September 12, 2026
This week’s photo is courtesy of White Mountain Operating, LLC- Pinedale, WY, USA
Health Focus
Part 2 of 2: Your Back
Part 1 covered why backs get hurt and the signs to watch. Here is what actually helps, most of it the same discipline from this week's safety series.
First, take the load off your back. Mechanical aids and team lifts are the single biggest thing you can do for your spine. NIOSH built a free tool, the Lifting Equation and its NLE Calc app, to flag lifts that are too much; keep the Lifting Index at or below 1.0 and put the heavy or awkward ones on a machine. For more information, follow the link at the bottom of the Health Focus section.
Second, retire the back belt myth. NIOSH studied back belts and found they are not proven to prevent back injury. Wear one if your employer requires it, but do not let it stand in for aids, planning, and technique.
Third, condition the engine. General fitness, core and hip strength, and a real warm-up before the first heavy pick are sensible habits that support a healthy back. A cold back at 5 a.m. is easier to hurt than a warm one.
Fourth, work smart across the day. Rotate heavy tasks, break up long static postures like standing and stooping, and stay hydrated.
Fifth, on recovery: most low back pain improves with gentle movement and time, and prolonged bed rest is not the fix.
This is general information, not a diagnosis. See your clinician for pain that does not improve, radiates down a leg, or comes with numbness or weakness. Your clinician knows your situation; this newsletter does not.
Key Takeaways
• Aids and team lifts protect your back more than anything else; keep the Lifting Index at or below 1.0.
• Back belts are not proven to prevent injury; condition your core and hips and warm up instead.
• Rotate heavy tasks, move often, and see a clinician for pain that radiates or brings numbness or weakness.
Sources:
• CDC / NIOSH: Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation and NLE Calc
• CDC / NIOSH: Back Belts: Do They Prevent Injury? (Publication 94-127)
• MedlinePlus (NIH): Low back pain: self-care and when to contact a provider
Industry Updates
EPA funds $11.75 million for drinking-water resilience, including a new Texas well facility
On August 31, EPA announced $11.75 million for ten midsize and large drinking-water systems to strengthen resilience against cyberattacks and extreme weather, through its Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability grant program. Several awards touch our work directly. Bay City, Texas will receive $1,110,105 to build a new well facility to improve water-well resilience to hurricanes and other extreme events. Lake City, Florida gets funds to modernize its SCADA and pump-control system, and Coffeyville, Kansas will repair its treatment plant and add a standby generator. EPA says the grants follow once legal and administrative requirements are met. Why it matters: federal resilience money keeps turning into real drilling, pump, controls, and standby-power work for public systems, and it signals where utilities are putting their money.
USDA household water well grant window closes September 30
USDA Rural Development's Rural Decentralized Water Systems Grant Program is open through September 30, 2026. The program funds qualified nonprofits, including tribal nonprofits, to run revolving loan funds and sub-grants that help rural homeowners build, refurbish, or service individually owned household water wells and decentralized wastewater systems. Loans to homeowners carry a 1 percent fixed rate, up to a 20-year term, and a maximum of $15,000 per household. Eligible areas are rural areas and towns of 50,000 or less, plus tribal lands and colonias, and applications go through Grants.gov. Why it matters: this is money that converts directly into household well drilling, casing, and pump work in the rural counties many of us serve. If you work with a nonprofit that runs one of these funds, or your customers do, the deadline is close.
Mexico reports recovering more than 5 billion cubic meters of water under its 2025 water-law reform
In her September 1 Second State of the Nation report, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico's government has recovered more than 5 billion cubic meters of water from private concessions since the December 2025 reform to the National Water Law (Ley de Aguas Nacionales), a volume the government describes as enough to supply more than 90 million people for a year. The administration reported issuing 12,346 concession titles to communities and small and medium producers, and making direct water assignments to municipalities including Mexicali and Tijuana. Why it matters (our read): how Mexico allocates and titles groundwater can shape well permitting, pumping rights, and demand for drilling and pump work across its basins, and the shift toward community and municipal concessions is worth watching for anyone working in or supplying that market. These are figures reported by the Mexican government.
Industry Events
Event Highlight: National Drilling Association Drill Expo
The National Drilling Association brings its Drill Expo to Nashville on September 17 and 18, and this one is aimed squarely at the crews that read this newsletter. Expect rigs, tooling, and equipment on the floor, plus sessions built for drilling contractors across water well, geotechnical, and environmental work. If you are weighing new equipment, comparing suppliers, or want a day of talking shop with other contractors, it is close on the calendar and worth the trip. Registration and the full agenda are on the association's event page.
National Drilling Association: Drill Expo
September 17 to 18, 2026; Nashville, TN
Information and Registration: National Drilling Association Drill Expo
National Rural Water Association: WaterPro Conference
September 14 to 16, 2026; Phoenix, AZ
Information and Registration: NRWA WaterPro Conference
International Association of Hydrogeologists: 53rd World Groundwater Congress
September 14 to 18, 2026; Budapest, Hungary
Information and Registration: IAH 2026 World Groundwater Congress
California Groundwater Association: Annual Conference and Trade Show
October 6 to 9, 2026; Reno, NV
Information and Registration: California Groundwater Association Annual Conference
National Ground Water Association: Groundwater Week 2026
December 8 to 10, 2026; Las Vegas, NV
Information and Registration: NGWA 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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