Directional drilling was initially intended for the installation of utilities, such as water and sewer lines, electric lines, and fiber optic cables. More recently, engineers and drillers have developed others uses for these techniques. The same technology that allows a directional drilling machine to operate underground and in difficult conditions offers an exciting new possibility for directional drilling: remediation of contaminated areas. Countless sites in the United States, from landfills to gas stations, have some degree of contamination. A directional drilling machine can be used to install drainage pipes in these environmentally hazardous areas, leeching contaminants out of the soil without causing major disturbances to the contaminated site or to their surrounding neighborhoods.

Jackson Creek Enterprises is one of the leading experts in the field of soil and ground water remediation. Before leaving Vermeer Manufacturing, David Wampler supervised and directed several remediation projects, as well as teaching other operators how to use directional drilling in this way. He compiled his expertise in a manual on the subject: "The Basics of Environmental Remediation Utilizing Horizontal Wells". This manual is reproduced here with the permission of Vermeer Manufacturing.

Click "The Basics of Environmental Remediation Utilizing Horizontal Wells" to read more about this technology.