News

As a NGWA Affiliate Organization member, we are proud to partner with NGWA to share with you that Groundwater Awareness Week (GWAW) is taking place March 10-16, 2024!

This annual event highlights the responsible development, management, and use of groundwater, the event is also a platform to encourage yearly water well testing and well maintenance, and the promotion of policies impacting groundwater quality and supply. Groundwater advocates across the state and country also use GWAW to highlight local water issues in their communities.

NGWA and its partners will be focusing their advocacy on promoting professional opportunities in the groundwater industry. According to the American Geosciences Institute, nationally there are more than 135,000 open positions in the industry now, which is far too high to keep up with consumer demand.

To learn more about Groundwater Awareness Week and how you can participate and/or promote the event, please visit: https://www.ngwa.org/get-involved/groundwater-awareness-week/groundwater-awareness-week

The Kentucky Groundwater Association (KYGWA) is pleased to announce that Louisville, Kentucky, has once again been chosen as the site for the 2023 KYGWA Trade Show. The show will be held at the Holiday Inn — Louisville East Hurstbourne, 1325 South Hurstbourne Parkway, Louisville on March 9 and 10, 2023. Registration details, rate and lodging information, and sponsorship opportunities will be released soon.

A full slate of continuing education opportunities is anticipated including up to eight hours of training toward Kentucky licensure requirements. As always, our great vendors will be set up and ready with product information, industry news, and innovative new products. Of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to network with other drillers, regulators, and industry experts. Finally, our annual charity auction benefiting the Susie and Dorris Givens Memorial Scholarship Fund will be held on Thursday evening. Be prepared to bid on lots of great items, have plenty of fun, and help our scholarship fund, all while honoring the memory of Susie and Dorris. In 2022, the Susie and Dorris Givens Memorial Scholarship gave a total of $5,500.00 to students, all of whom were connected in some way to the KYGWA.

As always, our official website (www.kygwa.org) and our official Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/KYGWA) are the best sources for up-to-date information on upcoming events, industry news, and KYGWA and NGWA activities.

The Directors and Officers of the KYGWA look forward to seeing you in Louisville on March 9 and 10, 2023!

In 2022, the KYGWA presented four scholarships to the following individuals: Jacob Scaringella, son of Mike Scaringella; Lidia Myers, daughter of Christopher Anthony; Madison High, daughter of Brad High; and Abbygail Stock, daughter of Richard Stock.

The KYGWA Susie and Dorris Givens Memorial Scholarship is funded by the many volunteers and members of the KYGWA and awards scholarships on an annual basis to eligible students enrolled, or enrolling, in college, vocational school, or another approved postsecondary educational institution. The scholarship may be utilized for tuition, books, lab fees, or other direct educational expenses. Each recipient may receive the scholarship up to two (2) times but must submit a new application each time.

Good afternoon everyone! I wanted to share with you some exciting news from the Board of Directors regarding oversight of the KYGWA. At our October Board Meeting, we reached out to NGWA regarding their Partner States Program, and invited Dave Schulenberg (NGWA Director of Partner States) to speak to us.

As you know, the KYGWA Board is made up of volunteers and has always been that way. What we discovered is that help is needed in getting us moving forward at a faster clip than what 2021 allowed us to do. We have decided to work with NGWA and become one of their Partner States, and asked Dave to be our Executive Director.

So what does this mean for you the member? Other than a change of address and maybe a phone number, not much should change. Dave will be working with the Board and members at large to help us grow and grow our outreach to you all too.

We are excited to be part of the NGWA Partner States Program and look forward to the positive changes this will bring. I am sure that you all will be receiving an email from Dave in the near future, so please give him a kind welcome. We will stay in touch and share any and all changes relating to KYGWA as they may happen.

We are working with Dave and his staff to put together our 2022 event in Louisville, so please keep an eye out for forms soon.

Sincerely,
Todd Mills
KYGWA President.

We have scheduled the 2022 KYGWA Trade Show for February 24-25, 2022. Please save this date into your calendar and plan on attending. We will be sending more information out in the coming months so keep a watchful eye out for it. We can’t wait to get back into the classroom and have some quality CEU training hours available for you!

Stay safe out there everyone!

Dear KY Certified Well Drillers:

If you have already completed your training and/or completed your certification renewal then you can disregard this message.

There have been several questions about getting training hours for driller certification renewal, so I’m sending the list of pre-approved online training opportunities again. All of the training on the attached document are approved by DOW.

***SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR THIS LIST***

If you have completed other training events, please contact me to see if we can approve those to meet your training requirements. Also, if you’ve found other training opportunities that you’d prefer to attend, please send me information about them for approval for your KY Driller Certification.

Any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me. The cell number below is the best way to reach me.

Regards,

Rob Blair, P.G.
Groundwater Section Supervisor
Emergency Response Team On-Scene Coordinator Watershed Management Branch KY Division of Water
Office: (502) 782-6893
Cell: (502) 545-7944

Kentucky Certified Drillers:  The online training resources below have been reviewed for approval by the Kentucky Certified Well Drillers Program.  Each of these virtual training opportunities included up to at least 5 hours of CEUs for certified drillers.  Driller’s Assistants requiring 8 hours of CEUs may need to utilize training resources from more than one of these offerings.  Please provide proof of attendance to Rob Blair, Groundwater Section Supervisor, upon course completion. 

• National Groundwater Association 2020 Summit

Groundwater Week 2020 / Groundwater Summit: App Home

• International School of Well Drilling

Well Drilling School » Online Courses

• All Star Training

Kentucky Water Well | Continuing Education (CEU) – All Star Training (allstarce.com)

To:       Kentucky Certified Water Well and Monitoring Well Drillers

From:   Kentucky Division of Water

            Well Driller Certification Program

Date:   May #, 2021

Re:       2021 – 2022 Certification Renewal

            Well Driller Certification Program – Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet

Dear KY Certified Well Drillers:

            The certification renewal period for Kentucky Well Drillers begins on June 1, 2021.  You are encouraged to renew your certification online via the Well Driller Certification Program webpage link above.  This webpage also has instructions for recertifying online, which includes confirming that you have completed the required training hours and provided any other necessary documentation.  Please note that you will not be able to recertify online if your insurance or training hours are not current.

            Once you have completed your certification renewal you will receive your certificate and wallet card in a few weeks via email.  Please contact Rob Blair at 502-782-6893 or email robert.blair@ky.gov if you have any questions.