This Newsletter is published quarterly, March, June, September and December by the B. C. Ground Water Association. For more information please contact: Secretary Treasurer, Joan Perry, 1708 - 197 A Street, Langley, B. C. V2Z 1K2 Phone or Fax: 604-530-8934

Archived Newsletters:

Click here for the BC Government Document: NEW STANDARDS TAKE EFFECT FOR PRIVATE WELL OWNERS

Click here to download the PDF file of an important update on Ground Water Protection Regulation (GWPR) from the BC Ministry of Environment. (updated Sept 17, 2007)

March 2009 Newsletter

President’s Address

If you were not at our conference in Penticton earlier this month, you missed an informative and entertaining few days. Joan Perry, as usual, expertly handled pretty much everything, while Gilles Wendling and Ineke Kalwij did a very good job with the technical presentations. The attendance by government, industry and water purveyors at our conference is always encouraging. I hope the M&S companies that participated in the trade show were happy with the attendance. I am confident that next year, being our 40th annual show, will be even better.

Finally, I wish to extend thanks to the executive and directors for their work throughout the past year. I am looking forward to another good year, especially with our new 5 person executive. We certainly started the year off right, with good attendance and spirited discussion on many issues at the AGM.

The two biggest issues right now for our organization are the hiring of a new Managing Director and collaborating with other provinces on the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA). TILMA is an inter-provincial agreement which allows for mobility of trades persons, including drillers and well pump installers, between provinces. On the surface, it appears that governments are looking for a common level of certification to make the mobility easier. We are working with the Alberta Water Well Drillers Association to prepare a joint submission to Alberta and BC government, in support of our argument to keep the certification requirements as high as possible. We will also be providing a position paper on this subject to Jim Fyfe to take to the CGWA, as there is a national agreement similar to TILMA in the works.

Regarding the new Managing Director, the executive will have made a choice by the time this first quarter newsletter is distributed to our membership. Our website will be updated almost immediately with the name and contact details for the new MD.

In closing, I hope that everyone is using their idle time during the current slow period productively. Things will pick up, hopefully sooner than later.

Remi Allard, President, BCGWA

Groundwater in Bolivia project update

Greetings to all my friends and colleagues in the BC groundwater community. I want to update you on research that I am currently involved in for my MSc in hydrogeology. The project was initiated by the Central American Water Resource Management Network (CARA). The CARA network, with links to the University of Calgary and University of Waterloo in Canada, has been working for the past decade to assist with the development of high calibre hydrogeology educational programs and applied groundwater research in Latin America, including in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and most recently in Bolivia. (For more information on CARA visit: http://www.caragua.org/.)

Bolivia is a country in north-western South America, about the same size as B.C., where at least 71% of the population (of approx. 9.2 million) are dependent on groundwater. For the past year, through the Water Management in Bolivia Program initiated by CARA, a group of 10 Bolivian students have been studying in the first Masters level program in hydrogeology in the country, based out of the University of San Francisco Xavier in Sucre.

This February I went to Bolivia to attend a workshop on groundwater contamination, visit my field site and meet the other project participants. Our study is to determine if there are impacts on groundwater quality from mining related activities in a small rural town in the Altiplano region of central Bolivia. The goals are to evaluate the typical groundwater quality in the area and to determine if there are contaminants originating from a refinery, tailings impoundment and waste dumping area that have been used for processing lead-zinc ore for the past 50 years. Even though mining is a major part of the Bolivian economy, up until now there have been very few studies of this type. Three Bolivian students from universities in Sucre and La Paz, and I are collaborating on different aspects of evaluation at this location.

To assist with the project I am scouting for donations of funds, equipment or discounts for purchasing materials to use in the project e.g. drive points, a portable peristaltic pump, auger, plastic tubing, etc. Many of the materials we hope to get in South America to save on shipping costs, but I also hope to send some things or bring equipment with me when I return in early May for the field season. If you are able to assist with any of the above, please contact me at: skenny@uwaterloo.ca for details.

