CHAPTER 9WELL DRILLING SUPERVISORThe Naval Facilities Engineering Command(NAVFAC) invests millions of dollars in water welldrilling equipment and the training required to enablethe Naval Construction Force (NCF) to meet water welldrilling requirements at various locations and conditionsthroughout the world.The COMSECOND/COMTHIRD NavalConstruction Brigades require all Naval MobileConstruction Battalions to maintain an allowance ofpersonnel qualified in water well drilling operations.The Naval Construction Training Centers (NCTC) andRegiments from both Gulfport, Mississippi, and PortHueneme, California, provide training in water Welldrilling operations. The NEC for water well driller is5707. The means of attaining this NEC is most oftenthrough completion of the water well driller course thatis offered at NCTC, Port Hueneme, California.This chapter can only provide the basic terminologyand procedures used in well drilling operations. Theextensive knowledge and skills required to perform asan effective well drilling supervisor must be gainedthrough formal training and on-job-training experience.WELL DRILLING SUPERVISORRESPONSIBILITIESSuccessful well drilling operations are a directresult of the efficiency of the supervisor and crew. Thedrilling rig and its controls are not complicated and canbe mastered in a short time; however, knowledge of themechanical operations is only the start and experienceis the vital element.Drilling water wells is an art for which there are nohard-and-fast rules; it is an art that requires a good dealof common sense and improvisation. The well drillingsupervisor must have a general knowledge of thephysical structure of the earth’s crust and thegroundwater resources within. Often, problems arise inwell drilling, and the well drill supervisor must be ableto visualize what is occurring at the bottom of the hole.An awareness of the conditions under whichgroundwater occurs and of geologic conditions is ashortcut to the solution of some drilling problems thatwould otherwise take much time and experience toattain through the trial-and-error method.WATER SOURCESThe source of all fresh water upon and in the landareas of the earth is the oceans. Precipitation in the formof rain, hail, sleet, or snow recharges lakes, streams, andunderground water. Part of the precipitation that fallsupon land areas soaks into the ground and under theinfluence of gravity is pulled downward until it becomespart of the saturated zone. Water in the saturated zoneis referred to as groundwater and it is within this zonethat wells are developed. Water recovered from beneaththe ground accounts for a much larger percentage of ourwater supply than that from natural lakes or man-madereservoirs.Above the saturated zone is a zone identified as thezone of aeration. This zone is divided into three belts:(1) the belt of soil moisture or plant root zone, (2) theintermediate belt, and (3) the capillary fringe. Neitherthe intermediate belt nor the capillary fringe is capableof producing water in usable quantities because thepores or open spaces between individual particles arenot all filled with water. Water in the zone of aeration iscalled subsurface water and should not be confused withgroundwatercontained in the saturated zone where allthe pores are filled with water (fig. 9-1).The volume of water contained in the saturatedzone is the total volume of the openings in rocks orbetween the individual grains of sand or gravel. Theseopenings are referred to as the porosity of the particularmaterial.The physical characteristics of the zone ofsaturation can vary widely, depending upon thegeologic formations of the earth layers; that is, sand,gravel, clay, rock, or a combination of these. This zonemay also wary in depth from a few feet to many hundredsof feet.Water may be found within the saturation zone inone continuous body or in alternating layers of clay andsand. This all depends on the impermeability or thepermeability of the formations within the saturationzone; for example, while clay may hold a relatively highvolume of water, the openings between the individualparticles are so small that they prevent the flow of water.Clay is then said to be impermeable. Confined between9-1
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