[The Well] The well, NGWA staff, and troubleshooting

[Stuart Smith]

Boy was this "deja vu all over again". As a couple of you may know, I was on NWWA staff 1979-1983. That was after they installed line power and lights (just kidding), but way before online search. I remember watching them try out an early fax machine. Back then, we had a technical staff and we answered what questions we could when people wrote or telephoned. As the only person on staff then with a biology degree (I was hired as an educator), I fielded the bugs in wells questions (this led to my subsequent line of work). Jim Poehlman or Bud Heiss and some others often talked to people about other well problems. At times, what was really needed would require us to stray into consulting, which of course is taking billable hours from the membership. I was in my 20s and an overenthusiastic fixer, and Jim was a fixer, so we would have a tendency to stray into overhelping. We set a policy of answering basic questions, helping people with finding sources of help, and pointing out to membership in their areas. We do something of the same now when I get email questions on our web site. People will go for "free help" where they can, and seem especially reluctant to spend money troubleshooting wells, but we need to get the public into the habit of understanding that they need to hire a ground water and wells professional, just as they take their vehicle to a mechanic, or frequent a dentist. What else can Cliff be doing ;-) to make wellowner.org a highly valuable way to channel a) good advice to inquirers and b) clientele to the membership? Stuart

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********* Stuart Smith, CGWP ***********

******* Ground Water Science *******

***** Upper Sandusky, Ohio USA *****

**** www.groundwaterscience.com ****

******419.209.0298 *** Psalm 111 *******

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