HELLO FELLOW MUSHROOMS!

Topic of capping abandoned groundwater wells.   LINK TO:    CALIFORNIA GROUND WELL INFORMATION

Some 411 on the capping of groundwater wells in California.  I tried to print 12 pages that I thought were particularly interesting but my printer protested at some of the diagrams, -wasted ink and paper, but check it out online, rather interesting.

 

ALMOST FAINTED BECAUSE OF SOMETHING LIKE THIS

This well capping situation reminds me of my last knee surgery years ago which was classified as an emergency.  I knew it was serious but never how serious until over and I was almost done with the physical rehabilitation.  Following the removal of a “plug” (scab at the incision site) there remained an open “canal or channel” running from the outside of my knee all the way into the center of the knee capsule.  These canals are evidently usually healed internally and not connected with the exterior “plug” scab.

Sometime later I was moving things in the garage (summer wearing cutoffs) when I felt what I thought was perspiration running down my right shin.  Continuing my work without looking I instinctively just wiped it away.  A short while later I again, without much concern, wiped something liquid  from my shin but this time glanced at the palm of my hand.  Didn’t appear to be sweat.  No, it was not urine thank you.  Almost caused such a reaction later, but no, urine is not involved in this story.  lol

I slowly rubbed the liquid between my thumb and index finger and noticed it felt like oil and was indeed actually lubricating the friction of rubbing my thumb and finger pads together.  I smelled it but it wasn’t motor oil or transmission fluid.  No smell as I recall.   I was puzzled and looked down at my shin and observed a very small trickle of something running down to the top of my white sports sock which was saturated and stained a light yellow.   Not good.

WHAT THE HELL?

The liquid was only below my knee and not above but I was still oblivious as to what it was or where I picked it up.  I then looked at my surgery knee and while balancing on the other leg, retracted my leg up and back towards my butt and this yellow liquid squirted right out of my knee as if shot from a “super soaker” water gun!

I FREAKED!

When I extended my leg and straightened it out to put my body weight back on it, my knee made a sucking gurgling sound as air was sucked back into the area of the knee capsule which had just “squirted”  synovial fluid which is an odorless yellow light oil which  the human body produces to lubricate joints.  (By the way, the body keeps producing this lubricant even if constantly loosing it from an open wound – kind of a built in safety feature to keep us moving while injured during an emergency.  Oh yeah, it was totally painless too.)

I FRACK ‘n KID YOU NOT!

Thought I was going to faint.  What the hell is this?  Infection?  Puss?  What’s happening?  (Yeah, I’m getting hungry too.) Sat down and held a towel to my knee.  Talked myself out of some light panic dizziness and while sitting on the garage floor leaned over to carefully examine my knee.  While slowing bending my knee up – sliding my foot inward on the floor towards my body, there she goes again…. SQUIRT!  And I mean squirted out some distance away from my body.  Oh boy!  Dizzy again.

MADE SOME PANICKED TELEPHONE CALLS

Ultimately (and quite fortunately) a former Vietnam Veteran field medic agreed to take a look at my “Squirt Knee”.  After examination, he sterilized and bandaged my knee and commented he had never seen anything like it before suggesting I see my surgeon ASAP.   (Did not have to repeat that suggestion!)  The following “emergency surgery” closed the canal, cleaned out a bunch of “gunk” (technical surgeon lingo -lol)  and I have not had a problem since – other than the prognosis of an eventual total knee replacement which I hope to avoid.

WHY EMERGENCY?  The reason the surgery was an emergency is obvious to me now, but back then I just thought it was a peculiar injury and interesting situation.  (I could really freak people out who asked about the bandages by bending my knee in demonstration. Even with the bandages on – muffled sounding “farts” could quite easily be heard beneath.  Gross huh?  (Soup probably not on the menu tonight for me either.)  I was working on a comic routine where I would ask my knee simple questions and then force apparent responses out by bending the knee back to…..OK, enough.  lol

As the surgeon explained to me later, if only one germ or bacteria entered the interior knee capsule through that canal (during the sucking gurgling sound when my knee was answering comically staged and proposed questions to horrified onlookers) and found that perfect breeding environment for establishing a colony I would have developed an internal knee infection and my leg would have been subsequently amputated just above the knee.  I can understand why he did not advise of that possibility (telling me instead to just keep his bandages on until the surgery) because I would have been on the telephone ordering a giant sanitized plastic air bubble in which to reside until the surgery could be performed!  I would have been terrified.  

 ANYWAY – THE POINT?

See the connection to the capping of abandoned ground wells?  Without a “plug” (cap) on the exposed above ground well opening (where the motor would normally be installed) outside contaminants have a direct entry point to the water source below through the well pipe casing.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST SAY THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU *&^%$#@  MORON! 

I CAN’T EAT MY DINNER NOW!”

 

HEAR THAT?  SOUNDS LIKE AN ECHO?

There also exists the “attractive nuisance” for children exploring and becoming trapped in unsealed abandoned wells.  Wonder how many insects, lizards, gophers, rabbits, dogs, cats, etc have dropped below into a water supply and eventually decomposed  …..????  Yuk!

 

BAD FARMER!  BAD FARMER!

Here’s something that will shock you.  (Surprise surprise?)   I was once told by an experienced instructor/farmer that some individuals in the past were known to pull the well pump motor and pour concentrated chemicals directly into the aquifer below, reinstall the pump motor, and after waiting a while, pump the “underground mixed” solution through normal irrigation lines to the land.  Can you imagine that?

Same lame old time process of disposing of garbage into a stream or river to get it out of your immediate area – it doesn’t magically disappear but only becomes a problem for others in another area.  Air pollution….?  What about the EPAs Deep drilled  TOXIC WELLS?  (Drill a deep hole in the ground and PRESTO!  All that above ground nasty toxic stuff magically disappears!  Until it resurfaces decades later.)

 

Anyway, that’s tonight’s deviation!  Need to find something tolerable for dinner.    🙂

 

My best to you and yours, Lew