I spend a lot of time surfing around the Internet trying to gather the best information and resources for National Driller readers. I just stumbled on a post on LinkedIn  that linked to the "Ground Water Manual," a U.S. Department of Interior document that offers tips on the "investigation, development and management of ground-water resources." It's a pretty comprehensive read and I think even groundwater veterans can find something useful in its pages.

After getting tipped off to the "Ground Water Manual," I thought I'd dig around more and see if I could unearth other public documents useful to well drillers. Here, I share what I found.

• "Ground Water and Surface Water: A Single Resource," by Thomas C. Winter, et al. This one's put out by the U.S. Geological Survey. Its premise: "Effective land and water management requires a clear understanding of the linkages between ground water and surface water as it applies to any given hydrologic setting." It gives an overview of the interaction between the two, with an eye on guiding proper management of both.
• "Sustainability of Ground-Water Resources," by William M. Alley, et al. This is another Interior Department document, and it gets into the weeds, scientifically speaking. But probably a helpful read to brush up on groundwater conservation concepts.
• "Guidelines and Standard Procedures for Studies of Ground-Water Quality," by Wayne W. Lapham, et al., a USGS publication. It features "guidelines and procedures for the selection and installation of wells for water-quality studies, and the required or recommended supporting documentation of these activities." In other words, what to write down or otherwise record when you're logging and collecting samples.

There is, of course, a lot of government and other public materials out there. The four I linked to are older publications, but the science of tapping and moving water doesn't change much, so they should still hold some value for readers. I didn't include a lot of state- or region-specific materials I found. But, if you have a few spare minutes for a little professional enrichment, these PDFs offer a good start.

Stay safe out there, drillers.