The Fall Round Up

Fall is here! With the mountains to the west capped with snow a couple of times these last couple of weeks and with only 8 days left this month, we are starting the last major survey loops of this survey season. The first will be to the  north and west. We are picking up AB surveys on our way North in AB the next few days and then will head west to Fort. St. John, BC. From there we will be heading back through central BC thru Williams Lake, expecting to finish up the BC jobs in the south, at Oliver. When we get back to AB we will get caught up on the local surveys before heading out for what will be the last eastern loop into SK.

Its’ not that surveys come to an abrupt halt as we do continue to work into freeze up and beyond,  but since we do not have the volume after these late season loops we end up starting to add mileage surcharges which depending on the location, can add 10-30 % to the cost of  survey.  It’s enough for some late booking clients choosing to wait till spring in hopes of avoiding at least part of those charges. Most often they do as spring always has enough bookings to take us to most areas in western Canada well able to group surveys for cost effective travel in most of SK, AB and BC. That said we will be upping our minimum survey prices next year.

Though surveys were down a little this year (the economy of course) we again had a remarkable season with drill behinds to date obtaining water for all our clients up to mid-summer. At that point we were hoping to bat a 100% this season. Nearly all our surveys were in tough to find water areas and  turned out as well or better then we hoped.  That was then. As of now even though every site that was drilled this season  actually obtained water, to us we missed estimates on 2 high risk sites, one in August and one in September, as after drilling  the volumes, though within the estimated range, were less than we expected  and not really viable. We were expecting (or hoping for)  the higher side of the estimated range. On all the rest of the drill behinds we were at or above the estimated range on acquired yield  and with drill depths all above the maximum estimated depth to drill.

You will find client testimonials on this blog but feel free to call us for more, as most of our clients are excited to share their success.  We can also provide names of water well drillers that know our work.

Enjoy the fall colors. It could get white soon.

August Update and a newTestimonial

August is here and the nights are getting a little cooler meaning fall is not too far away if not already here. With the rain (and snow) we had from April right thru June it was pretty tough to keep on track, but now with the better weather,  it’s much easier even after taking off 2 weeks in July which was the first summer holiday we have taken in years.

Getting back mid-July we got busy and are now caught up in AB, except for a couple surveys north of Edmonton, with 2 to do on the same trip just into northern BC. With most of AB surveys completed, it clears the way for a trip to SK in the next 2 weeks which will likely be followed by one to cover southern BC jobs  in early September.  Our scheduling is now primarily based on logistics and trying to group enough out of province surveys to try and avoid extra mileage charges to our clients or at least reduce them. Our typically busy fall season should be underway by mid-September.

About a 1/3 of our 2011 clients have already drilled wells on recommended sites this year.  The completed wells all resulted at, or better than the yields estimated, 2 resulted in 50-60% higher yield than estimated,  and none of the wells were drilled deeper than the maximum depth noted in the report.  Considering the areas were all "tough to find water areas", and some of the wells were drilled on properties following failed drill attempts with dry holes, we can’t be more satisfied with the results and we are glad the clients feel the same.

Digging into a 2010 file yesterday while doing research on a nearby site, we came across a testimonial sent by our client earlier this year that we missed posting in spring so we are including it today.You can always call us for others and we are more than happy to provide.

Early Summer ? Update

It’s almost the end of June and it seems like our spring season is just over mostly because we were just now able to get thru round one completing most of the spring early bookings. There are some bookings in SK that were too wet, and 1 or 2 in the North to do but we are now moving on to our summer season

Due to rain we have been able to complete some later bookings in other areas where it wasn’t raining.  Interesting the BC loop early in June was the longest run we worked without rain. We will be surveying in Northern BC and AB most of this week.

We have only 2 or 3 days open for the month of June and beyond are now taking bookings for mid to late July and into August though we allow for rain if it stays this way it could effect us further.. We have a fair number in AB and SK, so the next loop thru BC likely won’t be till early August now. All this is based on the rain being a little less frequent.

Book on line and we will be in touch within a few days to confirm but your priority will be fixed based on the day you sent us the form or the day of your call or the day. Survey Before You Drill!

Here’s to a summer with “balanced” rain fall.