All the best,

Sylvia Kenny, MSc Candidate, University of Waterloo
(Water Stewardship staff member presently on educational leave from the BC Ministry of Environment)

***

CanWell 2010 Provincial Support Survey

Urgent Reply Requested – Deadline – March 31, 2009

Reply to: BCGWA office at 604-530-8934 or secretary.bcgwa@shaw.ca

Are you planning on attending the 2010 CanWell in Manitoba as a:

1. Delegate (Individuals attending activities)

______Yes Number:_______

______Maybe

______No

2. Exhibitor (companies planning to display)

______Yes

______ Maybe

______ No

Please reply as soon as possible. Your assistance is appreciated for the committee planning your next CanWell.

***

Best Practices

We have had the B. C. Ground Water Protection Regulation Handbook updated to include the Best Practices for Water well Construction, Well pump installation and for drilling geotechnical wells.

If you would like to update your handbook, please contact the office and these extra inserts will be mailed to you. If you are a new member and have not received your copy of the handbook, again, please contact the office.

***

Andy Nelson passed away on December 22, 2008 at the age of 74 after a courageous battle with cancer. No longer in pain, Andy will be greatly missed by his family.

***

Water Concerns Rise; So Does Use

Most Canadians call water the country’s most valuable natural resource, yet they use it at “alarming rates” and they’re not cutting back, a study says.

Canadians currently use an average of 329 litres of water per person, per day - second only to the United States in the developed world, and more than twice as much as Europeans.

A study shows water-consumption rates climbed marginally from 2008. For example, the average Canadian shower was 30 seconds shorter last year than it has been so far in 2009, according to survey results.

In 2008, Canadians showers lasted, on average, 7.6 minutes, while they stood under the shower head for 8.1 minutes in 2009.

The 2009 Canadian Water Attitudes Study found that, although 84 per cent of respondents were concerned about the availability and quality of water in the long term, consumption actually rose last year. This occurred, despite the fact that 53 per cent of respondents ranked water as the country’s most valuable natural resource.

“We’re getting somewhere with respect to our changed consciousness, but where we’re not getting anywhere is, despite the fact that we value this stuff, we’re not doing anything about it,” said Bob Sandford, a water expert involved in the survey.

“We’re beginning to understand that our water resources are not unlimited. We’ve lived for generations with the myth of limitless water abundance and gradually, I think, that particular myth is being eroded.”

Sandford, who chairs the Canadian Partnership Initiative of the UN Water for Life Decade, thinks that myth comes from misconceptions Canadians have about water. While Canada holds 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water supply, it holds only 6.5 per cent of the world’s renewable fresh water, and much of it is in the North, far from big cities.

Randy Christensen, a spokesman for Ecojustice Canada, an environmental advocacy group, said the government needs to play a significant role in rectifying the situation. Public education, incentives for eco-friendly appliances, more rigorous industry regulations and fixing leaky city pipes are all ways the government can help.

“It is possible to use less water and not have it affect our quality of life,” Christensen said.

Christensen noted that, although Canada is making some strides, they are in areas where water use has already peaked, and a strain on the environment has already occurred. “The environment suffers first, before humans,” he said.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid from Feb 5 to 12, sampled 2,165 adults across Canada, and is considered accurate within 2.2 percentage points, 19 out of 20.

By Thomas Jolicoeur
The Vancouver Sun
March 18, 2009

Convention Highlights

It was sure great to see so many attendees at this years convention! Registration started off fairly slowly but we certainly had a “full house” by the end of the event. This has always been a last minute group! Thanks to Leesa Slade and Kelly Slade with your help at the registration desk.

We held five workshops this year. They were not all full but they were well attended. Thank you to all of the presenters.

