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:

BCGWA PLANNING SESSION SUMMARY REPORT - CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

LOW STREAM FLOW ADVISORY - THOMPSON/NICOLA - CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Click here for the BC Government Document: NEW STANDARDS TAKE EFFECT FOR PRIVATE WELL OWNERS
Click here for the BCGWA response to the MOE WATER ACT Modernization - Discussion Paper.
Click here for the BCGWA memo regarding the acquiring of Continuing Education Units (CEU) and related issues regarding current Provincial government regulations.

NEW! 2010 Bolivia Groundwater Project Update - Click Here to View/Download PDF
NEW! NGWA Position Paper on Water Witching & Dowsing - Click Here to View/Download PDF

September 2010 Newsletter

This Newsletter is published quarterly, March, June, September and December by the B.C.
Ground Water Association. For more information please contact: Executive Secretary, Joan
Perry, 1708 – 197 A Street, Langley, B. C. V2Z 1K2. Phone or Fax: 604-530-8934.
BCGWA Website address: www.bcgwa.org
BCGWA e.mail address: secretary.bcgwa@shaw.ca
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President’s Report

Well summer is all but over. I sit here in my home office while a cold rain is coming down on Labour Day, so I might as well be labouring away writing this article, while my motorcycle sits collecting pre-winter dust in the garage. Hopefully you all had a good summer with lots of fond memories for those cold winter nights to come.

Your Executive is about to meet with probably the most critical issue that has arisen in several years. A few years ago we joined the provincial government in a plan to catch up to the rest of the country by creating a process of officially recognizing well drillers and pump installers, the backbone of our industry. This process resulted in provincial (legal) registration which could be accomplished in three ways:

1. Grandfathering of those with certified experience in drilling and pump installation;
2. Completion of the provincial ITA requirements (completion and examination through Red Deer College for driller technicians)
3. Experience qualification and examination by the CGWA, plus an annual Continuing Education Units (CEU) requirement to show proof of acquiring 15 points (7.5 hours) of attendance at an acceptable course, workshop or lecture.

A number of our members chose to go the #3 route. However, currently 12 driller and 29 pump installer members have not kept up their annual requirement of CEU. As a result these members will be removed from the membership of the CGWA and consequently de-registered by the BC Ministry of Environment (MOE) by the end of this year. My understanding is that de-registration by the MOE will result in removal of there right to work in their trade in this province, unless under the supervision of a currently registered member. Reinstatement into the CGWA will require they re-write the current driller or (specific) pump installer exam (at a specified sitting) and if successful, will be re-certified by the CGWA and thus will be re-registered by the province.

This situation has resulted in a lot of angst among many of our members who see this process as being unfair and inequitable. Their issue is that this system does not constitute a level playing field, in that we have members registered with the province (grandfathered or ITA certified) who are not required to acquire the CEU. This situation is in fact correct. However some, (post-grandfathered period) driller members chose the CGWA route rather than the ITA route. As there is no ITA process for pump installers, they really had no choice but to pursue provincial registration through the CGWA. As noted earlier, a number (especially pump installer members) have failed to keep up their CEU. In discussions with the CGWA we have been told, the certification rules are clear as per their Section 2 of their Certification requirements, (see the CGWA web site under certification).

The CEU issue seems to have split a lot of our members for and against the CEU process. Personally I strongly support the concept of continuing education for all members. This practice is commonly done today in other trades and professions.

To muddy the waters further, the province threw in the BC-Alberta TILMA agreement requiring that all trades and professions harmonize their provincial qualifications. However, my understanding is that Alberta drillers can work in BC, but only BC (ITA) qualified drillers can work in Alberta.

Your Executive is taking these situations seriously and will be meeting on these issues shortly. This will be followed by a meeting with the Ministry of Environment. Their hope is to work out a modification to the current system or if necessary, possibly work towards a changed process, more equitable to all driller and pump installer members.

The up-coming annual regional meetings will be happening soon, and I am sure this will be a prime topic of discussion.

Best wishes!

