Section Title
2015 Annual Report
Sub–Section Title
The NGWREF mission is to conduct
education, research, and other charitable
activities that foster advancements in
science and technology applied by the
groundwater community; stimulate new
knowledge, information, programs, and
products; and contribute to groundwater
sustainability for long-term public and
environmental benefit.
2015 NGWREF Board of Directors
President
Secretary
Directors
Daniel T. Meyer, MGWC, CVCLD, CPA
Gregg Drilling & Testing Inc.
Signal Hill, California
Vice President
Treasurer
Lori Huntoon, PG
Huntoon Environmental
Consulting Inc.
Monroe, Wisconsin
Ben Primost, CWD/PI
Pickwick Well Drilling
Farmingdale, New Jersey
W. Richard Laton, Ph.D., PG, CHG, CPG
California State University, Fullerton
Santa Ana, California
Michael E. Campana, Ph.D.
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
Robert DiFilippo, PG
Aquaterra Technologies Inc.
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Beverly Herzog
Champaign, Illinois
Art Becker, MGWC, CPG
Drilling and Safety Consultants LLC
Manahawkin, New Jersey
Steve Schneider, MGWC
Schneider Equipment Inc.
St. Paul, Oregon
Developing Nations
Groundwater Supply Grants
Good Neighbor Network
Water for Life International
Awarded $7,700, Water for Life International
will be providing a potable water well to
villages in the San Luis District of Guatemala.
Installing a well with high standards for
construction, Water for Life will be reducing
waterborne disease and child death rates
among the 400 villagers who will be served.
Good Neighbor Network, in partnership
with Good Samaritan Malawi, has received
a $4,300 grant for a groundwater supply
project to drill a well in Thule Village, in the
Rumphi District of Malawi, where the nearest
well is 3.7 miles away. The 3,200 residents of
the village will reap the benefits of a potable
water source in the community, particularly
the women and girls.
Rosshirt Water for Africa
Foundation
Since receiving
their first grant
from NGWREF
in 2013, the
Rosshirt Water for
Africa Foundation
(RWFA) continues to ensure an
adequate and
safe water supply
in Zimbabwe.
With a grant of
$8,000, RWFA will
perform routine
maintenance and
necessary repairs
to 10 previously
constructed wells on which 25,000 individuals
rely.
Education and
Training Grants
Northern Illinois Research
Foundation
To conduct a twoweek educational
and hands-on training short course,
the Foundation
is providing a
$5,000 grant to the
Northern Illinois
Research Foundation. The course will
take place in the
summer of 2016 at Yadanabon University in
central Myanmar and focus on the principles
of groundwater development, well construction, wellhead protection, and groundwater
quality/sampling. Because Myanmar lacks basic
and current information on hydrogeology, this
short course will impact a whole generation of
groundwater professionals.
Skat Foundation
In order to raise understanding of key issues
related to water well design and construction
quality, the Skat Foundation will produce a
short animated video, in both English and
French, with a $10,000 grant from NGWREF.
The video will be used internally by WaterAid
and UNICEF as well as promoted externally by
the Rural Water Supply Network and partners
online, at conferences and training events.
1
Education
Len Assante
Scholarship
NGWREF awarded $25,000
from its Len Assante Scholarship Fund to 15 students.
Each of the scholarship
recipients are entering a
field of study that serves,
supports, or promotes the
groundwater professions.
In talking with college sophomore Tyler Rush, you get
the impression whatever
he does—he gets the job
done. That is good news for Rush Well Drilling
in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, because Rush has
committed to someday taking over the family
well construction business.
system professionals who see the value of a college education in what can be a tough business
environment. He said the transition from high school to college has been a real challenge.
“It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. College is way more challenging,” Rush says. While
students can sometimes skate through high school, “if you don’t do the work in college, you won’t
know what to do.”
He added the most rewarding thing he’s done to date is “making the decision to go to college and know
I’m making the right choice.”
Although Rush represents the new generation of future water well system professionals, he relishes
some of the age-old satisfaction that comes from being in this business.