We had four members writing the Ground Water Driller Technician CGWA exam and three people writing the Ground Water Pump Technician Class 1 and eighteen for the Ground Water Pump Technician Class 2. Thank you to Jim Fyfe for proctoring these exams and to Emilia Saarinen and Kristin Gustavsen from the Ministry of Environment for giving Jim a hand. Our members are very interested in becoming certified with the MOE.

Gilles Wendling of GW Solutions Inc., along with Ineke Kalwij, arranged an excellent technical program. The sessions ran parallel to each other again this year and there were many interesting topics being discussed in both rooms. There was something for everyone. Thank you Gilles and Ineke for all of your hard work coordinating these sessions.

The BCGWA was excited to receive a $50,000 cheque donated to the Association from Stephen Mullock of the BC Real Estate Foundation. This money is to be used for plotting the backlog of well logs.

Our banquet on Friday night was an excellent event. We had speaker and author Chris Wood. His book “Dry Spring: The Coming Water Crisis of North America” was nominated for the Shaughnessy-Cohen Prize for best political writing in Canada. The evening ended with Magician and Illusionist Murray Hatfield who kept us all in awe over where he had hidden his assistant.

The Trade show was kept very busy. There were 28 booths this year with 1 Drill Rig on display, which had been driven out from Calgary by Rick Finney of Foremost Industries.

Thank you to the Manufacturers and Suppliers for their continuing support of our Association. Please show support for these following Companies!

• Andrew Sheret Limited
• Atlas Manufacturing Ltd.
• Delta Irrigation Ltd.
• ECO Tech Laboratory Ltd.
• EMCO Corporation
• Filterco Water Treatment
• Foremost Industries Ltd.
• Forge Pacific LLC
• General Farm Supply Inc.
• Ingram Well & Pump
• Langley Welding & Machine Shop Ltd.
• Marwyn Sales and Supplies
• Ministry of Environment
• Multi-Power Products Ltd.
• Performance Industrial Products
• Pinnacle Drilling Products Inc.
• PSI Pump Systems Inc.
• RST Instruments Ltd.
• Sandvik Mining & Construction LLC
• Sego Industries Ltd.
• Sphere Drilling Supplies
• Talik Industrial Services
• Tundra Sales Inc.
• Van Isle Water Services Ltd.
• Variperm Canada Ltd.
• Westcoast Drilling Supplies
• Western Drilling Tools Inc.

We would also like to thank the following Companies for their donation to the Association to help with our convention costs.

• A & H Drilling Ltd.
• Andrew Sheret Limited
• Atlas Manufacturing Ltd.
• Cariboo Water Wells Ltd.
• Downrite Drilling Ltd.
• Foremost Industries LP
• General Farm Supply
• Grundfos Canada Inc.
• Impact Well Drilling
• Langley Welding & Machine Shop Ltd.
• Monument Machine Shop/Marwyn Sales
• Mud Bay Drilling Co. Ltd.
• Multi-Power Products Ltd.
• Performance Industrial Products
• Precision Service & Pumps Inc.
• Sego Industries Ltd.
• Sphere Drilling Supplies
• Westcoast Drilling Supplies
• Western Drilling Tools Inc.

Saturday, March 7 was our Annual General Meeting. A couple of changes to the Executive were:

• It was moved and seconded that the Past President be moved from a Director to the Executive
• The new rep for the Cariboo is now John Vlchek
• Professional & Technical Director is Dan Watterson

The full set of minutes has been included with the print issue of the Newsletter.

Job Opportunities

Earth Sciences Professional

Kala Groundwater Consulting Ltd. (Kala) a geosciences consulting firm serving the BC Interior for over 25 years requires the services of an intermediate to senior level earth sciences professional for our Kamloops, BC office.  

Kala provides consulting, hydrogeological and environmental services to a wide variety of BC Interior clients including municipal consultants, resorts, regional districts and First Nations. Kala offers outstanding opportunities for career advancement in a small office environment including advancement towards an equity position.