Bruce Ingimundson

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President’s Report

As usual, Bruce and I are again competing against each other regarding what topics to discuss in our individual contributions to this newsletter. The expression “the early bird gets the worm”, always works in Bruce’s favour, as he always seems to get his article in to the BCGWA office before me. This is not the end of the world though, as I get Joan to send me Bruce’s article so I can write about something different. However, this month it is appropriate to elaborate further on the importance of our upcoming meetings in Victoria.

The primary mandate of your executive is to represent the best interests of the industry and clearly we need to reach consensus with the Province regarding the qualification requirements and process for drillers and pump installers. At issue is the need for reporting of continuing education (CEU credits) for annual renewal of registration. As Bruce has noted in his article, continuing education is required by many professional, technical and trade organizations. The intent is to standardize the quality of work. You should also know that the hydrogeologists in our industry, as well as any other engineers and geo-scientists in British Columbia, have been asked to annually submit CEU reports. These submissions are not yet a requirement to maintain registration, but may be in the future. Furthermore, these professionals are subject to random practice (competency) reviews, which must be passed in order to maintain registration.

I hope we all agree that “levelling the playing field” is a good thing for our industry. Granted, we don’t want to make things too complicated, but I am hoping we can work something out.
On another note, I hope that all of you are aware of the current initiative by the Province to modernize the BC Water Act. Once of the 4 main issues being considered is the possible regulation of groundwater extraction.

Such an initiative means management and therefore licensing of groundwater use will almost certainly be required within a few years. Our association has provided substantial feedback in the form of official letters and blogging by many of our executive on the Ministry of Environment website that has been dedicated for the review process. There is still a lot of controversy regarding what rate of extraction and what type of use will be regulated. Having said this, I think the opportunity for us to provide feedback is over. Our executive will still try to be as vocal as possible and to that end, you should let us know what you think.

Please visit: http://blog.gov.bc.ca/livingwatersmart/2010/09/07/water-act-modernization-report-on-engagement-now-available/

I hear from a lot of people that everyone is busy and I hope that this trend continues.

Just to one-up Bruce - I agree that “the early bird gets the worm”, but quite often it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Remi Allard

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Upcoming Events

Atlantic Water Well Convention
October 14-16, 2010
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Contact: Noreene McGuire
Ph: 902-845-1084 Fax: 902-435-0089
e.mail: noreenemcguire@hotmail.com

NGWA Ground Water Expo
December 7-10, 2010
Las Vegas, Nevada
Ph: 614-898-7791
www.ngwa.org/2010expo

B. C. Ground Water Association
2011 convention & Trade Show
March 7-11, 2011
Executive Airport Plaza
7311 Westminster Hwy.
Richmond, B. C.
Contact: 604-530-8934

Membership Changes/New Members:

Drilling Contractor

Wild West Drilling, Inc.
new e.mail: wildwestdrilling@gmail.com

Kamloops Environmental Drilling Ltd.
PO Box 25
Monte Creek, B. C. V0E 2M0
Ph: 250-372-1606
Rep: Kelvin Marte

Landcore Technologies Inc.
RR 5 Site 3 Box 19
Lacombe, Alberta T4L 2N5
Ph: 403-507-5507
Fax: 403-786-9918
e.mail: dave@landcore.ca

M&S

new address:
Performance Industrial Products
Bay #6, 2807-107th Avenue, SE
Calgary, Alberta T2Z 4M2

Stringer Sales Inc.
#32-11010-46 Street, SE
Calgary, Alberta T2C 1G4
Ph: 403-256-4900
Fax: 403-256-1208
Rep: Bruce Stringer

Employee

Carter, Joe
Joe Carter Plumbing
PO Box 20115
Golden, B. C. V0A 1H0
Ph: 250-344-6337
e.mail: joescarter@hotmail.com

Dunwoody, Colin P.Eng.
SNC-Lavalin Environment
8648 Commerce Court
Burnaby, B. C. V5A 4N6
Ph: 604-515-5151
Fax/Cell: 604-515-5150

Payne, Michael
Payne Engineering Geology
1230 Maple Road
North Saanich, B. C. V8L 5P7
Ph: 250-655-3604

St. Laurent, Dan
B. C. Aquifer Testing
PO Box 21028
Duncan, B. C. V8L 0C2
Ph: 250-715-7778
Rep: Dave Roberts

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Pacific Water Wells

John Rainsford, the grandfather of well drilling in British Columbia and the founder of Pacific Water Wells, left the navy after the war and worked for a naval buddy on the East Coast. He learned the basics of the drilling business there in about 6 months, and moved back to Vancouver Island where he bought an old Kirk Hillman cable tool rig mounted on a 1924 Austin Lealand Truck. He bought his second rig, a used 71 Speed Star on an old Ford truck from the Berry Criswell Company in Portland, Oregon.

