NGWREF and Franklin Electric collaborate to help water well contractors improve skills

Franklin Electric Co., the world's largest manufacturer of submersible electric motors, has agreed to underwrite the next three years of the William A. McEllhiney Distinguished Lecture Series in Water Well Technology.

The lecture series was established in 2000 by the National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation (NGWREF), which is affiliated with the National Ground Water Association (NGWA). The purpose of the series is to foster professional excellence in water well technology.

Franklin Electric's Chairman and CEO R. Scott Trumbull said underwriting the McEllhiney Lecture Series is one way the company can support those on the front lines of the well drilling industry -- the water well contractor.

The 2005 McEllhiney Distinguished Lecturer is Dave Kill, whose 90-minute lecture is titled, "Well Efficiency is Not a Myth." He is a registered professional engineer in civil engineering. His term as the McEllhiney Lecturer begins June 1. Kill challenges his audiences to rethink well development methods and well design to improve well efficiency. He will speak at about 25 venues during the course of the year including the NGWA's Ground Water Expo scheduled for Decemember 13-16 in Cobb County, Georgia.

Entities eligible to apply for a McEllhiney Lecture include organized groups of contractors and other qualified and interested parties. Meetings and conventions of state and regional associations are eligible. Foreign associations of ground water contractors, academic institutions teaching water well technology, gatherings of water well regulators, and other bodies with a direct and identifiable interest in water well design and construction are eligible as well. An application form can be obtained at http://www.ngwa.org/pdf/reg_frm.pdf.

This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.