WSL

Water Saves Lives

High School Senior Project

Build Small Portable Shallow Water Well Drill

Jon Paul Newsom

Age:18 (2002-2003)

(Written 2003)

   At least 30,000 people die every day from diseases linked to contaminated water!  Many of these deaths can be prevented!

    To provide more than two billion people around the world with safe drinking water is a monumental task, and my high school senior project is designed to help in a small way.

  I am working on a design for a small, portable, shallow water well drilling rig for use in poor, undeveloped areas of the world in need of clean water.

 With the help from my fathers well drilling and drilling supply company, I will build at least one small water well drill, and I plan to donate it to a non-profit aid organization, to be sent to a country where people are in need of safe drinking water.

  The final product will be a small, simple, easily operated, portable water well drill that will need very little maintenance, and I expect that it will be able to drill two to three wells a month, supplying thousands of people with the water that they need to survive. 

 The drill will weigh approximately 300 lbs., can be wheeled into place, and could easily be set up and operated by one, or two people. 

    My project serves both humanitarian and career exploration needs, since I will major in mechanical engineering next year in college.  This will be firsthand experience designing and overseeing the production of the machine. 

    I will make use of skills I developed in drafting class, and will use information provided by other organizations to complete my project.  For further training, I will to talk with my project mentor, drafting teacher, and local drillers about how the drill should be built, what designs will work best, and which designs will be easiest to repair in remote places.

    I will fabricate a metal frame with chains and sprockets, add a gas-powered motor, modified with a transmission, a rotary swivel, and some drill rod.

  I estimate that the materials will cost between $2,000.00 and $3,000.00 (the total cost and dimensions of the materials is yet to be determined).  The rig recipient's will need to purchase some drilling tools, and a fluid circulation pump.

     I will make a project plan, design the drill, and draft the working plans using AutoCAD.  I, and my volunteers will fabricate the frame, assemble the rest of the drill, and test it to make sure it runs correctly and efficiently. 

    During the process of designing and building this drill, I will be contacting various aid organizations, and will decide where the equipment will go.