AB and then BC

We are just back from our first round of surveys thru Saskatchewan and as seen in the news, there are areas where it is very wet. The roads, particularly the secondary’s are in pretty rough shape, many closed due to frost heaves and flooding requiring detours. The roads in SK are no doubt in the worse shape I have ever seen them in, slowing travel time to nearly half in some areas.

We have a few surveys to cover off back in Southern Alberta the next week that were previously waiting for frost to be out and then the plan is to head to southern BC by the middle of next week to do the spring bookings there.

Regretfully future bookings in some areas will now have to incur added surcharges due to the fuel price being nearly 30 % higher than last season. Most of our overhead is travel so that kind of increase is just too hard to swallow. To be fair the surcharge will vary by area and the number of bookings we have. Simply when there are more surveys in a given area there is less likelihood of a surcharge. Booking early helps so even though you only want a fall survey, book now as it will allow us to group with nearby bookings.

A reminder to Alberta Farmers and Ranchers to check out the Alberta Growing Forward Program for financial assistance in development of new water sources for your operations. A quick search will bring it up or just call or email and we will send you the link.  It takes some paperwork but the exercise is worth it and helps you set a plan for your operations future water needs.

Happy Planting

May 9th Update

Very happy to say that as of last week we have a few sites behind us. Our first spring survey this year is the latest spring start we have ever had. We are working in Alberta and once done with the rush spring surveys here will move on to tackle those in SK and MB and then BC hopefully getting the rush bookings mostly done across the West by the end of May or first week in June. Then we will start with round 2 and hope to get thru that by the end of June. Hopefully weather improves for us all.

Everyone has been very cooperative this year some clients giving us as much as a 3-6 month window to complete their survey allowing us the the flexibility to pick up surveys on our routes during the season that make sense as well making it easier to avoid mileage surcharges in most areas. Travel costs are our main overhead and it will sure help this year. Most times we will still get booked surveys done in much less time then the window of time given, often within a couple of weeks, but it does improve the economics with the ongoing rise in fuel costs and will help avoid a global increase in or rates, at least in most areas.

2010 Testimonial Nanton, AB

To: gkehler@findwellwater.ca
Subject: Re: Water Wells

We drilled 4 dry holes in the search for water on our new property using 2 different witchers and a couple of educated guesses!

I was sure that there had to be a better way to search for water so I turned to the internet and it was there I discovered Waterfind.

Gary was informed, professional and easy to deal with. He came on the right day at the right time and spent most of the day doing detailed analysis of our property. Once the results had been processed there were 3 recommended sites and we found water in the first one.

We would recommend Waterfind without hesitation as this is technology that will save you money and time!

Sincerely,

David&Sandra Dalzell

Nanton, AB

2010 Madden, AB Testimonial

Gary,

Our testimonial is outlined below:

"After numerous unsuccessful drilling attempts, using multiple water well witchers and several drilling techniques, we had spent thousands and thousands of dollars and were unable to find water. We were in the challenging position of needing water to use and further develop our property, and having expended all known options. At that point, we began doing research to determine if there were any alliterative methods available for finding water, and heard about Waterfind  through a contact we had made in the course of our search. Having spent a significant amount of money with no positive results, we were very hesitant to spend additional funds on any process we weren't confident in. Therefore we took a number of months and conducted due diligence on both the company and the process they employ. We interviewed the principal of Waterfind, and having gathered additional information during the interview process, conducted further due diligence before eventually deciding to proceed.

We were incredibly happy with the results produced by Waterfind. In fact, they exceeded our most optimistic expectations. Waterfind found water within feet of where they predicted they would find it . They also accurately predicted the rate of production the the well produces at, and the price of the service was very reasonable considering the results. In addition, they further assisted us in the process of finding water by guiding us to a water well driller that was knowledgeable, professional, they had confidence in and provided good service. We were very impressed with Waterfind, and I would highly recommend using thier seismic method to reduce the risks associated with drilling for water. "

Please feel free to use our names, and if there is anything additional we can do, just let us know.

Joel.

