Category: Articles

Ready to Utilize Drones on the Job? Factors to Consider in Commercial Use, July 2015 Blog

Ready to Utilize Drones on the Job? Factors to Consider in Commercial Use

By Kevin Kianka, Operations Manager, Technical Services

Drones are a hot topic in the media these days, whether they are being used to help report the news (such as to show recent flooding in Houston) or whether they are the actual topic of the news (such as when drones impacted the airspace of a jet on its final approach to LaGuardia Airport and led to flight diversions).  While the term “drone” is used most often in the media, the official Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designation is Unmanned Aircraft System (or UAS).  Other designations include quadcoptor, unmanned aerial vehicle, and unmanned aerial system.

Regardless of what you call it, the UAS is fast becoming a valuable asset to the architecture, engineering, inspection, real estate and insurance industries.  Previously inaccessible areas and views of properties are now obtainable via the use of a UAS. And the control is literally in the user’s hands.  A UAS can be utilized to provide documentation of damage and collapses, aerial views, and other images that were previously too costly on small to moderate projects.  Now the UAS provides cost effective options that were once unobtainable for the average homeowner or inspector.

However, before you go out and buy a system or hire someone to perform a service using a UAS, there are several factors which must be considered.

First, before you fly, it is imperative that you determine whether you have permission and authorization to fly.  If you are going to fly a UAS inside of a building or enclosed space, permission from your client and the property owner/manager will get you started.  Note that the industry you are working in may have additional restrictions or requirements.  Make sure you check all available resources to determine if there are any restrictions to your indoor use of a UAS.

If you move outside, additional regulations impact you:  specifically and most importantly, those regulations which are established by state and federal agencies.  In addition to obtaining permission from your client and the property owner, you must determine if the US state you are working in allows the use of a UAS for commercial purposes, as individual states are legislating UAS usage.  The commercial use of a UAS in open airspace is further regulated by the FAA.  As of the date of this document, such use requires you to obtain FAA Section 333 Exemption for any commercial application; governmental operations have different requirements.  (Note: Haag Engineering Co. recently received approval to utilize UAS systems under the FAA Section 333 Exemption.  For more information on all we can offer, read the press release here.)  The Section 333 exemption comes with additional requirements.  To name a few, not only must a FAA-licensed pilot operate the UAS, but s/he must do so from an area that is at least 500’ away from all nonparticipating persons or structures.  The pilot may work only over a private or controlled-access property, and the pilot must obtain express permission from the owner.

Once you have determined that you actually have permission to fly, you can analyze and identify the hardware that you’ll need to do the job.

A UAS can vary in cost from several hundred dollars to tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars.  Selecting the right UAS is an involved process, and the actual UAS itself is just one piece of the puzzle. Users also need to consider what data they are trying to collect and what they are going to do with that data.  Whether you are using a digital camera, FLIR, LIDAR, or other type of apparatus, data acquisition is required to document the view from the UAS.  The next and most important piece of the puzzle to define what you are going to do with your data.  Are you simply taking pictures?  Do you want to take measurements from the data?  Do you want to create panoramic images?  These are many questions that need to be answered before someone implements the use of a UAS.

In addition, training is crucial.  Do not expect to purchase a UAS on Monday and use it on Tuesday.  It is best to plan on several days and weeks (if not months) of practice using the hardware and software before utilizing it on a paying project.

Importantly, a UAS will not replace a required workflow; it will only assist you in completing that workflow.  Likely, an inspector will still need to access a roof or complete a hands-on inspection of a bridge or apparatus to complete her/his analysis.  For example, an aerial image might indicate circular areas of granule loss on an asphalt roof; a crack in an elevated concrete structure; cracking in the pavement of a parking lot; or damage to elevated piping in a facility.  However, a hands-on inspection is still required to confirm the severity and extent of any damage captured visually by UAS data.  The UAS is merely a tool to assist in that process.

Below are some basic questions that you should ask before you consider using a UAS.