This position requires a combination of field and office work in a demanding consultative environment. The incumbent will be a registered professional engineer or geoscientist with a minimum of six years of experience.  It is anticipated that the successful individual will plan and supervise fieldwork, evaluate collected field and laboratory information, prepare reports and liaise with clients.  The following skills and experience are required:

• P.Eng/P.Geo APEGBC membership or equivalent from another provincial jurisdiction;
• Experience in groundwater, environmental and wastewater investigations;
• More than 6 years practical experience in geosciences; management experience desirable;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and make responsible decisions ;
• Performance of soils investigations;
• Data analysis, and;
• Preparation of professional reports.

For complete and confidential details regarding the duties and responsibilities of the position, Kala background and a remuneration package please submit your resume to info@kalagroundwater.com, or contact our office at 250-372-9194.
***

Well Driller wanted

Operator needed for new Dual Rotary Drills in Chilliwack, B. C.
5 years minimum experience operating air rotary drill.
Class 3 with air brakes license, clean driver’s abstract
Welding & equipment maintenance experience required.
Competitive wage and benefits.
Fax resume to 604-794-5545 or e.mail anhwells@shaw.ca

Membership Dues!

All of the changes and new members will be listed in our new membership booklet, which will be coming out next month.

The deadline to renew your membership is April 15th. Please make sure that all of your information is correct and is up to date.

Your listing will also be added to our web site at www.bcgwa.org.

Upcoming Events

Saskatchewan Membership Meeting
March 27-28, 2009
Holiday Inn Express, Saskatoon
Ph: 306-244-7551

Water Supply Association of B. C.
April 2-3. 2009
The Ramada Hotel, Kelowna
Contact Cheryl Halla
Ph: 250-809-8548
www.wsabc.com

Alberta Waterwell Drilling Association Annual Convention & Trade Show
April 2-4th, 2009
Capri Hotel, Red Deer, Alberta
Contact Carol Larson
Ph: 780-386-2335
E.mail: awwda@xplornet.com

Quebec Ground Water Association
April 26, 2009
Drumondville, Quebec

Day of Mourning – April 28th

Community Engagement and Watershed Planning in the Comox Valley
April 24-26, 2009
Hosted by Waterlution and the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance
Contact Susanne Porter-Bopp
Ph: 250-472-4487
E.mail: water@polisproject.org

GeoExchange Conference and Trade Show
May 11-15, 2009
University of British Columbia Okanagan campus in Kelowna

The conference includes:

- Workshops for Geoexchange Installers, Residential Designers, and Municipal Inspectors
- An Introduction to Geoexchange Workshop delivered by leaders in the industry Steven Kavanaugh and Kevin Rafferty
- Invited technical speakers who are experts in the fields of geoexhange, forced air systems and hydronics.
- Technical papers
- Trade Show
- Tours to Geoexchange sites
- Full Social calendar including conference dinner
www.geoexchange2009.com

Ontario Groundwater Association
May 21-23, 2009
Collingwood, Ontario
Ph: 519-245-7194

CanWell 2010
May 26-29, 2010
Winnipeg Manitoba

For Sale

1988 Ford F450 5 speed 2 wd commercial vehicle inspection c/w a 5T Smeal pump hoist with manual in good shape. Cable, hydraulics, running gear also in good shape, new tires and rear end. Used daily until Dec/08. Selling due to upgrade to a newer pump truck….... asking $25,000 obo call 250-562-8590 and ask for Don.

Surviving a Recession

Recession, the “R” word – it’s everywhere. You can’t surf through MSNBC, CNN or even the local news without hearing a reference to the mortgage crisis, rising energy prices or falling consumer confidence. But recession does not have to be a dirty word. With the right foresight, planning and action, many companies not only survive an economic downturn, they can benefit in the long run because of it.