“I like there’s never really a day that’s the same,” he says. “You’re always getting into something new. When
drilling wells, they’re never going to be the same depth or take the same amount of time or drill as easy.
I like the idea of doing different things every day.”
Additional Assante Scholarship winners
Tyler Rush
University of Wisconsin–
Stevens Point
Black River Falls, Wisconsin
Alexandra Polasko
Past President Award
University of CaliforniaBerkeley
Scottsdale, Arizona
Annette Hein
Kaitlyn Aldrich
Ora Lyons Award
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming
Iowa State University
Urbandale, Iowa
Dylan Landon
Katherine Landoni
Maribeth Ault
Juniata College
Peach Bottom,
Pennsylvania
Hannah Gibbs
Centre College
London, Kentucky
Erin Gray
Brenden Green
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Humboldt State
University
Antelope, California
Amy Plechacek
Ryan Ronzoni
Sarah Welsh
“I think of myself as a hard worker. I always like
doing things right the first time. That’s the way I
was raised: Do it right the first time or don’t do it at
all,” he says. In the family’s well business, “we’re on
time constraints, so we have to do everything in a
certain amount of time but it has to be done right.”
Rush is majoring in water resources with a minor
in business at the University of Wisconsin–
Stevens Point. He will be the fifth generation
to run the family business, but the first with a
college education to do so.
Rush says, “When I mentioned to my dad wanting
to go to college, he said that was the only way I was
going to be able to take it over—to get a degree.
Getting a degree in something related to well construction is going to help me be more successful.”
Not that Rush doesn’t value learning at the hands
of the masters—his father, Jon, and grandfather,
Robert, who passed the reins of the business to Jon.
“I’m obviously nervous about it, getting started and
everything, but I know they’ll both help me out
until I get my feet underneath me and figure things
out,” he adds. “Even to this day, my grandpa helps
my dad out, and my dad has been running the well
drilling business for close to 30 years.”
Rush represents a new generation of water well
Kiloaulani
Ka’awa-Gonzales
California Polytechnic
Colorado State University State University
Waterville, Washington
Kaunakakai, Hawaii
Oregon State University
Sequim, Washington
Ythalya Ortuno
Texas A&M University
Houston, Texas
Virginia Tech University
Blacksburg, Virginia
Cornell University
Goshen, New York
Harvard University
Bellingham, Washington
Farvolden Award
The Farvolden Award competition was held at the 2015 Groundwater Summit in San Antonio, Texas.
Because of the generous underwriting from S.S. Papadopulos & Associates Inc., we were able to
distribute $4,000 to four graduate students in the field of groundwater:
Farvolden Award winners
Omkar Aphale
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York
Farhad Jazaei
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Charlene N. King
Colorado State
University
Fort Collins, Colorado
Stephanie S. Wong
Baylor University
Waco, Texas
Emerging
Leaders
Alliance
NGWREF sent eight individuals to the
Emerging Leaders Alliance Conference
that took place November 8-11, 2015 in
Reston, Virginia.
Sponsoring groundwater industry
emerging leaders is consistent with
NGWREF’s commitment to continuing
education in leadership skills that will
enhance the future effectiveness of the
groundwater professions, and maximize
the impact of groundwater for society.
Robert Curley
Layne Christensen, Middletown, Ohio
William Fernandez
CDM Smith, Waimanalo, Hawaii
David Henrich, CWD/PI, CVCLD
Thermal Dynamics,
Maple Plain, Minnesota
Jennifer Karen
Summit Drilling, Bridgewater, New Jersey
Gretchen Miller, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University,
College Station, Texas
Lauren Schapker
National Ground Water Association,
Alexandria, Virginia
Nathan Smith
CDM Smith, Denver, Colorado
Becky Wiedorn
Ground Water Pump Systems,
Boulder, Colorado
2016 McEllhiney Lecture
Peter S. Cartwright, PE, will present
“Groundwater
Contaminants
and Treatment
Options” as the
2016 McEllhiney
Distinguished
Lecturer.
