Environmental drilling Kushla What Type of Environments do Drilling Companies Work In?

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Environmental drilling companies, or geotechnical drilling companies as they are more commonly known, play a very important role in developing our communities and making sure they are safe for everyone.

The main focus of a geotechnical drilling company is to gain access to an area underground for future development or information gathering, but unfortunately not all geotechnical conditions are the same from location to location. Even in the same state, geotechnical and environmental conditions can change drastically, and drilling companies have to adapt to these unique characteristics to be successful.

When it comes to environmental drilling, Kushla residents should know that there are many types of environments that drilling professionals may find themselves working in. Here we will go over some of the environmental conditions found throughout the state of Alabama.

Environments with Sandy and Loose Soils

If you have lived in the state of Alabama long enough, you will start to notice that most of the soils and sediments in your area are loose and shifty. This is because millions of years ago, the geological and environmental conditions were much different, where water was much more apparent and shores stretched farther inland.

When it comes to sandy locations and environmental drilling, Kushla residents might be under the impression that these locations are relatively easy to drill into, but in all actuality they can be extremely challenging for drilling professionals.

Special types of drilling equipment will need to be used in order to collect samples or create solid boring holes into these types of locations with loose and shifty soils.

Drilling Locations With a Lot of Groundwater Present

Another challenging aspect about the environment throughout many areas of the state of Alabama is that you do not have to drill too far down before you hit groundwater. Water may be easy to drill into, but it can make doing specific drilling tasks particularly challenging. For example, if someone is trying to make a boring hole for environmental drilling, Kushla residents should know that groundwater can easily ruin a boring hole.

Apart from groundwater, drilling into a large body of water is also an option for specific reasons, but it is not as easy as you may think. This happens both off the coast in the open ocean, and bodies of water that are inland, like a river or a lake.

Groundwater can be more challenging at certain times of the year, such as in the summer months, when it can rain almost every day and cause issues. 

*Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Amdrill Inc*

Geotechnical Drilling Kushla Drilling in Wetlands – The Basics of Geotechnical Drilling

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Geotechnical drilling technicians Kushla, Alabama  routinely get dispatched to areas on the shore of rivers, Mobile Bay and other waterways that wind through this region of the Gulf Coast. In fact, this area is home to lots of wetlands, which are challenging environments for any sort of drilling, excavation or building because the ground is soft and waterlogged. Even standing in wetlands is virtually impossible as the ground is often comprised of many feet of soft mud and plant material.

So why would you want to perform geotechnical drilling in wetlands? And how is it possible to drill in these areas? Well, that’s exactly what we’ll explore in today’s article from Amdrill.

Why Would You Go to the Wetlands to Perform Geotechnical Drilling?

Geotechnical drilling technicians Kushla may be dispatched to a wetlands area to perform a drilling operation as part of one of any number of different projects. Wetlands ecosystems are very unique and sensitive, but due to inaccessibility, many of these wetlands are in remote, hard to access areas. This remoteness makes wetlands prime locations for dumping of illegal materials and even chemicals, which can result in contamination that may have a catastrophic effect on the plants and animals in the area.

What’s more, contaminants tend to travel quickly through water and waterlogged soil, so any contamination in an adjacent area can quickly spread. For this reason, some geotechnical drilling efforts involve evaluating an area to determine the extent and severity of the contamination in order to plan for remediation and clean-up efforts.

Understanding the depth of the water table – the level where the ground water is situated – is important too, particularly when it comes to building structures near wetlands. So the area may be evaluated to determine the depth and location of the water table.

It’s also not uncommon to see flooding in wetlands and in the areas surrounding rivers and even the shoreline. So to prevent flooding, many property owners and even entire municipalities will build levees and other man made structures that serve to contain flooding and limit damage to nearby areas. In the case of an existing levee or earthen structure, you may need to perform geotechnical drilling to determine how its standing up to the elements. If the soil is saturated beyond a certain point, it can begin to fail.

There are a number of geotechnical drilling projects that may be performed in wetlands, or near other bodies of water such as rivers and Mobile Bay. Amdrill’s team has a variety of vehicles used to transport and carry our drilling rigs, including amphibious vehicles, boats and barges. So we are well-prepared to take on any environment, no matter how challenging!

*Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Amdrill Inc*