This is when I, (Ken Slade) became involved in the Drilling industry. It was in 1949, and Pacific Water Wells was located in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island. John Rainsford soon realized he would need to grow in order to meet the demand for water wells on the coast, so he hired another one of his naval buddies named Doug Watson and his younger brother Bob Rainsford, who also joined the team.

In January of 1951 John ordered 2 new ½ ton Dodge pickups from the factory in Oshawa, Ontario. John had ordered the trucks with no heaters or radios because he didn’t want his employees sitting in the trucks with the engines running and heaters on while they listened to the radio as he had seen (or perhaps done) while he worked as a driller on the east Coast.

John Rainsford and Doug Watson went back to Ontario in January to pick up the new trucks. By the time they had driven to Winnipeg without heaters, it was minus 30 degrees, and by the time they reached Saskatoon it was minus 40!

They stopped at a Dodge dealer in Saskatoon to have the trucks serviced and John had heaters installed. This made the rest of the trip more comfortable, but Doug Watson had enough of the drilling business and decided to seek other employment, while Bob Rainsford stuck around and became an excellent driller.

Ken Slade

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Job Search

Central Interior Pump is looking for a Pump Technician to relocate to Kamloops. Contact us @ info@centralinteriorpumps.com

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CGWA Certification Criteria

Pump Installers – To maintain CGWA certification individuals must:

a. Accumulate 15 points per year of technical upgrading in the form of seminars, lectures, or workshops. Annual groundwater convention workshops, lectures, or technical sessions, and pump company seminars will be considered as appropriate means of acquiring annual technical upgrading points.

b. Certified groundwater pump technicians must become and maintain full or associate/affiliate members/membership in their respective provincial groundwater association that are members of the Canadian Ground Water Association in order to maintain the CGWA certification

c. Certified individuals who do not maintain their technical upgrading or do not maintain full or associate/affiliate membership shall after a lapse period of two (2) years be required to reapply to be re-certified.

d. Renewal fee of $100.00 (plus GST/HST).

Technical upgrading

a. The CGWA will provide an appropriate form to each certified groundwater drilling technician, which must be completed and returned on an annual basis to the CGWA head office indicating that the individual has attended or participated in presentations to acquire the necessary points.

b. One hour of attendance/presentation at a seminar, lecture or workshop equals 2 points

c. Topics that will be considered relevant to maintain/acquire the 15 points on an annual basis:
• Any matter or subject relating to safety such as: First Aid/CPR/WHMIS, etc.
• Provincial or national groundwater convention technical sessions, workshops or trade shows
• Groundwater associations educational seminars
• Pump company presentations and seminars
• Lecturing and presentations to interested groups on groundwater, wells, pumps, safety, new equipment

Groundwater Drilling Technicians – To write the examination the applicant must provide and meet the following requirements:

a. 2 years (4000 hours) field experience in drilling water wells. Proof of this time may be an affidavit or statutory declaration from an employer, the provincial water well regulatory agency or once the program is established, other certified drillers.
b. The pass mark on the examination shall be 70%

c. In case of an applicant not attaining the 70% mark, the applicant will be allowed to rewrite after a 90 day period has elapsed

d. Fee structure for certification examinations:
• For members and associate/affiliate members of provincial ground water/water well associations that are members of the CGWA the fee shall be $100.00 plus GST/HST
• Non members are not considered eligible
• Re-write examinations will be subject to the same fee schedule

e. To maintain CGWA certification individuals must:
• Accumulate 15 points per year of technical up-grading by attending seminars, lectures, or workshops. Annual groundwater conventions workshops, lectures, technical sessions will be considered as appropriate means of acquiring annual technical upgrading points.
• Certified individuals must become and maintain full or associate/affiliate members/membership in their respective provincial ground water association that are members of the CGWA in order to maintain the CGWA certification
• Certified individuals who do not maintain their technical upgrading or do not maintain full or associate/affiliate membership shall after a lapse period of two (2) years be required to reapply to be re-certified.
• Renewal fee of $100.00 (plus GST/HST).

