune”.

The Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday morning from 9:30 AM to 12:00 noon.  A members Motion form was mailed out with your December Newsletter.  If you have a valid issue that should be addressed at the AGM please fax or mail it to the office.

Spousal Program

Thursday, 1:30 – 4:00 - Tour a family owned greenhouse.   Otto and Helene Damgaard of Klahanie Greenhouses have very kindly agreed to take us on a tour through their beautifully scented and unique gardens where they grow gardenias, hibiscus and orchids. 

This will be followed by tea/coffee and dessert at Clancy’s Tea Cosy in White Rock.  A drive down the White Rock “strip” on the way back to the Hotel will show how distinctive this area is.

Friday, 1:30 – 4:30 - Learn the art of stained glass.  Just a short walk from the Hotel is the Fraser Valley Art Glass shop where you will learn the technique of assembling a stained glass project.  You will be able to make your own piece and take it home with you.

Please make your Hotel Reservations directly with the Cascades Casino-Coast Hotel and Convention Center, Langley City at 20392 Fraser Hwy, Langley BC, V3A 7N2.  Ph. 604-530-1500 for reservations.  A block of rooms is being held for the BCGWA at the rate of $99.

Just down the street is the Days Inn, which has rooms for the BCGWA Convention at $75 per night including breakfast.  For reservations call 604-539-0100 or toll free 1-800-329-7466.

Please complete your registration form and send it in today.  Then join us for an event that will inform, educate, and entertain you.  Don’t let progress pass you by.

See you in March.

David Slade
President
B.C. Ground Water Association.

*****************

Information for Manufacturers and Suppliers:

We are pleased to announce that the B. C. Ground Water Association will be holding their 2007 Convention at the Cascades Casino-Coast Hotel & Convention Centre, 20392 Fraser Highway, Langley City from March 28th – 31st, 2007.  The BCGWA now represents the Groundwater, the Geotechnical and Environmental and the Geo-Exchange drilling industries.

Click image for a 2007 Convention Booth Map

There will be a Manufacturers and Suppliers Trade Show for this convention.  We have reserved the ballroom for display booths, which will allow for 24 booths.  These booths will be available on a first come first serve basis at a cost of  $705.00 plus GST and will include 1 full registration.  The price includes:

1. 1 – 8’ x 10’ pipe and drape booth space
2. 1 – 6’ x 2’ skirted table
3. 2 fabric chairs
4. 1 – 750 watt electrical outlet
5. registration fee for one person to the convention (does not include the Pump Installers course, Drillers workshop on Wednesday or the Friday Banquet & Entertainment)

Thursday evening in the trade show area will be a fun evening with a wine/beer reception, light dinner and entertainment.  The Trade Show hours are as follows:

- Thursday, March 29th              7:00 am to 12:00 pm                   Move in/set up
- Thursday, March 29th              1:00 pm to   5:00 pm                  Trade Show opens
- Thursday, March 29th              6:00 pm to 10:00 pm                   Trade Show re-opens
- Friday, March 30th                   8:00 am to   9:00 am                  Continental breakfast
- Friday, March 30th                   9:00 am to 12:00 pm                   Trade show open
- Friday, March 30th                   1:00 pm to   5:00 pm                  Tear down/Move out

Click below for the Draft 2007 Convention Schedule.

Proposed 2007 Convention Schedule Adobe PDF
Proposed 2007 Convention Schedule MS Excel

Key Note Speaker

Edd Schofield of Johnson Screens is the 2007 McEllhiney lecturer.

Schofield has more than 25 years of experience in water well, oil and gas drilling, and well completion designs.  He began his career as a summer-hire with Getty Oil while still attending college.  Upon his graduation from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in 1979, he was recruited by BJ Hughes, an oilfield service company, as a regional sales engineer.  Schofield joined Johnson Screens in 1988 as the district sales and marketing manager for the Southwest United States.

“Water and Oil – They Really Should Mix” is the title of Schofield’s lecture.  This presentation employs a historical overview of the water well/oil drilling industries.  Just as the oilfield industry that began in 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, depended upon the history and technology of the water well industry for the majority of its technology, it is now time for the water well industry to adopt and benefit from various new techniques and practices developed and refined by the oil and gas industry.  Lecture topics include, but are not limited to:

• The challenges of environmentally demanding drilling site locations
• The drilling rigs of today-and tomorrow
• Drilling fluids vs mud
• Well completion casings, material selection, and connections
• Alternative well screen designs and completion of techniques
• Cements and grouts
• Filter pack selection and placement technologies
• Well development practices and procedures
• Coil tubing rigs and well redevelopment

Understanding the innovations and advances from both industries helps address and meet the demands to survive and thrive economically on the leading edge in the ever-changing and complex ground water industry.

For more information on the McEllhiney Lecture Series, click on the National Ground Water Association web site at: http://www/ngwa.org/ngwef/mcellhiney.cfm