  • Does the client allow the use of a UAS?
  • Will the property owner/manager/controller allow the use of UAS?
  • What data are you trying to collect and what are you going to do with it?
    • Can you perform the data processing internally or will a consultant be required?
    • If a consultant is required, is s/he qualified to do this work and what will the cost be?
    • Will the data meet the accuracy and precision needs for the project?
    • Do you (or your consultant) have the data-processing expertise needed to produce reliable and defendable results?
    • Will the UAS be operated outdoors?
      • Does the city, county and/or state where the services are being performed allow the use of a UAS?
      • Do you or your employer have a FAA Section 333 Exemption?
      • Does the UAS Operator (Pilot in Charge) hold either an airline transport, commercial, private, recreation or sport pilot certificate from the FAA?
      • Will the UAS operate at least 500’ from all nonparticipating persons, vessels, vehicles or structures, unless protected by a barrier?
      • Will the UAS operate over private or controlled-access property with permission from the property owner/controller or authorized representative?

Once these are satisfactorily answered, you may be well on your way to using a drone for the first time on the job!

Kevin Kianka, P.E., serves the Director of Operations, based in Haag’s Sugar Land (Houston), TX office and leading Haag Technical Services efforts nationwide, including all services related to 3D Laser Scanning, 3D Modeling, Drones (sUAV’s), GIS, and other advanced technologies. A licensed Professional Engineer in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida, Mr. Kianka obtained a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA) and has over 15 years of experience in the field of Engineering.

Earthquake Risk Assessment:  Can We Predict the Next ‘Big One’? May 2015 Blog

EARTHQUAKE RISK ASSESSMENT:  CAN WE PREDICT THE NEXT ‘BIG ONE’?

By David L. Teasdale P.E., Haag Principal Engineer

An earthquake is little more than a release of energy when two sides of a fault line slip relative to each other.  A fault is a break in the rock crust, generally miles below the surface, and faults were created long ago as tectonic plates drifted to their current positions.

Therefore, all parts of the United States have fault lines, and any part of the United States has the potential for an earthquake as the tectonic plates continue moving.  As might be expected with any moving, flexible plate, parts of that plate move differently, and the plate surface deforms.  (Recall from high school geology that the rise of mountains and other land features is attributed to this deformation.)  Continued plate movement and localized surface deformations cause different sides of a fault to bind against each other, and binding builds up internal strains in the rock.  Built-up energy may eventually be released through slipping along a fault line, and we feel that slip as an earthquake.

While every part of the United States has fault lines, not every fault line is actively moving and binding, and those that are active are not storing energy at the same rate or in the same kind of rock geology.  Therefore, the risk of an earthquake varies by region for many different reasons, and risk assessment is hampered by the sheer size of the moving parts, the variability of materials, and our understanding of the process.  Presently, risk assessment is based on the size and frequency of past earthquakes.  California is on the leading edge of North American plate, and faults are more active, as it collides with the Pacific Plate to the west and rides up over the “subduction zone”. (Refer to  http://www.sanandreasfault.org/Tectonics.html for further explanation.)

It is presently believed that periodic release of energy through smaller earthquakes helps prevent a larger earthquake, but discovery of new faults and awakening of dormant faults is ongoing with time.  No scientist knows precisely what might happen next, and consideration of the unknown always fuels discussion of the inevitable “big one”.

Study of California geology and past earthquakes leads seismologists to consider the maximum credible event around a magnitude 8.0.  Magnitudes are logarithmic, and each magnitude level is about 32 times greater than the previous one (M5 is32 times greater than M4).

Therefore, the maximum credible event for California is more than 1,000 times greater than the Northridge earthquake in 1994 (M6.7).  Buildings of different age, construction materials, and design behave differently when shaken, but good detailing of connections goes a long way toward safely resisting earthquake shaking.  In the United States, one can generally assume that most buildings will perform well with little damage at magnitudes below 5.0, even when they are not constructed using earthquake standards, but damage is influenced by magnitude, duration of shaking, distance from the involved fault, depth of the earthquake focus, frequency content, and other factors.

Earthquakes in the Midwest and other regions of the United States are much less frequent, but areas like the New Madrid fault, the Wasatch Fault, and the Middleton Place – Summerville Seismic Zone (Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina, respectively) have all experienced extraordinary shaking events in their histories similar to a maximum credible event in California.

The frequency of these events is around once every 500 years, on average, so residents of these areas may not feel the urgency about earthquakes that Californians might feel.  Residents of central Oklahoma routinely experience short shaking events up to about M3.5 without significant alarm.  Curiously, building codes handle the risk of infrequent strong events by including seismic requirements in design but reducing the force levels.  These measures will save lives in a surprise shake of moderate proportions, but they will not likely make much difference if these areas experience a large event.  Therefore, much of the United States is effectively “playing the averages” when it comes to earthquakes, but averages over geologic time are just that, averages.  The next one could be in 1,000 years or 100 years.

