Ground Water and Surface Water Interaction

A new model to simulate ground water and surface water interactions has been released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Groundwater and Surface-water FLOW (GSFLOW) model simultaneously accounts for climatic conditions, runoff across the land surface, subsurface flow and storage, and the connections among terrestrial systems, streams, lakes, wetlands and ground water.

“GSFLOW can be used to analyze many complex water-resource questions that increasingly involve understanding the connectivity of surface water and ground water,” says USGS’s Robert Hirsch. GSFLOW can be used to examine issues such as the effects of water-resource development on stream flow, wetlands or ground water resources of a watershed; how ground water recharge and stream-flow conditions will respond to changes in land use throughout a watershed; and how hydrologic conditions and aquatic resources of a watershed change in response to climate variability.

The GSFLOW model could be a valuable tool in examining water availability under the Survey’s proposed Water for America Initiative. A major aspect of the initiative, which plans to complete a comprehensive census of the nation’s water resources in the next 10 years, is to investigate how ground water and surface water interactions affect the overall availability of the resource.

GSFLOW is applicable to watersheds that range from a few square miles to several thousand, and for time periods that range from months to several decades. GSFLOW is based on the USGS Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System and the USGS Modular Ground-Water Flow Model. Many enhancements have been made to these models to improve the simulation of watershed-scale processes, including enhanced representation of soil-zone and unsaturated-zone hydrologic processes.

GSFLOW is available free to all users by visiting http://water.usgs.gov/nrp/gwsoftware/gsflow/gsflow.html.

Make an Investment in Jubilee

When the economy tightens up, there is one thing you can be sure of – an intensified interest in what big business calls return on investment (ROI). The 2008 South Atlantic Jubilee will give attendees the best return on their conference and trade show investment the industry can provide. That is because this year’s Jubilee is dedicated to providing a range of activities specifically geared to your business, educational and family needs.

These days, ROI is the watchword for every business, large or small. And, for that reason, this year’s Jubilee is geared to make sure that every attendee receives an excellent return on the investment they make to come to the Jubilee. Now in its 53rd year, the Jubilee takes place at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Continuing education classes begin on Saturday, July 26, and continue on Sunday, July 27. Classes will cover drilling practices, geothermal installation, water and wastewater treatment, new technologies and emerging industry issues. Exhibitors will showcase environmentally friendly products as they participate in the Jubilee’s “Go Green” promotion. The OSHA 8-Hour HAZWOPER refresher course will be available to qualified participants.

The tradeshow opens with a preview on Sunday, July 27 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. (14 years of age and up, only). Preview sponsors are Atlas Copco, Drillers Service Inc., Berkley Pumps, Mincon Rockdrills, PermaTank and WYO-BEN. The event is followed by the Worth Pickard Family Picnic, featuring prizes, awards and family fun, along with a surprise visit from a well-known show business celebrity.

The trade show grand opening is on Monday, July 28, at 9 a.m., immediately following a breakfast sponsored by Amtrol Inc. The trade show remains open until 3 p.m. More than 200 exhibitors are expected, and they will present the full range of products and services designed for the water well drilling, pumping and treatment industries.

On Saturday, July 26, National Driller, Baroid IDP and Central Mine Equipment will sponsor the popular golf tournament. Tee off begins at 1 p.m. at Arrowhead Country Club. The entry fee is $55 per person and includes range balls, green fees, cart, snacks and door prizes. Deadline for golf sign up is July 21; call 1- 800-874-4245.

 For more detailed information, call 540-740-3329 or visit the Jubilee Web site at www.well-drillers.com.

Major Desalination Project

The nation’s first, large-scale seawater desalination plant is delivering drinking water to more than 2.5 million residents, thanks to a project pioneered by the area’s regional utility, Tampa Bay Water.

“Nearly a decade ago the Tampa Bay region suffered from an extreme drought, and, at that time, we explored how we might drought-proof our system so that this didn’t have catastrophic consequences,” explains Jerry Maxwell, general manager of Tampa Bay Water, “Seawater was a natural place for us to look. We live in Florida, surrounded by seawaters, and even though it hadn’t been undertaken on a large-scale, it seemed the natural thing to do.”

Cost was the reason the utility had not considered seawater desalination in the past, but when technology advances brought the cost of desalinated water down significantly, the utility felt the time was right.

The new plant can produce up to 25 million gallons per day of drinking water. About 44 million gallons of water from a nearby power plant cooling system is diverted to the plant. There, it goes through pretreatment steps to remove algae and other particles. Using reverse osmosis filters, 25 million gallons per day of freshwater is separated from the seawater. This leaves behind a twice-as salty byproduct that is blended with a large amount of cooling water from the power plant. That dilution is why environmental studies show no measurable salinity change in Tampa Bay related to plant production.

Water Quality Monitoring Conference

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) announces the 2008 National Water Quality Monitoring Conference, titled, “Monitoring: Key to Understanding Our Waters,” which takes place May 18-22, in Atlantic City, N.J. The conference will focus on themes that highlight the importance of monitoring in achieving the goal of clean water:

• Connecting and integrating data about hydrologic resources.
• New technologies and analytical methods.
• Describing the sustainability and condition of water resources.
• Understanding water-quality stressors.
• Exploring federal, state and local monitoring needs.
• Enhancing state, regional and local monitoring programs.
• Addressing multi-jurisdictional and international monitoring issues.
• Improving communication through innovative outreach.

For more further details, visit: www.wef.org/Monitoring, or place a call to  800-666-0206. 

Pentair Water University

Pentair Water is holding a two-day training session May 20-21, at the Holiday Inn at BWI Airport in Baltimore. For complete details, visit www.pentairwatertreatment.com, or telephone 262-784-4490.

Send Us Your Company Logo

We’re still collecting logos from contractors to be used for an upcoming issue of National Driller. If you’d like to have your firm’s unique mark grace the cover of the industry’s No. 1 publication, simply e-mail it to ettlingg@bnpmedia.com. It’s free and it’s easy, so let the world know you’re out there. 
ND