WESTERVILLE, OHIO, Oct. 22, 2015 -- The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) has officially awarded water well driller Ken Wood of Denton, Md., with a Life Member Award for his special service in the furtherance of the groundwater industry and NGWA.
Wood is founder and operator of Lifetime Wells for Ghana, Africa, which, during the past eight years, has drilled more than 1,000 wells for people in Ghana and Tanzania whose only drinking water sources were contaminated.
"Ken Wood is responsible for about one million people in Ghana and Tanzania receiving clean water. The majority of the money to fund this work has come from him personally," said fellow driller, nominator and friend David Powell, CWD/PI, of Aston, Pa. "Ken would not seek out this kind of recognition for himself but would accept it if it had the potential to bring light to this much needed relief work."
Wood spends months each year on drilling trips to Africa, such as one earlier this year to Tanzania. In a newsletter, he described both the challenges and satisfaction of his work during one small portion of that trip as follows:
"We put in four or five wells close to town ... Then we moved out of town one hour to a field ... Halfway through the well, a huge storm came," said Wood. "There was no time to stop. We had to get the well in and get out soon or get stuck. Rains were too heavy. We got a very good well. Ladies were celebrating, singing and dancing. One lady, with a baby on her back, grabbed me and spun me around!"
See also:
"NGWA recognizes Scott Fowler from state of Washington with Ross L. Oliver Award"
"NGWA announces recipients of 2015 groundwater industry awards"
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