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What's New At O'Donnell & Associates, Inc. 2008 October 20, 2008
Our son Daniel begins his tour of duty at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. Prior to heading to his first duty assignment, Daniel came through Mobile and assisted in a week of recruiting locally and at his alma matre, Troy University. Go Army. October 16, 2008 Our son Sam sat for and passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review today. Sam becomes Saint Pius X Catholic Church Troop 36's newest Eagle Scout. Sam's Eagle service project was the construction of a pergala at the Little Sister Home in Mobile, see below. Sam is a junior at Murphy High School where he plays on the "O" line of the Panther Football Team and is active in the Fellowship of Christian Atheletes. Sam is also involved with CYO, serves the first Sunday of the month at the 08:00 Mass at the Cathedral. During the summer, Sam is a lifeguard and is employed by Toomey's during Mardi Gras season.  October 14, 2008 Welcome Bayou LaBatre! OAI recieved a contract to provide wellsite geologic services ot Bayou LaBatre Utilities as they begin the process to develop a new water supply well for thier system. Geologic logs provide valuable information that can make or break a decision to complete a well. Geologic logs are required for all new public supply wells in Alabama. OAI has 160 hours of formal training in mudlogging, 29 years of "mudlogging " experience and has logged over 37,000 feet of water wells in Alabama's the coastal plain. With the addition of Bayou LaBatre, OAI's water system client base is now 35 systems. Thank you all.
October 2, 2008
White House Water System, Inc. has retained the services of OAI to complete a hydrogeologic study of their service area. The study will assist in their evaluation to develop their own source of public supply. The hydrogeologic study is an economical exploration tool available through OAI to identify promising wellsites. Using this approach lessens the odds of drilling a costly dry hole. August 14, 2008 OAI delivers an extensive hydrogeologic study to a Mississippi Gulf Coast water system. As proposed, the hydro study identified area aquifers, assigned production of over 450 wells area to those aquifers and identified several wellsites, some with the potential to be developed as multi-well/multi-aquifer wellfields. Historical data located during the project identified one promising aquifer that was used for public supply in the past but the well was since plugged and forgotten. Of the identified drilling sites, several were on property already owned by the water system. July 5, 2008 Congratulations to our son Daniel J. O'Donnell, II, RN who took and passed his nursing boards. Daniel, you've done a wonderful job in school and in passing your boards. Daniel leaves for Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas August 1st and will be assigned to Walter Reed in Washington, DC upon completion of officer training. June 17, 2008 OAI completed a wellfield screening model to determine whether or not Alabama 's coastal groundwater extraction regulation applies to two wells proposed by our client. The wells will be used for industrial supply. OAI researched the area prepared a screening model to simulate the wells' production and evaluated their capture zones. The modeling indicated the wells' 50-year capture zones would not encroach into the coastal zone. The client was free to proceed as planned with the development of the wellfield without the delay and expense of permitting under the coastal regulation. June 10, 2008 OAI completed permitting work on a new multi-aquifer/multi-well wellfield. The new well is completed in an aquifer seperated vertically from the initial well's aquifer by 75 feet of clay. The new well's production rate is set at 700 gallons per minute boosting site production to 1,200 gallons per minute (~1.73 million gallons per day). Development of the deeper aquifer at this location reduced development costs associated with piping and treatment and eliminated costs associated with land purchase. The two wells are approximately 65 feet apart horizontally, see below. Well #1, background, was completed in 2000 with Well #2, foreground, completed in April of 2008. This is the fifth public water supply wellfield planned, tested, developed and permitted by O'Donnell & Associates, Inc.  June 6, 2008 OAI received a call and subsequently a contract from this industrial client to complete a screening evaluation of whether or not a coastal groundwater extraction permit was required for their proposed 250 gallons per minute well. Timing was critical, so the work progressed over the course of the weekend with the client getting the report as promised on Monday morning. OAI's evaluation combined our local knowledge of the aquifer with historic field data and an analytic element model to assess the proposed well's capture zone. To the relief of the our client, modeling established that a coastal permit was not required so that the well installation could proceed without delay. Client savings are estimated at $15,000 to $18,000 without the months of delay associated with permitting the well. Once again, OAI put geology to work for another satisfied client. June 4, 2008 OAI's Dan O'Donnell gave a presentation at the annual ADEM Groundwater conference in Montgomery on June 4, 2008. Dan's topic "A water level survey, what does the data show" put the spotlight on a "typical" task that gets little scrutiny. He covered the particulars of completing a groundwater level survey correctly, what the data showed and and discussed critical points of the survey that are important for getting the data accurately and presenting the results correctly. This presentation is applicable to all groundwater studies. May 20, 2008 OAI hosted a field methods mini-camp covering well surveying, water level surveying, potentiometric surface map preparation with critique, discussion and a grillout. The Alabama amd Mississippi PG Boards authroized 3 PDH credits for those attending. May 19, 2008 Our daughter Kelly graduated from Murphy High School today. Kelly enters Troy University this fall where she will study