Manual Drilling in Academic Research and Training:

Well Installation and Monitoring

Mónica Resto1, Michael F. MacCarthy2, John A. Cherry3, Kenneth E. Trout1, Jacob D. Carpenter1, Beth L. Parker3, James R.

Mihelcic1

1University of South Florida – Tampa, Florida 2Mercer University – Mercer, Georgia

3University of Guelph – Ontario, Canada

2015 AWRA Annual Water Resources Conference, Denver, Colorado, 17 November 2015

Presentation Outline

I. Manual Well Drilling in Development

II. Manual Well Drilling in Academic Research

III. Opportunities in Academic Training

IV. Introduction to Standard EMAS Method

V. USF Geopark Study

I. Methods

II. Results, Discussion, and Improvements

VI. Next Steps in the Study

VII. Conclusion

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Manual Drilling in Development

Improving and increasing supply with community engagement and involvement.

Human power and mechanical advantage systems for labor

Cost-effective way of providing water for drinking and irrigation purposes

Low cost

Relatively portable

Techniques (Danert, 2009)

Hand auguring

Percussion

Sludging

Jetting

Hybrid techniques allow for increased efficiency and drilling depth

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Research Question

Based on the success of manual well drilling in developing communities:

Could manual drilling techniques be used as an effective, low-cost well installation option for academic research and teaching?

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Relevance in Field Research

The expense of conventional machine drilling can limit research projects

Manual drilling offers advantages for field research:

Low-cost – drilling can be achieved with minimal economic resources

Portability – equipment can be carried to the field if needed

Simplicity of drilling equipment – can be constructed in university engineering labs

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Relevance in Academic Teaching/Training

USF course Sustainable Development Engineering teaches graduate students (engineering, science, geology, public health):

Concepts, applications, methods, and processes of groundwater development

Fundamental understanding of geology, groundwater hydrology, and hydraulics

Manual well drilling

Installation

Soil types

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Standard EMAS Method

Created by Wolfgang Buchner

Extensively used in some areas of Bolivia (CITATION)

Hybrid drilling method:

Percussion- 4-meter tower and pulley system allow for lifting and dropping of drill stem

Rotation- ¼ to ½ turn of the handle each way

Jetting- drilling fluid (water + thickener) pumped down the drill stem lifts cuttings

Depths to 100-meters have been achieved

Drilling is possible through clay, sand, and light rock (Cloesen, 2007)

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EMAS Hybrid Manual Drilling Technique

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Well Installation and Development

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Installation

1 1/2” PVC pipe

Well screen cut with hacksaw

Fabric sleeve

Sand gravel pack and bentonite sanitary seal

Development

Surging with EMAS pump

One-way check valve, using a marble

Why EMAS?

Used much less frequently in academic research than other methods (i.e. hand auguring)

Hybrid techniques can provide increased benefits without much capital investment

Increased efficiency

Increased drilling depth

More research data to be obtained

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USF GeoPark Study

Drilling, Installation, and Development

10 monitoring wells

3 well clusters (each with 3 wells)

1 well with multilevel meter

Timeline:

Clusters completed April 2014

Development to be completed by December

Multilevel Monitoring Well to be completed February 2016

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Results/Discussion: Drilling and Installation

Rotation

Universal drill bit was the best for our purposes

No clogging

Tough through light rock

Minimized interruptions

Jetting

trench-pit system

90 degree to eliminate short-circuiting

Entering trench deeper than exiting trench: acts as a skimmer

Synchronizing pumping on the upstroke to prevent back-pressure from removing hose

Data

Gathered rich soil data

Used to determine placement of satellite wells

Essential when trying to install monitoring wells to isolate different soil strata

Potential for surveying, recharge, and GW flow analysis

Team

More than three people are needed for continuous drilling

Three for the process, one more for troubleshooting: clearing pit, mud pump, mixing extra bentonite, etc.

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Preliminary Results/Discussion: Well Development

Considerable time delay between development and drilling

Ideally would have been completed after drilling

Method utilized may not provide sufficient development for research

Other issues

Interactions

Slow recharge

Slug Tests

Hydrological and water quality analyses can be conducted on developed wells:

Water level monitoring

Slug tests

Water quality tests

We are conducting slug tests after developing well to see the conductivity of isolated layers for each well.

