October 3, 2026
This week’s photo is courtesy of- Arizona Beeman Drilling - Gold Canyon, AZ, USA.
Health Focus
Part 2 of 2: Your Heart
Yesterday: how a shock can stop a heart. Today: what to do in the minutes that could decide the outcome.
Step 1: Do not become the second victim. MedlinePlus says not to touch the person with bare hands while they are still in contact with the source. Shut the power off first: unplug it, kill the breaker, or shut down the generator. If you cannot, use something that does not conduct, like a dry wooden broom handle, to separate them from the source. For high voltage, such as a power line, stay at least 20 feet back until the power is off.
Step 2: Call 911 and check breathing. Once the person is clear, call 911 and check whether they respond and are breathing normally. The American Heart Association's guidance for bystanders: if an adult is unresponsive and not breathing, or only gasping, assume cardiac arrest and start CPR. Pulse checks are for trained healthcare providers.
Step 3: Get the AED. An automated external defibrillator, or AED, reads the heart's rhythm and delivers a shock to restore it. OSHA puts the stakes in numbers: survival chances drop by 7 to 10 percent for each minute without CPR or defibrillation, and "after 10 minutes, resuscitation rarely succeeds." On a remote test site, help may be more than 10 minutes out. An AED in the truck could be the difference.
Step 4: Do not wave it off. MedlinePlus says to call 911 "if a person has been injured by electricity," and warns that burns that look minor can hide damage to the heart. Treat any shock that leaves pain, a burn, numbness, or a strange heartbeat as an injury, not an inconvenience.
Before the next job. OSHA's 1926.50(c) calls for a first-aid trained person at the worksite when medical care is not reasonably accessible. Know who that is, where the AED is, and the site address for 911 before the pump starts.
Key Takeaways:
• Power off first. Never touch someone still in the circuit.
• Call 911, start CPR, and get the AED on them fast.
• Every minute without CPR or defibrillation cuts survival odds by 7 to 10 percent.
• Electrical injury means a 911 call, even when the burn looks minor.
Sources:
• MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine): Electrical Injury
• American Heart Association: Adult Basic Life Support (2025 Guidelines)
Industry Updates
Drought Covers Nearly Half the Country
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor data, valid September 22, put 49.65 percent of the United States and Puerto Rico in drought, including 59.24 percent of the Lower 48. About 105.6 million people live in those areas, and 42 states have at least moderate drought, according to the federal Drought.gov portal.
The worst of it sits in the South. The Drought Monitor reports extreme drought in every state in its South region, with exceptional drought over much of northern Texas, western to southern Oklahoma, and parts of Arkansas. Conditions also worsened from southeast Virginia through the Carolinas to Georgia and Alabama. In the West, central Utah, central Oregon, southern Idaho, and northern New Mexico remain the largest areas of extreme to exceptional drought, even as monsoon rains helped parts of Arizona and New Mexico.
Why it matters: when surface water runs short and water tables fall, the calls come in: lowering pumps, deepening wells, and replacing wells that went dry. That is field experience rather than a forecast, but crews in the hardest-hit regions would be wise to plan inventory and scheduling with it in mind. The map updates every Thursday.
EPA and Army Corps Float a Perennial-Only Test for Federal Waters
On September 9, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers published a supplemental proposal (91 FR 57284) that would narrow which streams and wetlands fall under the federal Clean Water Act. It adds options to their November 2025 proposal to redefine "waters of the United States," or WOTUS.
The key change is a "supplemental option" the agencies are taking comment on: "relatively permanent" waters would mean perennial waters, those "having standing or continuously flowing water every day of the year during ordinary conditions." The option allows for anomalous events such as drought, and for "a single period of up to 30 consecutive days in any given year" of interrupted flow. Wetlands would need a surface connection so continuous that it is "difficult to determine where the jurisdictional water ends and the wetland begins." The underlying 2025 proposal also lists groundwater as an exclusion.
Why it matters: if finalized, fewer seasonal washes and wetlands would be federally regulated, which could mean less federal permitting review for some drill pads, access roads, and discharge routes, especially in the arid West. State rules still apply. Comments are due October 9 under docket EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322.
Source: Federal Register: Updated Definition of "Waters of the United States" (Supplemental Proposal); EPA: 2026 Supplemental Proposed WOTUS Rule Fact Sheet
Three Months In: North Carolina's Single Rulebook for Private Wells
Three months ago, North Carolina took private well permitting rules out of county hands. Session Law 2026-32 (House Bill 376), approved by the Governor on July 2, 2026, requires each county, through its local health department, to carry out the private drinking water well permitting and inspection program adopted by the state Environmental Management Commission.
Local boards of health may no longer adopt rules on private well permitting, except for testing standards. The law also repealed the local board of health well-permitting rules already on the books. It applies to permits applied for on or after the date it became law.
Why it matters: drillers working across county lines in North Carolina now build to one state rulebook instead of a patchwork. Counties still take the applications and do the inspections, and local water-testing standards can still differ, so check testing requirements county by county. For contractors in other states, it is a model worth watching.
Industry Events
Event Highlight: CGA Annual Conference and Trade Show
The California Groundwater Association brings contractors, pump installers, and suppliers to Reno next week for its annual conference and trade show. Education runs at basic and advanced levels, with sessions including Job Site Safety, Pump Basics, and Grouting and Sealing. Wednesday, October 7 brings the vendor floor and the 78th Annual Banquet and Silent Auction. Thursday, October 8 includes the session "DWR: Bulletin 74 Update" on California's well standards revision.
California Groundwater Association: Annual Conference and Trade Show
October 6 to 8, 2026; Reno, NV
Information and Registration: CGA 2026 Annual Conference and Trade Show
Southwest Section AWWA: Annual Conference
October 25 to 27, 2026; Bossier City, LA
Information and Registration: SWAWWA 2026 Annual Conference
Ohio Water Well Association: Annual Conference and Expo
November 4 to 5, 2026; Newark, OH
Information and Registration: OWWA Events
SADC Groundwater Management Institute: 8th SADC Groundwater Conference
November 18 to 20, 2026; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Information and Registration: 8th SADC Groundwater Conference
National Ground Water Association: Groundwater Week 2026
December 8 to 10, 2026; Las Vegas, NV
Information and Registration: Groundwater Week 2026
If you have a conference, symposium, workshop, or water well related event that you would like mentioned, contact us at [email protected]
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