A Minnesota man living without water for two years was able to start the new year with a new water well when a group of groundwater professionals banded together and donated all the parts and their time to install a new water well system.
Vance Gray of Park Rapids, Minnesota, had been without running water on his property for two years when his well unexpectedly became inoperable. Not being able to afford a new system, Gray has been depending on bottled water and the help of his neighbors for his daily water needs.
The installation took place on December 30, 2019. The donated water well system and labor came from the contracting firms Klimek Brothers Well Drilling of Alexandria, Minnesota, and Fideldy Brothers Drilling in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, as well as industry suppliers Preferred Pump and Equipment and Headwater Wholesale. All are members of the Minnesota Water Well Association.
“I have been out of water for over two years and am very grateful that the MWWA and its members have helped me out,” Gray said. “It will be nice to have water in my house again. The local community works together, and this really has been great.”
There are currently 2.9 million housing units in the United States lacking complete plumbing and access to clean, safe, affordable drinking water.
“This project really shows what we can do together as an association,” said MWWA President David Henrich CWD/PI, CVCLD, who was also NGWA president in 2018. “For this project, several association members pitched in a little to do good work for a person in need of water. It is the most valuable resource a person can have access to, and we are happy to help Vance get running water back on his property.”