Today we finished the drilling operation of the water well, ending up at 80 ft. for total depth. The drilling here is very challenging in that it is a combination of rock drilling and air drilling. We chose to drill this well with the air-style rig. This meant we were well-equipped to handle hard rock drilling but drilling gravel was going to be very difficult. Unfortunately, most of what we ended up drilling was very large gravel. This meant we could not go as deep into the ground as we would have hoped. However, the formation that we found was very good and with the grouting and construction, this should be a great well for a long time. The well pumped 75 gallons per minute and will be able to provide E.G.O. with more water than they could ever dream of!
On Tuesday, (our last full day in Haiti), the focus will be on the piping of the system and installing the chlorinator system that will inject chlorine each time the pump comes on, which will eliminate any bacteria or parasites from being present in the water.
We have chosen to postpone the drilling of the next well (planned for the community) for our May trip. We now have information that we did not have before and our materials are here for that well, so we should be ready to go for next time. We also did not want to get in the middle of this second well and not be able to finish. We are glad we are able to bring this first well to total completion on this trip.
All in all, today was an awesome day for the well drilling team. A special thank you to all of our suppliers, manufacturers and many donors that made this life-changing event possible! When we board that plane, we will confidently know that E.G.O. staff and children will be drinking clean water and their lives and health will be significantly improved by this new water well!