Cartwright, who
owns and operates
Cartwright Consulting Co. with offices
in Minneapolis and
the Netherlands, has been in the treatment
side of the water industry since 1974.
The context for Cartwright’s lecture is that no
two water supplies are identical, so ensuring a
potable water supply that is safe, good tasting,
and acceptable for washing, bathing, or
showering requires a treatment approach that
takes into account the unique variables that
affect water quality.
Health-related contaminants such as nitrite/
nitrate, arsenic, and pathogenic microorganisms may be naturally occurring or the result
of human activity, or both. Also, the water
pH, total dissolved solids, iron, hardness, and
other constituents may affect taste or its other
properties. The challenge to the groundwater
professional is how to reduce such constituents
to an acceptable level.
The lecture will be tailored to the contaminants that a given audience encounters most
frequently or the treatment technologies in
which the audience is most interested.
2016 Darcy Lecture
Ty Ferré, Ph.D.,
professor in the University of Arizona’s
Department of
Hydrology and Water
Resources, has been
selected as the 2016
Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecturer.
Ferré’s lecture,
“Seeing Things Differently: Rethinking the
Relationship Between Data and Models,” explores
how the practice of hydrology depends on
computer models while at the same time new
methods have been adapted or developed for
characterizing and monitoring the subsurface.
He notes these two areas have evolved almost
completely independently of one another, but
posits a unified approach is needed—designing
measurement methods in the context of numerical
analyses that address specific scientific and
management questions. Accordingly, Ferré
will present an integrated overview of the
relationships among models, measurements,
and decisions, including:
• Discussing what is actually being measured
when measurements are made, with a focus
on the large scale from pumping tests to
geophysics
• Describing how these measurements
currently are being merged with models and
how this process could be improved
• Covering how hydrogeologists can turn the
standard approach to combining measurements and models around by using models to
help identify more informative measurements
• Exploring how the optimal design of a
measurement and modeling campaign can,
and should, be driven by the specific practical
or scientific questions being asked.
National Ground Water Research
and Educational Foundation Inc.
There are four ways to contribute to NGWREF:
&
Phone 800 551.7379 or
614 898.7791
M-F 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET).
Have credit card ready.
Fax completed contribution
form to 614 898.7786.
)
Mail completed contribution form to:
NGWREF
601 Dempsey Rd.
Westerville, OH 43081 USA
Online contributions accepted at
NGWA.org/Give.
Please direct my gift to the following:
$______ McEllhiney Distinguished Lecture Series Fund
$______ Darcy Distinguished Lecture Series Fund
$______ Len Assante Scholarship Fund
$______ Robert N. Farvolden Awards Fund
$______ USA Groundwater Fund
$______ Developing Nations Fund
$______ Groundwater Research Fund
$______ 21st Century General Fund
$______ Total
I am making this contribution by:
q Check (payable to NGWREF) #____________________________________________________________________________________________
Credit card:
q American Express
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Credit card number _________________________________________ Printed name ________________________________________________
Expiration date _____________________________________ Signature____________________________________________________________
q I wish to learn more about the National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation and planned gifts. Please contact me.
Name__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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5
Thank you to the individuals and companies that
have supported the Foundation in the past year.
Each of these generous contributions help to enable the Foundation, a part of the National Ground Water Association, to conduct education,
research, and other charitable activities to enhance the future effectiveness of the groundwater professions and to maximize the impact of
groundwater for our society.
Leader
($50,000 and above)
Franklin Electric
Daniel B. Stephens, Ph.D.
Barry R. Levine
Gregory Drilling Inc.
Otto Strack, Ph.D.
Daniel B. Stephens &
Associates Inc.
Bobby L. Gaddis, PE, PG
Gretchen Miller, Ph.D.
Paul Gruber
Earth Forensics Inc.