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JOEL B. JONES

Lawyer


Jens Stemo

Spring ? Update

Spring has remained around the corner for longer than expected I expect for nearly everyone in the west this year.  With wanting to do our first surveys close to home, to make sure the equipment is all in good order after winter servicing, we are still waiting for the frost to come out. It has been tempting to leave for southern BC for an earlier start and we may still do that if weather doesn’t get and stay on a warming trend pretty quick here.

Our first loop thru the west, once started, will be later and longer this spring due to the number of bookings. At this point we still expect to get a second round in thru SK, AB and BC before the end of June. We have some flexibility as we have a number of bookings which give us most of the summer to complete them. In areas with limited bookings for the 2^nd round, particularly in more remote areas, some clients may need to wait a little longer to avoid mileage charges giving us the ability to economize with additional surveys in the area. That said due to the fuel cost, there are instances where we will simply have to charge mileage.

For those of you already booked and checking in to see where we are at, please remember to complete utility line locates if they are on the property before our arrival to make sure we can get there and get to work.

Let’s all hope for a long summer to make up for the late spring.

Spring Post (Late)

March is gone and we are more than ready for spring. Really this was drafted in February and should have been posted before we started to move. For some reason it didn’t get on the blog when it was posted I expect due to terminating the connection to soon. Should have checked. or been blogging more sooner.

No Question we have been neglecting our blog for the last bit as we have been moving and organizing for the last couple of months as we consolidate to one place from Calgary and Manitoba. We were as good as homeless for a few weeks as we sold the city house and had to wait for possession of our place in the country. Most everything was in storage in the meantime, added to which all the stuff from MB had been in storage since the spring and need to finally get unpacked and organized. However we are here and it will still take a bit to organize and settle but we are finally in and glad to be here.

We had received a new testimonial from “drill-behinds” for 2011 which we wanted up then but have included now. A few more have come since but computer time and connection to the Internet was limited till now but we will get them up in the next week or so. Here’s the first from our season opener last year.

Testimonial

“We drilled 4 dry holes in the search for water on our new property using 2 different witchers and a couple of educated guesses! I was sure that there had to be a better way to search for water so I turned to the Internet and it was there I discovered Waterfind.

Gary was informed, professional and easy to deal with. He came on the right day at the right time and spent most of the day doing detailed analysis of our property. Once the results had been processed there were 3 recommended sites and we found water in the first one.

We would recommend Waterfind without hesitation as this is technology that will save you money and time!”

Nanton, AB.

Needless to say there is nothing we like more than a satisfied client and we really appreciate when they take the time to provide us with a brief note to let us know. We take pride in sharing but don't post the personal info for the clients privacy. For more details just give us a call on our toll-free.

We also have a few more that have come in and will get them up within the next couple of weeks. Right now, as we wait for the snow to go away (again) and for the frost to get out we are focusing on completing research for the early bookings and getting back to a few emailed info requests that came in through the website while we were in the moving process. Without access to Internet most of the time it was hard to address some of these but with the last snow fall we should be back to everyone before we hit the road on the first loop across the west.

Book early and avoid mileage surcharges as we already have loops that will be planned for Edmonton North, the Okanagan, Williams Lake, North and south SK and western MB. If fuel costs continue on the upward trend no doubt we will have to charge to get to some areas and early booking will help to avoid that.

Enjoy the Spring !

Okotoks Water News

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Okotoks+loses+more+river+water/4047565/story.html

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Looking at the Blog before Christmas and feeling pretty guilty for not posting earlier I knew I had to get at least one more post done before the end of the year and here I sit just making my deadline by a few hours.

With the fall ending up with a bit of a rush on fall bookings it was a great end to the year and they were mostly completed before the snow hit. We would have liked to complete one more follow up survey, and one more late booking, but the snow and cold came and then pretty much stayed leaving 2 sites undone. Though we were hoping to get them done if it warmed enough, that just didn’t happen this year.

Though the surveys stopped, the “Busy” didn’t. We still had some items and equipment to get from MB after the sale of our property there so that kept us running for a bit with moving it here, and getting it into temporary storage. That was followed by an offer on our place in Calgary which meant we could now go looking for the place we wanted in the country. The looking was and is well underway and in the meantime we need to get packing things here as the buyer wants a pretty quick possession. The “Busy” will remain a few more weeks but we feel pretty confident we can be fully settled before the start of next survey season.