Streamlining Costs

The first step in preventing an economic downturn from cutting into your profits is to conduct a stringent analysis and streamlining of your company’s cost structure. The administrative and operational infrastructure of all organizations tends to grow in good economic conditions, but rarely is that matched with swift reduction when business volume ebbs.

Understanding your company’s cost structure is essential for reducing or eliminating costs that don’t impact sales. Both client-facing and support staff are involved in indirect expenses on a day-to-day basis. They are an excellent resource for identifying wasteful practices. An organization-wide approach to removing no longer necessary direct expenses and reducing newly unnecessary indirect expenses is the best way to ensure success.

With their input, as well as your company’s current sales projections, you can reasonably determine your available operating funds. This is very important as you need to know how much you need to cut back before actually beginning the process. There may be more capital to work with than originally thought.

Given the current unfavourable business environment, instead of focusing on your annual objectives, you should determine your 3-month objectives and related staff accountabilities. These decisions should be discussed with your staff members to keep everyone informed.

After determining your available working capital, formulating your business strategy is critical. Of all the initiatives currently underway, which are most likely to bring money in the door the fastest? Also, which of your initiatives would be the easiest and most cost-efficient to complete? These programs should be given the highest priority. While politically easier to execute, irritants and projects with small dollar-savings drain resources and attention from improvements that might save big money.

Labour Optimization is Key

Unfortunately, during an economic downturn, some hard decisions need to be made. The most obvious way to reduce costs is a reduction in staffing. A determination needs to be made between those workers who add critical value and those who don’t. One could argue that an entire staff provides critical value. In this case, which members add the least? Are there areas where responsibilities clearly overlap? In this case, one person may need to fill the shoes of two in order to weather the economic storm. Those workers who add the most critical value and are not in the firing line should be informed of this decision to maintain morale levels.

Employee morale is crucial to ensuring that productivity remains strong and that the corporate environment remains upbeat. It is very important that you ensure worker participation by including them in communications so they know what is going on.

This is an ideal time for additional training. Cross-training workers boosts productivity and flexibility, as workers will possess the skills to cover for each other in the event of an illness, vacation or termination. This investment in extra training also streamlines the process flow and provides deserving workers with extra responsibilities.

Sales and Variable Costs

When projected sales decrease during a recessionary period, it is not the time to tie up working capital in the form of excess inventory. Management must identify costs that vary with production level and ensure that those costs are being reduced appropriately. During a down-turn, management should utilize a multi-faceted approach to maintain or even increase company margins. One of the top priorities should be to build consistency across the organization regarding production and labour polices. If variable costs do not decrease in direct proportion to production decreases, management is failing to do its job. Essential to addressing such inconsistencies, the entire operation must be aligned toward common goals using common metrics. Performance indicators should be reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate measures of your progress to your goals.

Profit-enhancing key performance indicators include:
• Ratio of overtime hours to total labour hours – As production slows, the amount of overtime also should decrease – preferably at a much faster rate, as reducing overtime should be a top priority.
• Maintenance labour hours worked per maintenance planned hour – Are your maintenance people stretching out projects or doing unnecessary work?
• Ratio of administrative costs to total labour – If your employee count has dropped, you need to ensure that your administrative costs are down-sized to match your new business structure. Do you really need the same number of support staff?
• Average span of control – Do you need as many supervisors as before if your direct labour headcount is down?

Managers and Supervisors

Improving management skills among first-level supervisors or managers gives them tools to improve margins. In an economic downturn, how these front-line managers perform their jobs is crucial, as they possess the ability to improve margins at the point of production. To their credit, many companies already recognize this, and are devoting greater resources to supervisor education. Unlike many types of training, the purpose of supervisor education is not just to transfer knowledge, but also to help instill a “culture of execution,” an environment in which plans are consistently converted to action. It is the focus on results that distinguishes this education from typical management training. The ultimate outcome sought after is not just a trained supervisor, but also rather an improved operation where the best-demonstrated production is achieved consistently, and the best-demonstrated performance is steadily improving.