Brian Lane, CPI
Harmony Warren
Paula L. MacRae
Burkhard Bohm
Heather J. Cross
Cameron Tana
Herbert A. Wilson Jr., Retired MGWC, PE
ProActive Environmental Products
Partner
Frank C. Gabriel
($10,000 to $24,999)
James Butler, Ph.D.
Laibe Corp./Versa-Drill
Jeffrey W. Williams, MGWC, CVCLD
National Ground Water Association
Kevin B. McCray, CAE
Steve Schneider, MGWC, and Miriam Schneider
Len Ford
Summit Drilling Co. Inc.
Pumps of Houston Inc.
Patron
($5,000 to $9,999)
Art Becker, MGWC, CPG, and Joann Becker
Pickwick Well Drilling
Robert M. DiFilippo, PG
Robert P. Schreiber, PE
Ronnie Hensley
Scott J. Fowler, CWD/PI
Daniel T. Meyer, MGWC, CVCLD, and Jeannie Meyer
Service Wire Co.
John Miller
Timothy K. Parker, PG
John W. Henrich, MGWC, CVCLD, and Bobbi Henrich
Todd E. Hunter, CWD/PI
Michael E. Campana, Ph.D.
Moretrench American Corp.
Associate
($2,500 to $4,999)
Stephen E. Silliman, Ph.D.
W. Richard Laton, Ph.D., PG, CHG, CPG
Donor
($1 to $499)
AAA Well Drilling
Downey Drilling Inc.
Allan D. Randall
S.S. Papadopulos &
Associates Inc.
Amazon Smile
Scott King, PG
Andrew T. Benoit
Friend
Anthony Natividad
($500 to $2,499)
Beverly L. Herzog
Andres Cano, PG
Aquaterra Technologies Inc.
Barbara H. Wilson
Carol Graff
Ralph K. Davis, Ph.D.
Huckfeldt Well Drilling Inc.
Reiner G. Haubold
James Kipp
Richard Thron, MGWC
Jean Bahr, Ph.D.
Robert L. Bluntzer
Jefferson P. Hoffer
Robert L. Melvin
Joe C. Yelderman Jr., Ph.D.
Robert W. Cleary, Ph.D.
John Jansen, Ph.D., PG, RGp
Ron Swanson
John Massey Norton
Root Contracting
Jones Well Drilling
Stuart A. Smith, CGWP
Jordan F. Clark, Ph.D.
Sumoto S.r.l.
Joseph Amaya, Ph.D.
Terry Farago
Joseph Caggiano, Ph.D.
Terry Griffin, CGWP
DMW Well & Pump Service
Joseph Guardino
Terry Smith
Don Stodola Well Drilling Co. Inc.
Judith Schenk
Thomas J. Timmermans
Katherine J. Beinkafner, Ph.D.
Timothy J. Durbin
Dorothy S. Malaier
Kyrian Ojibe
Tissa H. Illangasekare
Duane Crawford
Larry E. Roberts
Virdell Drilling Inc.
E. Calvin Alexander Jr., Ph.D.
Mario R. Lluria
Western Rubber & Mfg.
Edward Mehnert
Mark Kibble
William S. Dey
Edward Powell Pump & Well
Mary C. Hill, Ph.D.
Windmill 702 LLC
Eichelbergers Inc.
Melissa Lenczewski, Ph.D.
Zelony Well Drilling Inc.
Erin Rodgers
Michael M. Shaw
ESP Enviro Service
Products Inc.
Mid-America Pump & Supply
Fernando Gomez
Mohammad H. Makkawi
Fred E. Baechler
Mohsen Mehran
Gary A. Colgan, CGWP
Morton Price
Gregor Well Drilling
Nancy R. Zolidis
Charles Daniel III
Charles J. Taylor
Charles Thomas, PG
Christopher M. Kravits
Christopher P. Carlson, Ph.D.
Claude Mays III
Clearwater Drilling Co.
Crosby Well Drilling Inc.
David A. Stonestrom, Ph.D.
David H. Wozab
David R. Larson
This list represents all
donations made between
November 1, 2014 and
October 31, 2015.