Much effort has been made to predict earthquakes, and these efforts usually involve measuring fault movements with the hopes of understanding when they are apt to slip.  Where the strain energy theory of earthquakes is prevalent, it is often thought that small tremors can presage a larger event, and seismologists have seen small excitations in their studies that might someday offer a reliable advance warning of several minutes or more.

Predicting how large that event might be, however, is still well beyond current knowledge.  Given the difficulties in evaluating earthquake initiation where faults can be studied over time, one can see the difficulty of evaluating fault activity in new areas like those where hydraulic fracking is underway, for example. Seismologists can postulate theories as to how water injection might lubricate faults and cause movement, but moving the earth is not as easy as all that. Further study of a region along with consideration of other factors like depth, procedures, and time lapse since the last injection often lead geologists to discount the effects of human activity. In the meantime, the rest of us can sleep better believing that a historically inactive region likely will not have a lot of strain energy stored in its faults, and small tremors will reduce that energy even if they result from human activity.  It’s as good a theory as any at this time.

David Teasdale, P.E., Haag Engineer

David Teasdale specializes in Structural Evaluations, Earthborne and Airborne Vibrations, Geotechnical Evaluations, General Civil Engineering, & Wind Engineering and Related Storm Effects.  He is the primary author and presenter of a Haag seminar course on earthquake damage assessment titled “California Earthquake Adjuster Accreditation“.  See his profile here.

Hailstorm Data Sources and Hail Characteristics, April 2015 Blog

Hailstorm Data Sources and Hail Characteristics

With the advent of Spring, we are entering the climatological “hail season” for the central and southern United States, and you should expect to start getting calls to make roof inspections related to hailstorms and potential hail-caused damage. We want to assist you in preparation by discussing the various sources for hailstorm data, and how to compare that with the information you can obtain during your site inspections. Some hail data is from free governmental sources, and some is from private sources including maps or lists from third-party meteorological consulting firms that typically are fee-based.

Governmental Data Sources

The climatological data from the federal government is under the umbrella of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Severe weather reports are obtained by local offices of the National Weather Service (NWS) through eyewitness reports by individuals, trained storm spotters, or emergency management officials; media and social media reports; official NOAA recording stations, and occasionally the reports of observation teams dispatched by the NWS (NWS teams are mainly used to document tornado tracks). The severe weather reports can be found at three types of NOAA websites:

NWS offices: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/

Local Storm Reports issued by individual NWS offices. This data is considered preliminary and generally only remains available for a limited amount of time, often less than one week.

Storm Prediction Center (SPC): http://www.spc.noaa.gov/

Nationwide reports added on a near real-time basis and listed as “daily” reports that start/stop at 6:00 a.m. Central Time. The archive of daily reports is retained permanently, but this data (regardless of age) is considered preliminary is it has not undergone quality control and may have errors and omission.

National Climatic Data Center (NCDC): http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents

Nationwide reports searchable over a specified date range after selecting the state and county of interest. The NCDC database has undergone quality control and is considered “final” data. The data is usually several months behind the current date and the site will not have information on the most recent storms. The “Event Details” listed may provide additional information about the storm or if any property damage was reported.

The local NWS offices forward their “Local Storm Reports” to the SPC for posting during the storm events, and then the NWS offices prepare monthly severe weather summaries to the NCDC for inclusion into the Storm Event Database. The current NWS “severe” criteria for entry in the database for hailstones is 1.0 inch diameter or larger (although sometimes hail sizes as small as 0.75 inch diameter are listed). The hail reports are generally listed as “point locations”, although often the geo-codes (latitude and longitude) provided with the reports are not exact because a database with listing of the latitude/longitude at the center of cities is used to create the geo-codes.

Non-Governmental Data Sources

There are numerous private or educational institution websites that will provide links to hailstorm or severe weather reports, although for the most part, these sites will be routing you to the above-listed NOAA information or re-packaging it in some way. One organization that provides a different non-governmental source of eyewitness hail reports is COCORAHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and & Snow Network), http://www.cocorahs.org/. The volunteer spotters of this nationwide network can report hail of any size, and searches can be made by state or county for user-defined date ranges.