In addition, management seriously should consider conducting an assessment of current company-wide processes and procedures. Are reporting procedures as fluent as required to support new, streamlined processes? Is company performance in line with industry benchmarks? It is essential to step out of the trenches and shift to a fact-based view where emotions are removed from the situation.

With a little planning, cost reduction and optimization of resources, virtually any company can survive the hardship of an economic downturn. In fact, while competitors dither, lean times are periods of opportunity. All it takes is a proactive approach, proper planning, and streamlined processes. Companies that properly adapt to current conditions will see an even brighter future when the economy shifts upward.

Hugh Pinkus
National Driller
December 2008

***

Women Drivers!!

This morning on the freeway I looked over to my right and there was a woman in a brand new BMW doing 120 kms, with her face up next to her rear view mirror putting on her eyeliner. I looked away for a couple of seconds, and when I looked back she was halfway over in my lane, still working on that makeup!

As a man, I don’t scare easily. But she cared me so much I dropped my electric shaver, which knocked the donut out of my other hand. In all the confusion of trying to straighten out the car using my knees against the steering wheel, it knocked my cellphone away from my ear which fell into the coffee between my legs, splashed and soaked my trousers burning my you know what, ruined the phone, and disconnected an important call.

Women drivers!!!!!

Quotable

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity and I’m not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

World’s Largest Hand-dug Well

In 1887, the city of Greensburg, Kansas, granted a franchise for a water works system, to cost approximately $45,000 – a huge sum of money in those days. The Sante Fe terminated its track at the west Kiowa County line and removed it eight years later. Construction of the well was a masterpiece of pioneer engineering. Hired on a day-to-day basis for 50 cents to a dollar a day, crews of 12 to15 farmers, cowboys and other local men dug the well. Some of the men lived on location in a camp of tents while working on the well. Other crews quarried and haled the native stone used for the casing of the well. This stone was hauled in wagons from the Medicine River, 12 miles south of Greensburg. Dirt from the well was hauled away by the same wagons, which had slatted beds. By opening the slats and duping the dirt in low spots, streets and roads to the quarry were leveled.

The well was dug, cribbed and cased. As the dirt was removed, it was cribbed with stone to prevent caving in. Every 8 feet, it was braced from wall to wall with 2-foot-by-12-foot planks. When the well was down to water, a ring (called a boot) was built, constructed of heavy oak bridge timbers. The timbers were mortised and dovetailed together in such a way that no nails were used.

When the well was completed in 1888, it was 109 feet deep and 32 feet in diameter. It served as the city’s water supply until 1932. The well was covered and opened as a tourist attraction in 1939. Since then, more than 3 million people have visited the “Big Well.” People have been tossing money and other items into the Big Well since its beginning. In 1990, the town hired divers to clean the bottom of the well. A silver onyx crucifix, shoes, coins and other items were found.

Visitors brave enough to walk the 105 steps to the bottom will be impressed with this century-old feat. The lights in the 15 feet of water enable one to see all the way to the bottom.

The Big Well viewing canopy was damaged in the tornado that struck Greensburg in the spring of 2007. Much of the town was destroyed. Efforts are underway to repair the canopy and develop a new museum that will include the Big Well’s history. The museum now has a small gift shop and visitor reception center where you can purchase souvenir items. This year, the Big Well was voted one of the eight wonders of Kansas.

National Driller
August 2008

Report from the Ministry of Environment

A big thank you must be given to Joan and the BCGWA for another fantastic convention. We always enjoy attending the annual convention as it is a great way to meet industry members. The Driller’s Training Workshop was one of the best yet, the talks were informative, and the food was delicious.

Please take a moment to read through our updates – there are some regulatory changes that may affect you!

Recent Regulatory Changes

You will be interested to know of recent and important changes to the Ground Water Protection Regulation and to the Sanitary Regulation under the Health Act.

