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Over 98% of all drilled
wells produce satisfactory water supplies. Sometimes, however, drilling
operations result in a marginal water yield instead of the desired
quantity.
With proper development
techniques, a poor producing well can often be made into a good one,
maximizing a customer's already sizeable investment. This is accomplished
by either surging or hydrofracturing.
Surging utilizes a solid-block
plunger operated by a cable tool drilling rig. With an up and down
plunging motion, water is forced into existing bedrock fractures followed
by a reverse suctioning. The usual result, after a prolonged period of
surging (usually 1-3 days), is a more productive well yield which is
measured by bailing the well.
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Before and after hydrofracturing: new cracks
connect with water bearing cracks in the
bedrock for a more productive water well.
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Hydrofracture, by definition,
means pumping highly-pressurized water down the hole attempting to crack bedrock
in which the well has been drilled. When new cracks occur, they often
connect to additional water producing veins of fractures adjacent to but
not previously part of the well. This procedure has helped turn a number
of low-yielding wells into good producers while other marginal wells have
dramatically increased their productivity after being
"hydrofrac'd." A follow-up to hydrofracturing includes a pump
test to measure the well's new output. |
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