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