Though we haven’t completed a full review of the year we already know this is the best year ever with a better than a 90% success rate for hitting water on the drill behinds we know of in Alberta for 2010. We will be working on the results on the later drill behinds thru the winter and will post the results of on the blog sometime before spring along with new “blogged” testimonials. In the meantime if you need references we have lots of happy clients. Just give us a call.

Bookings for 2011 spring and summer are already higher now then they were last year in March. It appears the rural property development is picking up again as well as some of the spring work booked so far is for acreage sub divisions. Work on new acreages was almost non existent last year. All in all we are pretty excited for the new year as the water well drillers referrals continued to grow significantly this last year particularly from the “tough to find water” areas where they have followed dry holes on a property with success after our surveys. They continue to come. All good, Great really, as to us there is nothing better then getting our clients the water they need and we know the drillers feel the same.

On the pricing side? Our accountants are far enough along on our last year that they are already suggesting we may need to adjust our fees on surveys further away from home, particularly warning of the impact gas prices may have if they go where the experts say they might. We went thru that a couple of years ago when diesel went well over a dollar and stayed there for some time. It hurt to say the least. On their advice even if fuel remains the same we will need to adjust the way we charge on some of the more distant surveys particularly after the spring surveys, even more so if fuel prices rocket.

At this point it would be our intent to stay with prices as they were thru the first round of spring bookings when we have enough surveys in most areas that we can plan out initial routes economically thru each of the provinces. After that, likely by the end of May or early June it will just depend on the amount of bookings in a given area and the advance notice we receive on whether or not we need to add surcharges. Best to book way early. When we can cross a province and do 6-8 jobs on a loop the economy is just way better. BC clients have become pretty aware of this and will often book 6 months in advance. We already have a spring loop there that will let us hold 2010 price for those clients. It helps us and will help you a lot. We encourage you all to book as early as possible.

We will be posting thru the winter so keep checking in.

Happy New Year !

October 3, 2010 Survey Update

October is one of the busy months of the year and it was off to a good start albeit it seemed like fall had started a couple of weeks ago kicking things into a faster pace a little earlier than normal. The weather we had for a while did bring some urgency to the fall bookings and clients’ (likely as nervous as we were) decided to get into gear early and book their surveys either to try and get a well drilled for this fall yet or at least to be ready for drilling in spring. If the weather holds should all be under control.

As the fall set in the last couple of years we used to get bookings often just after we left an BC or AB while still in SK on the way back to MB trying to complete the last ones there before it got really cold. The fall loop’s would often take 2-3 weeks. With more bookings on the way back we would then try and get back west though with some surveys we ended up simply not getting back to an area needing to push the survey till spring.

That was then. Now with being in AB full time we are much more centralized and no question, its making for better logistics giving us much quicker response times then when we were based in MB. The rush is not what it was or at least seemed because we are closer to home with the bulk of our work.

Fall looked like it was nearing the end there for a bit a couple of weeks ago though as we drove through snow coming out of Williams Lake, BC. Thankfully it was just a warning shot from Old Man winter. However it did make us get the winter tires ordered so they were in stock. The snow is not so bad for us till it gets deep (and it can be moved) but it’s the frost getting deeper that creates the problems making it more difficult or finally when it gets to deep just hard to work in particularly if it freezes up wet. Pending weather we could easily be working till late November in some areas.

We are also already taking bookings for 2011. It’s never to early to give us a head’s up of interest in a survey particularly in more distant locations like Fort St. John, Williams lake or Vancouver Island. Once on the list in an area we simply call and check if we are heading your way if you are ready and you avoid the extra charges which can at times add 20-30% to the cost of the survey if you are the only one in the area. The first loops of the year we get to most areas in western Canada avoiding surcharges with the number of bookings we have at that time, but after the initial rounds in May and June we do occasionally find we need to add mileage surcharges for more remote areas just because of the cost and time to travel for single surveys. Early is better..

On the way to BC

Just a brief note that we will be heading to south and cental BC within a few days and though we hope not , from the cool weather we have had this could be the last loop till spring. Please contact us ASAP (early this week) to book.