Method (from EPA – Slug Test SOP#2046):

Created a bailor from 1 inch PVC pipe with a one-way marble check valve on the bottom

Removed water with bailer

Timed the rise in water level

Use Hvorslev equation to solve for hydraulic conductivity, K

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Well #1a: K value (m/yr)

1.69 * 103

1.86 * 103

1.67 * 103

𝐾𝐾 = 𝑟𝑟2 ∗ ln (𝐿𝐿𝑅𝑅)2 ∗ 𝐿𝐿 ∗ 𝑇𝑇0

, 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑟𝑟𝐿𝐿𝑅𝑅

> 8

Well #1a: almost developed

Installed in clayey sand (according to our analysis of cuttings)

For this well, recharge rate was greater than pumping rate while development

K value corresponds with values for silty and clean sand (Freeze and Cherry, 1979)

Further Planned Research

Explore other development and drilling fluid options

Installation of well containing multilevel monitoring system

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Conclusion

Low cost

$1000 upfront, one-time (not including gravel pack and sanitary seal)

Approximately $7 per meter drilled, not including labor

Drilling proceeded through unconsolidated layers of sand, clayey sand, clay, and light rock

Method allowed for soil ID

Get the feel for going through different soil layers

Must analyze development method of choice: overcome issues during development

Slug test was successful – hydrogeologic monitoring

17 Could manual drilling techniques be used as an effective, low-cost well installation option for academic research and teaching?

Sources

Freeze, R. A., Cherry, J. A., & Cherry, J. A. (1979). Groundwater. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, c1979.

Cloesen, P. (2007). EMAS Drilling.

Danert, K. (2009). Realizing the potential of hand-drilled wells for rural water supplies. Waterlines, 28(2), 108-129. doi:10.3362/1756-3488.2009.013

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Acknowledgments

Thank you to the Florida Section of the American Water Resources Association for supporting me on my journey to this conference.

USF Student Government for making my trip to this conference possible.

College of Engineering and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Dr. Michael MacCarthy, my Honors Thesis Director, for guiding me and being my research mentor.

Dr. Kenneth Trout and Dr. Mihelcic

Timmy Thiounn, Lorena Sanchez, and the Bamboo Team for helping me in the well development process

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Questions?

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Northernmost site (1):

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Undeveloped

Developed

Abstract Manual drilling techniques are increasingly being

promoted as a cost-effective way of providing water for drinking and irrigation purposes in developing communities throughout the world. The relatively low cost of manually drilled wells, compared to machine-drilled wells or hand-dug wells, as well as the low cost and relative portability of their equipment, make them an attractive water supply option when hydrogeological conditions are favorable. Manual drilling techniques include the basic categories of hand auguring, percussion, sludging, and jetting. Hybrid techniques consisting of use of more than one of these techniques, alternately or simultaneously, often allow for improved drilling efficiency and increased drilling depth. This research considers how manual drilling techniques can be of value in academic research and training environments, and consists of an assessment of percussion-jetting-rotation manual drilling, a low-cost hybrid technique developed in Bolivia. The equipment set-up is assessed for relevance in academic field research, where collection of hydrogeological data is often limited by the expense of conventional machine drilling. The study also considers how manual drilling can be used to teach essential aspects of drilling concepts and groundwater science from a field perspective.

One of the monitoring wells is being equipped with a Solinst multi-level monitoring system. This system allows for up to seven discrete sampling ports, to monitor groundwater at different strata in the site location. The system is advantageous to individual monitoring wells (in a cluster, or nest) in that it requires much less materials, due to there being only one well drilled. Additionally, the system can be installed in locations where there is insufficient area to install multiple wells. The comparison between the cluster/nest of individual wells and this multi-level monitoring system will serve useful to academic field

h

Twelve monitoring wells were installed at the University of South Florida (USF) GeoPark using the manual percussion-jetting-rotation drilling technique, up to a maximum depth of nine meters, through sands, clays, and thin layers of limestone. Drilling, well installation and well development experiences were recorded. Geology was observed and logged during drilling. For training purposes, groundwater flow was determined between three wells. Hydraulic head and hydraulic conductivity were measured in each well. Lessons learned from manual drilling field labs that have been developed and taught at USF over the past five years

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The Story

Manual well drilling techniques are awesome because they allow to get groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes in developing communities with no other water sources. These techniques include jetting, sludging, hand auguring, and percussion. Hybrid drilling methods utilizing combinations of the techniques above are more efficient and can be used to drill to greater depths.

Manual drilling methods have proven beneficial in developing communities, and can also be applied to academic research and training. This is because they cost much less than hiring a drilling rig and also because lots of data can be obtained from manual well drilling.

The method we have decided to use is EMAS, which is a method that uses jetting, rotation, and percussion. It was invented by Wolfgang Buchner and has been used extensively in Bolivia. We have chosen this method because of __.

For the past couple of years, we have been focusing our efforts on the USF GeoPark. The goal of this study is to utilize EMAS manual drilling method to drill three well clusters and document the drilling, installation, and development processes. The drilling and installation was begun in the Summer of 2013 and finalized in April of 2014. The development started this semester and is almost completed, to be completed by the holidays.

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