The final data sources for hail information we will discuss are third-party maps or lists based on radar imagery. There are numerous firms that offer maps of individual storms or provide “site-specific” estimates of maximum hail size of a single storm or a date range. It is important to note that actual hailstone sizes can be larger or smaller than those listed, and even occurrence of hail at the site is not guaranteed. It should be understood that several factors can influence the accuracy of the estimated hail sizes and the proximity of the estimated hail to the location of interest when analyzing radar signatures.  All service providers of this kind of report use the data obtained from the same radar signatures; however, the output from different providers of the same storm can be quite different. The service providers attempt to process the data through proprietary algorithms to determine whether hail fell and the size of that hail.  Meteorological researchers and NOAA personnel actively study this methodology, and the NWS uses similar algorithms for predicting the occurrence of severe hail (at a county level), although published studies have revealed widely varying success in determining maximum hailstone size, and no peer-reviewed study has indicated accuracy of determining hailstone size at a specific address. Simply put, the radar data is not fine enough to be directly measuring individual hailstone sizes. As such, these reports are not a substitute for site-specific observations.

Hail Data From Site Inspection

The data that can be observed during a site inspection regarding hailstone quantity, direction of hail fall, hailstone size range, and estimated maximum hailstone size at a particular location is greater and more complete than can be obtained from the data sources listed above. Also, it is prudent to ask the building owner or site contact if there are any photographs or video of the actual hailstones or hailstorm event. Depending on the quality of the images and video, this can provide useful information on the hail sizes, hailstorm duration, and hail fall direction.

At the inspection site, various surfaces and materials including utility boxes, air-conditioning units, fences, windows, siding, gutters/downspouts, fascia, plastic and metal vents and roof appurtenances, and the roofing materials can be inspected for spatter marks, dents, and other forms of damage related to hail impact. Painted surfaces and exposed materials often form a layer of oxidation or become covered with dirt, grime, algae, or other organic materials that can be cleaned away when impacted by hail, resulting in spatter marks. Spatter marks are temporary markings left by removal of surface oxides, grime, organic growths, etc. caused by hail impacts that can provide an approximate hailstone size and direction of hail fall.

Since spatter marks tend to fade from oxidized surfaces after a year or two, they provide a helpful temporary record of recent hailstorms.  Although the visibility and longevity of spatter marks can vary based on the material and amount of oxides and organic materials removed, harder hailstones can remove a greater amount of surface material and tend to produce a “crisper” edge to the spatter marks with greater contrast, while spatter marks from softer hailstones show a greater scattering of material from the hailstone breaking apart upon impact. Harder (or larger) hailstones also would produce deeper dents in metal than smaller and softer hailstones. Dents produced in light-gauge metals when impacted by hail leave a permanent record of hailstones that have struck exposed surfaces over the years.  Spatter marks and dents can be evaluated to help determine the approximate size of hail at a location and provide insight regarding the time passed since passage of a hailstorm. Determining the age of a dent in metal can sometimes be challenging, but dents that contain spatter marks or have a shiny surface from removal of grime and oxides would be indications of recent denting. Accumulation of hardened grime and organic growths in a dent generally takes a considerable length of time. Examining vertical surfaces such as siding, sides of mechanical units, and fences for hail-caused dents and spatter marks can provide information about the direction of hail fall.

Hail Impact Forces and Threshold Sizes

Impacts from larger hailstones result in higher forces (impact energies) than impacts by smaller hailstones because larger hail is more massive and falls at higher velocities than does smaller hail.  Also, harder (frozen solid) hailstones transmit their energy over smaller areas than do softer hailstones of the same size, because softer hailstones tend to break apart upon impact. Consequently, impact forces from harder hailstones result in higher material stresses than impacts from softer hail.  For these reasons, harder and larger hailstones are more damaging to roofing materials than smaller and softer hail.  Of these two parameters, the size of hail has much more influence on the maximum possible force at impact and accordingly, the ability to damage roof coverings. Hail damage thresholds listed in the HCI courses, Haag publications, and published research papers by Haag personnel are for hailstones that are at the upper range of density and hardness striking perpendicularly to roofing material of average quality and thickness.  Therefore, not all hailstones that are of threshold size or larger will result in damage due to variations in density, hardness, angle of impact, and material quality or thickness.

