Lincoln (Neb.) - Oct. 15, 1999 - A group of water regulators last week got behind a tiny camera and peered deep inside a new well on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus to see what was happening down below.
Aided by technology, the Nebraska Health and Human Services System, Nebraska Geological Survey and the Nebraska Well Drillers Association were able to create a new monitoring well that demonstrated well-drilling techniques and, because of the well's unique design, will allow continued access for study and camera probing.
The well project was part of a design and construction workshop for the Nebraska Well Drillers Association at NU's Conservation and Survey Division annex, and gave water regulators from across the state a chance to observe well construction techniques. It also offered a unique opportunity to observe - via camera, through a clear plastic well casing - the bottom of a 66- foot monitoring well.
The 75 workshop participants were primarily from state, county and city health departments, natural resources districts and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and, said facilitator Duane Eversoll, associate director of the Conservation and Survey Division in NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
"Many of these people work in water regulation, but had never seen a well actually constructed before," Eversoll said. "So we wanted to exemplify a properly designed well, from the beginning stages."
The well was constructed Oct. 5-6 by Earnest Well Drilling of Milford using the latest design techniques, with the addition of a clear PVC 4-inch casing to aid the camera. Fitted with a depth finder, auxiliary light source and angled mirrors, the 1 1/8-inch camera was lowered by cable into the well casing, letting observers view the sides of the drilled hole, all the way to the bottom; through the clear water flowing into the well, and the plastic screen system designers had set at the well's bottom. It also showed how special sealant materials reacted after settling at the bottom, and how the sand and other materials lay after the drilling.
"By observing in this way we were able to answer a lot of questions like 'what happens to the sand pack around the screen?' and 'what does the bentonite do?' Those were the things most of us had never observed before," Eversoll said.
Eversoll said the bentonite sealing material and an elaborate eight-foot screen setup on the project well are state- of-the-art, and construction techniques were demonstrated to the regulators. In addition to the spot-camera observation during construction, the well site will give UNL students, well- drillers, regulators and others continuing educational opportunities.
The "Geovision" camera was removed prior to sealing Oct. 6, but the cap can be removed and the probe reinserted whenever the need arises, Eversoll said. The camera is from the Health and Human Services System, which uses it in its various field testing and diagnosing.
Tom Christopherson, a water supply specialist at the Health and Human Services System, said 4 1/2 hours of videotape was filmed during the project. He will edit the footage to about 30 minutes of highlights, which will be used for education.
"By continuing to use this well we can gain a lot of information," Christopherson said. "It gives us greater opportunity to study ways to improve our techniques and protect our water." He said while HHS has used the camera numerous times to inspect wells, the project was the first he had seen the use of the clear plastic casing.
"We can return six months or a year later and compare data
and document changes that have occurred in the well. It also was
beneficial to show what many of these people hadn't actually seen
before. They saw a lot that wasn't expected."
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