Amendments to the GWPR in force March 6, 2009
As you may be aware, the Province of British Columbia signed an agreement on internal trade with Alberta (Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement - TILMA) on April 28, 2006. The Province of BC is also a signatory to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) within Canada. The objective of these agreements is to remove barriers to trade, investment and labour mobility. The “water well driller” occupation was identified as a trade under these agreements. The Province of BC, in its commitment to comply with TILMA and AIT, passed amendments to the Ground Water Protection Regulation on March 4, 2009. The amendments came into force on March 6 and relate to qualifications and registration of well drillers and well pump installers; standards for constructing wells (e.g., surface seals, caps, well identification) and deactivation and closure remain the same as before. The GWPR regulatory amendments are summarized below:

1. In addition to the certification from the Province of BC and the Canadian Ground Water Association, the Province of BC will recognize equivalent certification from another province or territory in Canada for well drilling or well pump installation;
2. The GWPR will no longer require 3 years of full time experience and a certificate before an individual can be eligible for registration as a qualified well driller or qualified well pump installer; if an individual is certified, he/she will also have met the number of years of experience required to be registered; and
3. An individual must maintain required certification to remain on the registry of qualified well drillers or qualified well pump installers.

As far as we are aware, BC is the first province to amend our regulation related to well drillers. Alberta is still considering what they will do to comply with TILMA and AIT.

What does this mean for drillers and pump installers from other provinces or territories?
If a driller or pump installer from another Canadian jurisdiction has an equivalent certificate for drilling or pump installation issued by another province or territory and the individual is at least 19 years of age, that individual is eligible to be registered as a Qualified Well Driller or Qualified Well Pump Installer in BC. For example, a driller who is at least 19 years of age from Alberta and who holds a certificate as a driller issued by the Province of Alberta can now be registered as a Qualified Well Driller in BC.

Why does the GWPR now require an individual to maintain requirements of certification to remain registered?
In negotiations with Alberta, it was recognized that maintaining requirements for certification is a requirement to be compliant with TILMA and AIT.

How do the amendments affect BC drillers or pump installers who were registered via the grand-parenting provision?
The amendments do not affect Qualified Well Drillers or Qualified Well Pump Installers who were registered before November 1, 2006, via the grand-parenting provision under the GWPR.

How do the amendments affect drillers who have certification issued by the Province of BC?
The amendments do not affect Qualified Well Drillers holding a certificate as a Water Well Driller issued by the Province of BC.

How do the amendments affect drillers and pump installers who have certification issued by the Canadian Ground Water Association (CGWA)?
For those of you who have a CGWA certificate as a Well Drilling Technician or Well Pump Installer, you’ll know that continued membership with the CGWA and continuing education hours are requirements for maintaining your certification. Failure to maintain these requirements may result in you no longer being certified with the CGWA. Beginning November 1, 2010, the Comptroller will have the authority to remove individuals on the registries of Qualified Well Drillers or Qualified Well Pump Installers who have not maintained their requirements for certification. For those of you who have let your CGWA certification lapse but intend on continuing to work as a Qualified Well Driller or Qualified Well Pump Installer, please make sure you are certified before November 1, 2010.

How does TILMA and AIT affect BC drillers, as far as their ability to work elsewhere in Canada?
As mentioned above, other provinces and territories still need to make amendments to their regulations related to well drillers. It remains to be seen whether other provinces or territories will recognize certified (and grand-parented) Qualified Well Drillers from BC. This will hopefully become clearer in the coming months.

Where can I get an updated version of the GWPR with the amendments?
Changes to the GWPR will be made available through www.bclaws.ca. Please note that changes may not be viewable for several weeks. If you would like a copy of the amendments in the interim, please contact Lindsay Macfarlane at Lindsay.Macfarlane@gov.bc.ca .