Note that the hail data sources as discussed above do not provide any specific information about quantity, hardness, direction, or size range of the hailstones for a particular location. At most, the direction of hailstorm movement can inferred by mapping the hail reports with the time or by looking at the shape of the hail swaths (with radar-based maps). However, these characteristics of hail fall can be determined and documented during a thorough inspection of your inspection site, and will provide support for your roof inspection findings whether you find hail-caused damage to the roof covering or not.

Richard F. Herzog P.E., Meteorologist, RRC, and Haag Principal Engineer (04/2015)

Richard Herzog’s primary areas of consulting are Roofing Systems, Building Envelope Systems, Evaluation of Wind Damage to Structures, Construction Defect Evaluations, Meteorological Investigations, Development of Hail Analysis Software, and Alternative Dispute Resolution.  He serves as a primary advisor in the creation of many Haag Education seminars and products.  See his profile here.

Dents in Metal R-Panel Roofing – What can they tell us about a hailstorm? March 2015 Blog

Dents in Metal R-Panel Roofing – What can they tell us about a hailstorm?

by David Teasdale, P.E., Haag Principal Engineer

Hail-caused dents

Most metal R-panel (raised-rib) roofing is structural, spanning across purlins or other structural members without substrate support.  Even when backed by a roof deck, sheet metal comprising raised ribs is not supported. One statement that can be made about most metal roofing is that it is fairly easily dented.  Since the dents are permanent, metal roofing offers an accumulated history of hail events at a given site.  In general, if a significant area of open, exposed metal roofing is undented, most inspectors would reasonably conclude that large hail had not fallen at the site since the metal roofing was installed.  When the metal is observed to be dented, inspectors often can derive or infer various characteristics about past hailfall, such as hailstone size and direction of fall.

Hailstone size

A variety of factors affect the impact energy of a hailstone (e.g., size, hardness, impact angle), and they will also affect dent size and shape.  With respect to impact of sheet metal, studies by Haag and others have shown there is an inner dent caused by the direct deformation of the hailstone, and there is also a surrounding area of change that results from buckling of the nearby metal.  Because the buckled area varies with hailstone size and impact energy, the inner dent offers the best information about the hail size.  Discerning and measuring the inner dent in the field can be difficult, and most inspectors document the total dent width.  (Lightly rubbing chalk across a dent captures the total buckle.)  There is nothing wrong with measuring the total dent size; however, the inspector should understand what he or she is actually measuring. The total dent is usually not the shape obtained by metal deforming to the surface of the hailstone, and the relationship between the total dent diameter and the hailstone size varies with hailstone size, metal type, and metal thickness.

Testing

Haag Engineering performs ongoing impact tests on roofing materials that help correlate controlled laboratory tests to observations that can be made in the field. One recent test involved impacting 26-gauge, galvanized metal panels to compare dent sizes.  A test panel was impacted by ¾”, 1”, 1¼”, 1½”, 1¾”, and 2”  molded ice spheres.  These were propelled by the Haag IBL-7 to develop no less than free-fall energies of normally occurring hailstones of the same size. Targets for impacts included the flat pans and flat area of the trapezoidal lap seam.  In general, testing showed that the panels could be dented by any sized hailstone, and the ratio of dent size to hail size varied from about 40% to 70% when considering the inner dent across this range of hail size.  When considering the total dent diameter, the ratio was greater, and dents around 1” across required large hailstones around 1½” to 1¾” in size.  Dents formed in the top of a rib were elongated, and they were hardest to interpret. No fracturing or spalling of the galvanized coating was visible at any of the hail-dented regions.

Field Observations

Field measurements of dents can vary depending on lighting, angle of view, and other variables, including the inspector’s judgment.  This is  particularly true when  small hail is involved.  Certainly, large hail-caused dents in steel panels correlate with very large hail, and they may be useful in searching weather records for a storm date.  Of particular note, Haag research has found that impact on the top of a rib near its edge could create a dimple in the side of the rib that implied a false sideward direction to the hailfall.

David Teasdale, P.E., Principal Engineer

David Teasdale, Principal Engineer and VP of Engineering, specializes in Structural Evaluations, Earthborne and Airborne Vibrations, Geotechnical Evaluations, General Civil Engineering, & Wind Engineering and Related Storm Effects.  He is the primary author and presenter of a Haag classroom and online seminar course, titled “California Earthquake Adjuster Accreditation”.  See his profile here.