Technical Upgrading

a. The CGWA will provide an appropriate form to each certified groundwater drilling technical which must be completed and returned on an annual basis to the CGWA head office indicating that the individual has attended or participated in presentations to acquire the necessary points.

b. One hour of attendance/presentation at a seminar, lecture or workshop equals 2 points

c. Topics that will be considered relevant to maintain/acquire the 15 points on an annual basis:
• Any matter or subject relating to safety such as: First Aid/CPR/WHMIS, etc.
• Provincial or national groundwater convention technical sessions, workshops or trade shows
• Groundwater associations educational seminars
• Pump company presentations and seminars
• Lecturing and presentations to interested groups on groundwater, wells, pumps, safety, new equipment

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B.C.’s Water Quality

It’s not always safe to drink the tap water in British Columbia – not even in Metro Vancouver as 20,000 people in White Rock have found in recent weeks.

White Rock’s boil-water notice was short-term but residents in 527 B. C. communities, ranging in size from few to thousands, either have to boil their water or risk illness or even death from E. coli, giardia or cryptosporidium. Some have been doing it for years, others for decades. One boiling water notice on Digby Island, near Prince Rupert, has been in place for 32 years.

The problem is worst in the Interior, which has nearly half the province’s water systems. Of those 1,800, three-quarters are considered high risk. So, an estimated 600,000 residents can’t turn on the tap, have a drink, wash vegetables or brush their teeth, according to Dr. Paul Hasselback of the Interior Health Authority. Nearly a third of all of Canada’s boil-water notices are in B. C., second only to Ontario with nearly three times the population.

Yet, surprisingly, when Ipsos Reid polled British Columbians in February, 93 per cent said they had confidence in the safety and quality of their drinking water.

B. C.’s biggest cities have good water. Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops and West Kelowna have all recently upgraded their systems. Even though White Rock is part of Metro, its water comes from wells and not the $720 million Seymour-Capilano treatment plant.

The geneses of B. C.’s water problems are policy decisions made decades ago.

One was based on the faulty belief that water mountain streams are pristine. As a result, many communities simply took water from creeks and lakes without treating it. It was cheap and mostly safe.

A second decision was not to protect water as a public good. Water rights were sold to industry, irrigation districts and private developers.

The result is a patchwork of an estimated 3,500 water systems. Up until 2003, there were no provincial standards or “water treatment objectives.”

B. C. passed its first Drinking Water Protection Act in 2001 after seven people died from drinking tap water in Walkerton, Ontario.

Their deaths finally put water safety on the B. C. policy agenda after years of neglect.

Four years after the water protection act was passed and two years after its standards implemented, Premier Gordon Campbell said his goal was for B. C. to have the best water in the world “bar none.”
That goal is far from being met. Ombudsman Kim Carter was fielding so many citizens’ complaints that she investigated and issued a report in 2008 called Fit to Drink.

Until her report it was hard to even find boil-water notices. Now they are regularly updated on the healthy living ministry’s website and test results are posted weekly on the health authorities’ sites.

Complaints, reviews of complaints and requests for reconsideration all still land on the same person’s desk. “It’s rather disappointing,” Carter said.

At least as dismaying is that the government has ignored Carter’s recommendation to eliminate boil-water notices – in all but extraordinary circumstances – by 2011-12.

She recommended building appropriate treatment and filtration plants each year, enough for a 10-percent annual reduction in notices. To ensure that the longest suffering residents were dealt with first, Carter recommended that boil-water notice should not last longer than 18 months.

The regional health authorities and the health ministry agreed to work toward those goals but little progress has been made.

In March 2008, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported B. C. had 530 boil-water notices. This year it is 528.