Mid- August Update

Since our last blog entry we remain very happy with our track record this year adding a number of recent drill behinds with wells successfully completed on nearly all completed survey sites where clients have drilled. Given that many of these surveys sites were completed in tough areas, and some with a number of dry holes, the results are exceptional.

As you can tell by our less than frequent entry’s in the blog, life has been a little busy keeping up with surveys and with the decision early this year to centralize in Alberta. Having sold our MB property we moved most everything to Alberta these last weeks and are now preparing for one more move from the city house to a country home south of Calgary in the months ahead. Thankfully that’s mostly done for now and we will have a bit of a lull on that side letting us focus on finding water in the weeks ahead as the fall rush gets underway. That said it will all be worth it as we are already experiencing better logistics getting back home a little more frequently with the loops starting from and returning to Calgary.

We have been to BC, to MB and SK twice, and now back in Alberta since our last entry. We will work here the next couple of weeks and then start another loop to SK, and then to BC. For BC clients anyone interested in a survey this year should book soon so we can schedule. We expect to be in BC well over a week, maybe 2 once we leave for there and it could well be the last loop this fall pending the arrival of freeze-up. We expect to head there about the 2nd week of September. For SK we expect we will be doing 2 and maybe 3 loops, likely 2 in the south and one to the N and NW with a jump into MB on both the south and North loops before the end of the season.

Maximize your investment return with higher yield and avoid dry holes! Call us Before You drill!

With all the flooding in SK "Drought still the enemy"

With flood conditions that have hit so many areas it is hard to think of the drier times. This Star article is a good reminder.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology/Real+enemy+drought/3249401/story.html

July 1 Update -

Pretty sure I had posted to our blog mid June before coming out of MB but the draft was still sitting in draft mode when I finally got to checking it today. I remember the attempt being a late night effort just after taking a week to move off our property in MB and than going right back to surveys in N AB and SK. That said, getting out the reports and answering emails and calls from our clients always takes priority whether they come thru the site or from a referral and the blog suffers as a result. May have to start sharing that responsibility. Though we have another move ahead of us here Alberta is home now. We expect it to be better for us and our clients as we are more centered to the bulk of our work.

It is just really great when you get a call and a driller calls and says “Did you hear the good news?” followed by “Don’t know how you did it, but it worked! This guy has tried for years for a decent well and finally he’s got one” and then “You can expect us to send you some clients that are in this area and hope you do the same for them”. This was a call last week from another site surveyed in late spring that has that turned out better than we estimated, resulting in over 6 gpm where most wells were somewhat less than half of that. The record for the year is looking great.

We are now thru all but a couple of the early bookings except those that were delayed by our clients, and onto the 2nd and 3rd round in some areas. Being close to home in most of southern AB we can keep pretty current here. We expect to head east into SK/MB next week, back to AB and than into BC about the 3rd or forth week. August tends to be not quite as busy though we expect we will need another week at least in S.BC later in the month and another one into N. BC likely late August or early September. Though we hope not, by that time it can become the last loops in BC as with harvest coming off by this time and the surveys pre-booked for after the crop is off it usually makes for a busy September and October. All the rain in the east may complicate things and slow them somewhat but at some point getting everything done will just depend on when winter sets in. Its just July …did I say Winter?

SNOW IN CALGARY

Wow did those 4 weeks blow by and here we are looking back saying we were going to try and keep current on our Blog! In truth we have been working thru most weekends with the only breaks we have had from early April being rain days. Even that worked out for us this year as when they came they were much needed to get equipment serviced and in the office paperwork caught up.

Bunch of Snow in Calgary today and in a way thankful for the weather as it provided some unexpected office time. We have been working steady, and had 5 successful drill behinds already this spring 4 out of 5 turning out better than expected and one on the mark. May has taken us East to MB, back thru SK to AB for a bit , into southern BC, Edmonton this week and the west side of SK and right now back in Calgary getting caught up on reports. The next day or 2 (if we can drive the roads) we’ll pull out for Manitoba and be there into June. The route will be SK to get back, a couple in AB, into Northern AB and BC and than likely a loop back thru southern BC again near the end of June.

