Perhaps the oldest form of drilling machinery is the cable tool. It is still used today for its reliability, precision, and higher quality bore holes. The drilling rig raises and drops a drill bit into the well hole, and the design of the cable causes the bit to twist about ¼ revolution per drop. Cable tool drilling requires the drilling action to be stopped so that the hole can be bailed or emptied of drilled material.
The Floridan aquifer system is one of the most productive aquifers in the world. It covers an area of about 100,000 square miles in southern Alabama, southeastern Georgia, southern South Carolina, and all of Florida. The Floridan aquifer system provides water for several large cities, including Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Orlando, and St. Petersburg.
It also provides water for hundreds of thousands of people in smaller communities and rural areas. Despite the huge volumes of water that are being withdrawn from the aquifer system, water levels have not declined greatly except locally where pumpage is concentrated or the yield from the system is minimal.