 

 

Lightning Effects on a Well-Pump: A Case Study, February 2015 Blog

Lightning Effects on a Well-Pump: A Case Study

By KR Davis on behalf of Haag Engineering

Visual damage to a well pump that has been struck by lightning

As an electrical engineer for more than 30 years, I was asked to contact a homeowner who claimed her water looked and tasted bad following a spring storm and alleged lightning strike. The homeowner claimed that her sprinkler system and well pump controller had been damaged. The plumbing to a small prep sink in the breakfast bar had a broken water pipe on the hot water side only. A Yamaha amplifier in the theater no longer worked properly, a surge protector in the office had burned out, and a few other small devices were now useless because of the lightning strike. The biggest issue was, however, that now the “water looks and tastes bad too.”

When I arrived on scene I quickly confirmed the lightning strike.  Clear sap was pooling around fresh scars which spiraled around a tall pine tree near the house. Bark was missing where it had exploded off the tree as moisture instantly was turned into steam by the lightning.

Since the storm, the well controller had been replaced and running water was restored. The pump at the bottom of the well was functioning and seemed undamaged by the lightning strike. However, homeowner turned on the tap and showed me what I can only describe as polluted, yellow-brownish water drain into the glass.

Clearly, lightning had struck a tree in the front yard. What puzzled me was how the well pump seems to have escaped damage, but somehow the quality of well water within had changed water within the welled.  What rhat now  in the story. The water was an odd color, but how could lightning do this?

According to drilling company records, the well was three years old and had a two-horsepower well pump suspended on galvanized piping at a depth of 281 feet. Water level was previously recorded at 160 feet below the ground. Well installers noted a non-potable water stratum just below the surface and down to about 50 feet. They set PVC well casing into concrete down to about 80 feet to stabilize the well. Think of it like setting a really deep fence post.

The only way to determine what was going on inside the well would be to drop a camera into the well for a visual inspection.

We arranged to “pull the well”—remove and inspect the piping. Contractors carefully removed each section of pipe, and we inspected them for signs of damage. There was none. And, when the pump finally came up, it looked almost new. I have seen some really nasty looking pumps removed from wells, but this wasn’t one of them. The pump, pipe, and even the wire were perfectly functional. No evidence of lightning damage there.

Next, we lowered a video camera down into the well. As the camera slowly descended, what we saw at first was…nothing. No holes, no burn marks, no splintering of the casing or joints, and no melting. But, as the camera continued downward, suddenly there it was. The lights from the camera could be seen dancing on the well casing. Our camera lights reflected off water running down the inside of the well casing. Somewhere, the PVC well casing was damaged and water was leaking into the pipe. Water was entering the casing somewhere around a depth of 50 feet below the surface (remember, the strata of non-potable water ended around this depth). We couldn’t see where the water was entering, but we definitely could see the effect it had on the lights.

Lightning damage on the side of a sailboat

It is not unusual for lightning to travel down a well seeking the lowest impedance path to electrical ground. Usually, when that happened, it resulted in a burned out well pump. This time, the pump survived but the well casing did not.

What happened with this well is similar to what happens when lightning strikes a boat. Boats are built with a lightning rod at the top of the mast. A large copper wire connects this lightning rod to a 2-square-foot plate on the bottom of the hull. Boats are designed this way because a sailboat’s mast is the tallest thing sticking out of the water—making it attractive to lightning during a storm. However, due to the unpredictable nature of lightning, the lightning may instead blow through the sides of the hull directly at the water line. This will result in multiple pin holes through the hull at or just below the waterline. The holes are small on the inside but become clearly visible on the exterior side of the hull. The “path of least resistance” rule seems to have been violated in this instance by the lightning.

In the case of the failed well in East Texas, the well’s casing passed through non-potable water bearing strata with heavy iron content beginning at depths 10 to 50 feet below the surface. The lightning traveled through the well just as if it were a sailboat. The lightning evidently went to ground through the well casing at about 45 feet below ground level, creating the same kinds of pin-hole damage caused by lightning strikes on non-metallic boats.

Our homeowner indeed had a valid claim: lightning did ruin the quality of water in her well, and a new well would be needed. While our camera did not reveal a hole or crack large enough to be visible on our monitor, water trickling down the inside of the well casing about 45 feet down told us exactly what happened.

by Kevin “KR” Davis on behalf of Haag Engineering, 02/2015