As far as scheduling we are pretty current completing more than we thought we could get done by this time with the early April start and that includes some pick-up surveys on our routes. We had hoped to get a trip to Northern AB and BC but a few rain outs held us up getting back to AB and than one BC job delayed which meant additional mileage charges for the other surveys to get done there so we delayed to do them all together in June keeping it cheaper for everyone. Otherwise the balance of bookings across the West weren’t expecting us much before the end of June so all working out pretty decent and right on time

We keep advising everyone in distant areas to give us as much advance notice as they can to avoid the extra charges. On the past BC loop we did 6 jobs and 4 had booked for this spring last fall which gave us plenty of notice. We hadn’t even left there and we already had 3 booked for the next BC loop. The main areas in the south are no problem and most of the time we are less than 2-3 weeks out in most areas though at times we can be there in days if we happen to be going right by. In more remote areas it is tougher though and there are areas we will only get too once a year where we can group enough jobs to avoid the extra charges. After that on remote and rush jobs we have no option but to surcharge as when we have to drive a day in, and a day back, its hard to cover that cost with just 1 or 2 surveys. Book early ..it helps us both.

April 29th Wet is Good

One could complain about the snow in AB but than we look back at the start of the 2009 season at the beginning of May and are just happy to have started as early as we did this year. We are pretty much where we would have been at the end of May in completed surveys and even have results from a successful drill behind for one of the first clients this year that turned out much better than expected. We also know the moisture is needed badly in a lot of the West and will be great for the farmers.

We worked into MB last week and were to complete one more survey here and than head into SK this week. With the amount of rain in the forecast we were looking at the radar map early this morning, and after checking with our scheduled clients in MB and SK we made the decision to hole up for a day or 2. As a big part of our work is off-site we decided to get caught up on paperwork, pretty sure it would be more productive than waiting on sites for rain to stop the next couple of days. The radar track looks like all the sites we are headed to will be in rain from MB thru SK and SNOW in AB for the next 2-3 days so it’s pretty hard to skirt around it and try and get any work done. Hopefully we can get started over the weekend and get into SK early next week. This may put the BC loop a couple of weeks away yet but still when we thought we would get there earlier in the year before getting the early start we did.

Alberta “GROWING FORWARD”- Water Management Program

We are very pleased to see the Alberta Water Management Program is available to farmers and ranchers this spring thru the relatively new “Growing Forward” initiative replacing the previous rural water development program. The AB Water Management Program is just one segment of the broader federally supported “Growing Forward” frame-work for CDN agriculture, that will bring multi-faceted assistance to Alberta farmers including product development, increasing access to global markets, energy management, protecting the environment, animal welfare, food safety and managing risk.


In a quick review of the application process for water development assistance, there are sure to be a few comments of “looks like too much paperwork” but in my opinion the program and application process is a step in the right direction. It will in some cases be the catalyst for producers to complete an assessment of what may be their operations most important resource. Alberta’s Water Management Program shows solid effort by the ARD (AB Agriculture and Rural Development) to target funding not just to establish a new water source, but to also incorporate the development of a Water Management Plan that will help assure long term sustainability of the new and existing water sources, the environment, and help facilitate plans for future growth and development of the farming operation. We feel that through the application process, farmers and agri-business, will get a more accurate understanding, or at the very least, additional insight as to the part water resources play in their farming operation and it’s future sustainability.

The link to Alberta’s Growing Forward Water Management Program is below. The blue column on the right of the web page provides the links to other Growing Forward Programs currently available.

http://www.growingforward.alberta.ca/growingforward/program_WaterManagement.htm

April 6 Update

Coming back from MB last week was quite encouraging from a “spring has arrived” aspect. Right across the west most of the snow was gone and we also stopped to do a couple of roadside ground tests for frost in SK and E AB attempting to pound a 3 foot rod. Though it still showed some frost in the ground we also stopped to check with a back hoe operator digging road side near Irvine, AB and he suggested the frost was pretty much gone on the sunny side of the slopes, still a bit left on the shaded side. We are pretty excited to be getting what is an earlier start this year as last year we did our first survey May 1 and had snow after that hold us up. We will have a few surveys done in S AB this week. Spring clients from BC have been checking and we have suggested we would be getting there by mid-May but we expect if the weather doesn’t surprise us it could be earlier to at least get the early bookings done.