Fixing the problem won’t be cheap. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities estimated that $12 billion is needed to bring all of the country’s water systems up to standard and a third of the bad ones are in B. C. But is it really that expensive? Depends how you look at it.

Divide the $720-million cost of Metro’s new treatment plant by the number of residents and the cost per person is less than a bottle of water a day, without the problem of disposing of all that plastic.

Mayne Island’s new plant with double disinfection and filtration costs residents roughly $1.50 a day each. That’s less than a cup of coffee.

Of the federal stimulus money for shovel-ready projects, only $51 million is going to water treatment. Carter says it’s worth the money, but admits it’s not her call. “It’s a civil society thing. We bring accountability with reports and recommendations for authorities to work toward. We shine a light on areas that need attention and give them priority. “Then, it’s up to the public.”

The United Nations describes decent drinking water as a basic human right.

The Vancouver Sun
Opinion by Daphne Bramham

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Eight Steps to an Effective Crew Talk!

Crew talks, also called tool box meetings, are an excellent way to deliver information on the shop floor, outside the site trailer, at the cash register, or in the lunch room. While they don’t replace formal classroom training, crew talks can be used to provide refresher training or demonstrate new equipment, processes, and work practices.

1. Start by explaining the goal of your crew talk

Open the discussion by telling the crew exactly what you want them to know when you are done. For example: “Today we’re going to talk about fit-testing of respirators. At the end of this crew talk, I want you to understand how it’s done so you can do it on your own.” Don’t say: “Today we’re going to talk about respirators,” because that’s too vague.

2. Use a prop to demonstrate.

If you say something a bunch of times, people will remember it a little bit. But if you actually physically show them what to do, and then have them do it for you, that’s how it really, really sticks with people.

3. Use plain language and keep a narrow focus.

Know your audience and tailor your language appropriately, especially when crew includes people learning English as a new language. Avoid using technical terms; instead, use the language of the workplace. Don’t overload people by going into broad details of the history and background of your topic.

4. Limit your talk to 5 to 7 minutes.

You may wish to gather your crew together for up to 15 minutes, but make sure you aren’t talking for the entire time. Give people enough time to ask questions and show they understand.

5. Confirm your message has been received.

As a supervisor, you are responsible for ensuring that your crew understands the information you conveyed. The best way to do this is by asking them to do a hands-on demonstration off what you just showed them. This gives you a chance to offer assistance if necessary.

6. Follow up privately if someone really doesn’t get it.

If you sense someone is having a lot of difficulty, take that person aside, one-on-one. Talk with them away from the group so they don’t feel demeaned or belittled. You could say: “I notice you’ve been having some problems with that. Let’s go through it again.”

7. Keep a record of attendance.

Some companies make a form for recording the date, time, and topic discussed. Have people print their names so it’s legible, and record specific details on the topic, which will ensure the documentation makes sense to you, and others, in the future.

8. Close your talk on a positive note.

Remind the crew why the topic is important and thank them for listening. Keep an open door policy and make sure everyone knows who to talk to if they have questions later. Later in the shift, check to see if workers are demonstrating their new knowledge or skill. Effective supervision includes walking around and making sure the crew has taken the information and put it into practice in the real work world. Correct unsafe practices – and let people know when you notice them doing a job safely.

Worksafe Magazine

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CanWell Convention 2010

The Canadian Ground Water Association’s biennial Conference and Trade Show was held in Winnipeg in May. The Manitoba Well Water Association and the Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance hosted it jointly. The show drew more than 650 registered delegates, with 70 booths and nine drill rigs, which was a CanWell first.

Training courses were held before the kickoff and over the course of a three-day conference, technical sessions were held throughout the day covering everything from drill bits, to geothermal distribution systems to insurance. The committee received terrific comments regarding the technical sessions and was impressed by the diversity of topics offered.

The outdoor drilling demonstration started with the “drill off” between two rigs to compare drill bits. Another demonstration featured a shallow auger geothermal loop installation.

The BCGWA looks forward to hosting CanWell in 2014.

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PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW/Download the September 2010 Report from the Ministry of Environment