Elementary Education. Congratulations Kelly, love Mom and Dad. May 19, 2008 OAI completes its ninth year in business today. We thank all those who have helped us achieve our goal of providing quality hydrogeologic services to utilities, industry and irrigators. We are especially thankful for our clients and your continued trust in our services. As we move forward into our tenth year, we continue to give thanks to God for all the blessings he has provided OAI in our work for you. May 9, 2008 Our son Daniel graduated Magnum Cum Laude from Troy University with a BS in Nursing today. Daniel will be commissioned in the Army's Nursing Corps as a Second Lieutenant on August 3rd reporting to Fort Sam Houstin in San Antonio Texas for training. In October, Daniel will be re-stationed to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. Congratulations Daniel for a job well done and thank you for serving our country, love Mom and Dad. April 8, 2008 Success once again. OAI's sourcewater assessment report was accepted as submitted for yet another high volume public water supply well. This well tested out a 1,950 gpm and was permitted for 1,300 gpm (1.8 mgd). This wellsite has a strong potential for development as a multi-aquifer wellfield with monitoring ongoing. March 7, 2008-Alabama Conference of Black Mayors OAI gave a presentation at the annual meeting of the Alabama Conference of Black Mayors in Selma, Alabama on March 7th, the 43rd anniversary of Bloody Sunday. The presentation oultined the beneifits of implementing OAI's hydrogeologic approach to the exploration, development and management of groundwater resources. The presentation provided case studies of projects that used OAI's hydrogeologic approach before, during and after the welll is drilled showing how this approach is critical to the efficient exploration and development of groundwater resources. OAI thanks Mayor Ron Davis (Pritchard) for the invitation to speak and the Conference for having OAI as part of their program. March 5, 2008 OAI coordinates a school field trip to Mobile County Water's Well #1, see the Teaching Hydrogeology link under the Photos page of OAI's website. January 21, 2008-Welcome Malcolm Pirnie On January 21, 2008, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. became the 14th engineering firm to contract with OAI for hydrogeologic services. This project consisted of historic research of the project area's high volume irrgiation wells and the identification of area aquifers through the development of hydrogeologic cross sections in a sub-regional area in southwest Alabama. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.
January 21, 2008
OAI joins COCORAHS! Today OAI joined the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. Each morning the preciptitation at the Gulf Coast Groundwater Research facility, station number al-mb-49, is logged in to the COCORAHS network and is availble for all to see on the net. Please consider joining this volunteer network of precipitation monitoring. For information on joining, please visit cocorahs.org
January 18, 2008
Tired of reading bad news? Well, Mike Odom of the Fairhope Courrier published a great story today which may well be worth your time if a new water well is in your future. The story discusses the recently completed well OAI sited for the City of Fairhope. For more info on this well, see the August 7, 2007 post below. Thanks Mike for a well done article and thanks to the City of Fairhope for your continued trust in OAI's work. ~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello
2008! May may all our clients, friends and family have a great
year. With the close of 2007, OAI would like to thank each
existing and all our new clients for their continued confidence in OAI
and the services we provide. The year was exceptional in
that we added to our client base with the addition of two water
systems and one engineering firm. We are happy to add that these
new water system clients were referred to OAI by satisfied existing
clients.
Accomplishments this past year include development of public supply wells capable of producing 4.89 mgd, completion of several hydrogeologic studies to identify future well sites, investigations of declining water levels and leaks and screening select sites for wellfield possibilities. All the while, continuing to provide our standard fair of hydrogeologic services. We look forward to another exciting year as our studies completed last year move from the pages of our studies to the drilling, completion and permitting phases. If you need to expand, assess or monitor your groundwater resources, please give OAI a call. We will work to efficiently meet your needs. Thanks, Nell and Dan 2007 December 26, 2007 November 2007 - PWS Well Production Exceeds 1,900 gpm September 13, 2007-Tom Prickett RIP Years
later, our paths crossed again and we took up where we left off with
e-mail correspondence on groundwater topics and general how ya
doings. Tom visited the Gulf Coast from time to time and had a
standing invitation to speak to the Southwest Alabama Geological
Society if he was in the area. Unfortunately, the talk never
happened. To learn more about Tom, please visit: http://ngwa.org/hottopics/pricketttribute.aspx September 3, 2007-Discovery update
Groundwater Level Monitoring Network Grows to Include Seven Systems New Public Supply Well tests out at 1,500 gpm (August 7, 2007) Groundwater Level Monitoring on the "net" Conservation Alert? May 15, 2007-New discovery! Welcome to Florida! As
we look forward to 2007, the future is promising as area growth fuels
the need for expanding water supplies. Through research and
planning, we will continue to "put geology to work"
for our clients moving them away from "dry hole" exploration programs
of the past to OAI's efficient and effective hydrogeolgic groundwater
exploration program that developed 10.8 million gallons of water per day
for our clients in 2006. Does
2007 bring the challenge of adding a new well to your system? If
so and this decision is on your shoulders, don't just make "a
decision", make the "right decision
" by calling OAI. OAI, as our track record shows, provides the
information necessary to make your decision the "right decision".
