All in a day's work, no. 1

Skyler Bolden (left), 22, has a boring job. I don't think he'll mind my saying that; he bores wells for a living. I bumped into him at work in someone's front garden this afternoon.

"Most places here, outside of the towns and cities, get their water from wells. This customer came to us because his was filling with sand. We started digging him another one, but the water was salty from all the salt they put on the roads in winter, so now we're trying again. We get the water samples back from the lab, and if they're OK we go ahead and dig.

"On average, we have to dig to around 400 to 600 feet to find water, and it takes us two to three days. Almost everyone has groundwater on their property, but sometimes finding it is a matter of trial and error, and on occasions we have to go as deep as 1,200 or even 1,500 feet.

"We're using an Ingersoll Rand drilling rig here. We put a bit down the hole and push compressed air down the hollow stem to turn the bit into a hammer. It breaks the rock and flushes it out of the hole - sometimes we mix in water and foam to keep the hole clean.

"Then we force a Betonite grout round the outside of the pipe to line the well, and install a pump. Nobody uses an old-fashioned bucket and rope any more. This well will cost the customer around $7,000 to $8,000.

"My dad , Wayne, started the business twenty-five years ago. I just grew up around it and found it interesting.

"Remember those nine guys that got trapped down a mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, back in 2002? We helped to rescue them by digging two or three de-watering tunnels. They came and thanked us afterwards, though we've sort of lost touch with them since then."