Water quality is something Nick Manosh is passionate about. After all, he is a water well driller and his livelihood depends on reliable water resources. His father, Howard, was a water well driller too and Manosh recently bought Morrisville, Vt.-based NA Manosh Corporation from him. The company is 56 years old and Manosh’s drilling experience stretches back 37 years. “We do all types of drilling for residential, commercial and industrial. We also do construction drilling, anywhere from 2 feet up to 12-foot diameter,” he says.

The water well drilling business has expanded over the years to include foundation drilling and commercial water excavation for clients in Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut. Located approximately 55 miles west of NA Manosh Corporation, Lake Champlain is an important freshwater resource and attraction. Manosh has agreed to donate 1 percent of water well drilling revenue to support the lake. The proceeds will go to Lake Champlain International, an organization dedicated to ensuring that Lake Champlain is swimmable, drinkable and fishable. The initiative kicked off in June and Manosh says he hopes it can continue on as long as the business does. “It’s had its water quality problems and I think it’s a good place for us to invest in because that’s what we believe in. We believe in good water quality,” Manosh says. “So if we can give 1 percent of our profits in the water well drilling side of this operation, I think that’s the least we can do.”

In a recent interview with National Driller, Manosh talked about what makes this particular cause important to him and how he set the initiative up.

Q. Have you ever done anything like this before?

A. No. We’ve donated throughout the years to different organizations throughout Vermont and neighboring states — cancer societies and things like that — but … other than drinking water week here in Vermont, which we’ve promoted for the past 10-12 years, this is the first time we’ve ever donated a percentage of our profits to water quality.

Q. Why did you decide to donate 1 percent of water well drilling revenue to Lake Champlain International?

A. It’s a small part of a small company to be able to give back to a community that’s served us so well and a lake that’s served us so well. Our reason for doing it is, it’s a small amount; it’s not a large amount, but it’s something. We’re showing that we want our lakes and our waterways preserved for the next generation, not just for this one. That’s clearly what it’s all about for our company.

Q. Where did the idea come from?

A. It came from personnel inside my office. We have monthly meetings where we go over different things, financials and everything like that. We have a different meeting where we talk about what we can do to better ourselves or better the image of the company or what we have to do to promote ourselves. So it was brought up there by Spike Advertising. He runs all of our media and radio and TV. And he does our website development. Ken Millman is his name.

Q. How did you set up the initiative?

A. That was easy. We just had to come up with that percentage number. That was my idea. Ken Millman from Spike Advertising actually was the one who set everything else up and got it into place.

Q. How much has been donated so far?

A. We just started this in mid to late June. We’ll donate on an end-of-the-year basis. Right before the end of the year, we’ll donate on the end-of-the-year basis based on our profits in the water well drilling aspect.

Q. What kind of impact would you like to see your donation make?

A. I want to see that water clean. That’s what we want to see. We want to see the quality of that water be the best it can be.

Q. How does it feel to make a positive impact on your community?

A. My father, Howard Manosh, and myself and my family and personnel that work here — we try to strive to do something because in the business we’re in you don’t mess around. This is a very serious business — water quality — if contaminated sources get into water resources. Every day we’re looking at how we can do water quality justice. Lake Champlain is long term just like my business is. Without it we don’t survive, no more than if we didn’t watch what we do to maintain good quality workmanship standards to make sure our business is operated correctly.

Q. How important is it for businesses to get involved in their local communities, in your opinion?

A. It should be no less than number two. I would say number one, but you have to make a profit in order to carry it out. Every business, you’ve got to make sure they run morally and financially correct. If you do, they follow each other. This is a morally right thing for us to do with LCI.

Q. What is your advice to other business owners in the drilling industry who are interested in donating to a cause like you have?

A. Step up. Literally that easy. Step up to the plate. Do something, even if you don’t think it’s much. If everybody puts 1 percent in or everybody puts .5 percent in, it really doesn’t matter, because if everybody started doing it, it’s kind of like that saying “pay it forward.” If you do something really good, something good should come out of it. That’s all we can hope for. We’ve got to put our share in before that can happen.