The earlier OAI gets involved, the greater the benefit you and your
customers receive. Again,
thanks to our exisitng clients for your continued trust and confidence
in our firm. To those who are considering our firm, a graciuos
welcome and know that you will receive the same dedicated,
professional and personal service that is the foundation of our
firm. Dan and Nell O'Donnell ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2006 Groundwater Management Droughts and Aquifers For
most of OAI's client systems, the source of their water is regional
aquifers. These aquifers are generally more extensive than
surficial aquifers and, due to their tremendous storage capacity, they
can weather droughts without significant problems, see Well #6 data. So relax
and enjoy a break from your weekly lawn mowing chores. Relax that
is unless you depend on surface water as your source of supply. If you are planning to install a groundwater extraction well in the coastal area of Alabama, consider putting OAI's extensive experience with coastal zone permitting to work for you. March 2006 Discovery Permitted (September 2006) The
days of $25,000 for a completed public supply well have gone the way of
the nickel candy bar. OAI's hydrogeologic approach uses a sound
exploration method to reduce the chance of "dry holes". If you
are considering a new well, you owe it to your consumers to maximized
their system's finances. OAI can help you do just that. 2005
OAI to speak at National Ground Water Expo OAI to give oral presentation at the Alabama Water Resources Conference OAI
will be giving an oral presentation entitled "Petroleum Exploration,
Can Oil and Water Mix?". The presentation will be given at the 2005 AWR Conference
in Orange Beach on September 8-9, 2005. Update: This
conference was postponed until October 12-14 due to Hurricane Katrina. OAI
welcomes the opportunity to make presentations to groups such as the
Lyons Club of Mobile. If you are interested in having us speak
before your group, please call 251-666-5285 to schedule a presentation.
Best Tasting Water In The State: Two
public supply wells with ties to OAI won awards at the Spring 2005
Meeting of the Alabama Rural Water Association. One,
operated by one of our Mobile County clients, was awarded 1st Place in
the Best Tasting Water category. The second, operated by one of
our Baldwin County clients was awarded 2nd Place in the same
category. The award winning Mobile County well was sited by OAI
personnel
who mapped the subsurface layout of aquifers in the Theodore area using
skills developed during our days of petroleum exploration. The
Baldwin County well would most likely have been written off as a "dry
hole" had it not been for information recorded on the geologic log
prepared by OAI personnel as the well was being drilled and pointed out
in the follow-up report OAI prepared on the test bore. Instead of
an expensive dry hole, a 700 gallon per minute public supply well was
permitted and later recognized as having the 2nd Best tasting water in
the State! Congratulations to both of these clients and thank you
for choosing OAI for your hydrogeologic needs! SWAGS President Dan
O'Donnell was recently elected President of the Southwest Section of
the Alabama Geological Society (SWAGS), a division of the Alabama
Geological Society. This organization was formed to promote
geology in southwest Alabama. For information on SWAGS, visit our
newspage SWAGS For membership information E-mail:groundwater@oiawater.com Alabama regulations (ADEM Admin. Code 335-7-5-.18) require that all community and NTNC water wells be logged by a geologist and that the geologic log is required as part of the permitting process for the well. While this may seem like an additional burden or an un-necessary cost, properly done, it is extremely beneficial to have an experienced professional geologist on site while the pilot bore is being drilled (see the note above on East Central Baldwin County's Well #3).Recording a geologic log (i.e. mudlogging) should be a critical component of any groundwater resources project. OAI personnel have 160 hours of formal "mudlogging" classroom training through a subsidiary of Schlumberger. Coupled with this formal training is eight years of mudlogging experience with petroleum exploration wells to depths exceeding 20,000 feet. Since 1994, we have geologically logged over 30,700 feet of water wells for public supply, irrigation supply and industrial supply. Training and experience, OAI offers both for your benefit. 2004 O'Donnell & Associates, Inc. Success Story Groundwater monitoring is a key but often overlooked component of groundwater resources projects. The two year record of water level at one of our clients wells, Well #6, shows no indication the aquifer supplying this well is being depleted. In fact, despite the area wide precititation deficit recorded between January 2005 and May 2006, the data shows that the water level in the well remains stable. Call today to find out how OAI can implement a similar low cost groundwater level monitoring program for your system. How To Get Solutions for Your Groundwater Supply Problems |