Changes to Legislation Governing Well Siting
Many of you know that section 42 of the Sanitary Regulation (under the Health Act) governs the siting of wells near probable sources of pollution (e.g., septic disposal fields, cemeteries, and garbage dumps). Effective March 31, 2009, the Sanitary Regulation will be repealed. However, section 18 of the new Public Health Act Transitional Regulation (PHATR) under the Public Health Act will take its place and have the same impact on drilling activities.

As of March 31, 2009, drillers must ensure a well is located a certain prescribed distance from any probable source of contamination, private dwelling, cemetery or dumping ground. The setback distances remain the same as in section 42 of the former Sanitary Regulation (i.e., 100 feet from any probable sources of contamination, 20 feet from a private dwelling, and 400 feet from a cemetery or dumping ground). If you have any questions about the well siting requirements under the PHATR, please contact your local Health Authority Drinking Water Officer (Google the health authority for the office phone number).

WELLS Database Update

Agri-Food Canada, BCGWA and MoE Partnership:

A big thank you must be given to the two contractors working for the BCGWA through the Agri-Food Canada ‘Canada-British Columbia Water Supply Expansion Program’ funding. The project has come to a close and in the end the contractors spatially located approximately 9,445 well records.

This has been a great project between AG Canada, the BCGWA and MoE. Through the joint collaboration, we have seen a decrease in the backlog of well records by approximately 51% since September 2007, when the initial project was started. Initially we had over 22,500 well records that were not spatially located; today we are down to 11,688 well records that need locating.

The graph below depicts the progress made with the backlog of well records during the 2008/09 fiscal year (April 1, 2008 – March 31, 2009).

BC Real Estate Foundation, BCGWA and MoE Partnership:

In other news, the BCGWA has received $50,000 from the BC Real Estate Foundation to continue work with the backlog. The funding will be dispersed over a two year period for one contractor to spatially locate water well records in the backlog. A cheque was presented to the BCGWA at the Annual Convention in Penticton by Stephen Mullock from the BC Real Estate Foundation.

Data Entry Projects:

The following is a list of some of the projects that were undertaken during 2008/09. The table is broken down into how many reports were received, how many were processed (i.e. they are in the database and have been spatially located), and the total percent completed.

Submitted & Processed well reports in the 2008-2009 fiscal year (April 1, 2008 – March 31, 2009).

MoE Compliance Project

In 2008/09 MoE staff began inspecting newly constructed water supply wells for compliance with the Ground Water Protection Regulation. A total of 36 wells were inspected for well siting, surface seal, casing stick-up, capping, and well identification.

Results of the compliance project are qualitative and are not “random”. The inspection results showed that most wells were greater than 100 feet from a septic field; had 1 inch surface seals; had casing stick-ups greater than 12 inches (those that were not were generally caused by owners landscaping around the well); and most wells did have a vermin-proof cap; and only one well did not have a well identification plate.

Any non-compliance issues that were witnessed have either been addressed or are being addressed. The compliance project is a good opportunity to inform and educate home owners and drillers of the requirements under the Ground Water Protection Regulation.

Registration of Qualified Well Drillers & Qualified Well Pump Installers

There has been some confusion lately regarding the process of becoming a registered Qualified Well Driller or Qualified Well Pump Installer in the Province of BC.

Once a driller or well pump installer has obtained certification they are still required to apply for registration as a Qualified Well Driller or Qualified Well Pump Installer with the Province of BC. Simply obtaining certification does not mean automatic registration with the Province.

Please ensure that once you have received certification (whether from the Province of BC, Canadian Ground Water Association, or an equivalent certification from another Province of Territory) that you apply to become a register Qualified Well Driller or Well Pump Installer.

Application forms can be obtained from our website at: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/plan_protect_sustain/groundwater/wells.html#reg

You can also contact Lindsay Macfarlane at (250) 953-3408 or Lindsay.Macfarlane@gov.bc.ca for an application form.