Ronald B. Peterson of Mountain Peak Services passed away on January 15 in Elsinore, Utah. He was 78.
Peterson was a drilling fluid and water well resource specialist and proudly called himself a “Mud Man.” He worked for Baroid IDP for more than 42 years and was part of the original team that started the Industrial Drilling Product line for the company.
He followed that up by serving as a drilling product specialist for Mountainland Supply Co. for four years before starting at Mountain Peak Services last year.
Peterson was respected across the United States and was recognized by NGWA with the Ross L. Oliver Award in 2013. The Oliver Award is the most prestigious award given by NGWA and is presented to a member who has made outstanding contributions to the groundwater industry.
He also delivered the Groundwater Foundation's McEllhiney Lecture in 2015 to water well professional groups around the country. The title of his talk was “Drilling Fluids: A Common Sense Approach.”
In the groundwater industry’s most popular book, Groundwater & Wells, Third Edition, Peterson was the coeditor of chapter 8 which details the proper use of drilling fluids. He also wrote regularly in NGWA’s Water Well Journal®. Since 2021, he authored the quarterly column titled “Plan for Success.”