GROUNDWATER SPECIALISTS IN CT, NY, RI AND MA
Stephen B. Church
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In 2018, Weston & Sampson purchased the Stephen B. Church Company to expand our existing Well & Pump Division. With this enhanced capacity, we are able to deliver well rehabilitation, pump sales, and service work more effectively, while also providing drilling services in all six New England states and New York.
With a history of more than a century, SB Church has earned a reputation for excellence in the well industry. As part of this targeted acquisition, we have retained the SB Church name, along with many long-standing staff members whose knowledge and experience will provide a continuity of expertise. We intend to maintain the high standards of service SB Church clients have come to know and expect as we head into this next evolution of the company.
SPECIALIZING IN GRAVEL PACKED WELLS
We have decades of experience in siting and drilling high capacity gravel packed wells.
Gravel packed wells are drilled in sand and gravel overburden, and are constructed with custom fabricated stainless steel well screens. With a small test drilling rig, we can efficiently drill a series of small diameter test wells, and determine the optimum location for a high capacity production gravel well.
We drill most of our production wells using a bucket auger rig. We know of no other driller in southern New England who has a machine like this. The bucket machine drills a large diameter open hole. To get to the desired depth and diameter, the drilling crew may start with very large diameter casing, which they will install in the ground to a depth of 15 to 20 feet. They will then proceed to install several more lengths of casing, each smaller and deeper than the one installed previously, until the desired depth is reached.
After the desired depth is reached, the stainless steel well screen, gravel filter, and inner casing are set and the well is ready for development. Development is usually accomplished with a cable tool rig or custom built surging equipment using hollow surge blocks and an airlift pumping system.
Upon completion of the development, the temporary larger casings are removed as the well is grouted.
Using this drilling and development approach, we have successfully completed wells with capacities of 1 to 2 million gallons per day or more.
WATER WELL CLEANING, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
Well cleaning and maintenance is one of our most important services at SB Church.
Aquifers can start to become plugged over time because of accumulation of naturally occurring minerals such as iron, manganese, or calcium, or by iron bacteria. These accumulations in the gravel filter around a well screen can lead to reduced well capacity and increased pumping costs.
With our experience, we can often determine the root cause of the plugging problem, and devise a procedure for cleaning the well and restoring as much of the capacity as is possible. Redevelopment can be accomplished using carefully selected chemical treatments, hollow surge blocks, an airlift pumping system, and a cable tool rig or surging boom truck.
For more serious well problems, we are prepared to do a video of the inside of a well. When we encounter structural problems, we can design, supply, and install a new screen and new casing inside of the old screen and casing rebuild the well. This saves money that would be spent on new pumps, chlorination, piping, or electrical equipment
WATER WELL VIDEO SERVICE
We inspect water wells in CT, MA, NY, and RI up to a depth of 650 feet and a diameter of 10 feet. The SB Church well video inspection service can detect, diagnose and solve your water well problems.
With this technology, we have been able to locate and identify areas where wells have been compromised due to electrolysis, improper construction, casing fractures and imperfections, poor grouting, holes in screens, improper seating in bedrock, and other problems.
These issues can result in many problems including poor quality water, bacteria issues, loss of well yield, excessive sand pumping, subsidence around the casing, pump failure, and others.
Once the problems have been identified, we are able to provide recommendations and cost estimates for well repair. Where there is room, we can use the camera equipment to inspect wells and pumps in place under operating conditions to help determine flow regime.
The camera equipment is also useful beyond well work for inspections of other underwater structures. We have used it to check dam intakes, to inspect clearwells, and to help retrieve items lost underwater.
As part of every video inspection project, we provide copies on DVD as well as a letter outlining our findings and further recommendations.
INSTALLING AND MAINTAINING PUMPS FOR OVER 70 YEARS
Pumping Systems
There is no more efficient method of pumping from a high capacity well than to use a lineshaft turbine pump. We have been installing and maintaining turbine pumps for over 70 years. Recent pump installations have been as large as 400 horsepower, as much as 5600 gpm, and as deep as 200 feet.
We also sell, service, and maintain high capacity submersible pumps. On a recent project, we successfully installed and operated a 150 horsepower submersible well pump.
We sell and service pumping components from industry leaders such as Goulds (Xylem), American Marsh, Grundfos, US Motors, CentriPro, Baker Manufacturing, Maass Manufacturing and Flomatic.
We provide and install piping, meters, transducers, and valves. We have relationships with excellent firms who can provide, install, and maintain controls, variable frequency drives, and other desired components.
Pump Maintenance
Even the best machinery needs maintenance and will eventually need to be repaired. While many of the pumps we have installed have run for decades, we are prepared to provide maintenance for any of our pump installations. Our experienced crews with fully equipped service trucks and boom trucks are ready to tackle any pump repair.
We also have water meters, pressure gauges, electrical testing equipment, vibration monitoring equipment to provide ongoing pump inspection services to catch small problems before they become big problems.
