Rebecca Hauschild
For the Artesia Daily Press

Drilling for a new groundwater well in Artesia was at a standstill due to an “unheard of” mishap at the site, the contractor reported to city councilors during their June 10 meeting.

The Bulldog water well project on the west side of Artesia is headed by Albuquerque-based Souder Miller & Associates, which conducts similar projects throughout southern New Mexico, including Carlsbad and Roswell. The drilling problem could add thousands of dollars to the cost of the project, according to Matt Earthman, a geologist with Souder Miller & Associates.

Earthman said drilling began on May 14 and the mishap occurred at a depth of 640 feet, when crews encountered what at first was a “minor” case of “loss of circulation.”

Typically, drilling fluid – often referred to as “mud” – is pumped down the drill string to cool and lubricate the drill bit while carrying rock cuttings back to the surface, Earthman said. At the Bulldog well, the fluid began seeping into the surrounding underground rock formation instead of returning to the surface.

This can happen when the pressure of the drilling fluid exceeds the formation’s ability to contain it, allowing the fluid to escape into natural fractures, cracks, or porous zones within the rock and reducing the fluid’s pressure at it is pumped underground, the geologist said.

To address the initial loss of circulation, the drilling team applied a “loss control material” intended to block the drilling mud from escaping into the surrounding formation.

Earthman said the measure initially appeared to be effective. However, at a depth of 740 feet, the crew encountered another area that again began drawing fluid into the formation and circulation was lost entirely.

The drilling tools were stuck in the hole, Earthman said. After 60 hours of labor to free the drill, he said, contractors resumed the operation with additional loss-control measures but the formation absorbed approximately 500 barrels of mud almost immediately.

“This is an unheard-of circumstance,” Earthman said. “The driller said they have not seen this level of circulation loss in this shallow of a hole.”

The councilors, per the contractor’s suggestion, opted to have the contractor continue drilling and as soon as circulation is lost, inject cement to harden the hole, and continue drilling down through it.

Earthman said the operation could be conducted up to three times and still may not fix the problem. He said it could cost $61,000 for each attempt, or $187,000 if all three attempts are needed.

The second option was to partially case the hole which mitigates some of the risk of losing the tooling again. The third option was abandoning the hole and selecting another location at least 1,000 feet away.

“We’re less than 100 feet to hit the top of the aquifer formation,” Earthman said. “Then we would case it and go another 200 feet and that’s where we’ll get the water production.”

Other business

Byron Landfair, the city’s director of development and infrastructure, reported that improvements to 26th Street are moving to the next phase – new paving on the retainer wall.

Landfair also said the water-line replacement project on Grant Avenue is close to all the tie-ins, and the South 2nd Street and Richardson Avenue rehab project is complete. Pickleball courts were prepped for slab last week and should be in concrete this week, he said.

The city of Artesia will hold a drone exhibition instead of fireworks on the Fourth of July but Police Chief Kirk Roberts said police don’t expect the event to inhibit the use of fireworks in neighborhoods around town.

“Please be smart about it” Roberts said. “Don’t drink and set off fireworks.”

The council accepted the donation of a 1950 Dodge Stake Bed Truck from C. Brewer & Co. LLC. Brewer Oil Co. was established in Artesia in 1958 and the donated truck was the company’s original delivery vehicle. The truck will eventually be on display at the Artesia Historical Museum & Art Center.

The council also voted to donate a 2013 Chevy Tahoe used by the Artesia Police Department to the New Mexico Military Institute Police Department in Roswell.