Happy Birthday, America!

249 years ago today, American patriots – enraged at taxation without consent, a distant central government trying to control their affairs from thousands of miles away, and escalating encroachments on local autonomy – declared independence from the mother country of Great Britain.

So began the great “American Experiment” in self-government, individual liberty, private property rights, and economic capitalism. The result has been the freest and most prosperous civilization in human history.

Much has changed in the past two-and-a-half centuries, as population has grown and technology advanced. But two things have not changed:  the principles upon which the nation was founded – and the need for fresh, clean water to sustain health and life.

At the time of the American Revolution, drinking water to quench one’s thirst was a risky proposition. Rivers, wells and streams were often contaminated with bacteria, waste, or pollutants.  People preferred beer, cider, or tea (one reason the tea tax was so infuriating).

The first major American municipal well was dug in New York City (then called New Amsterdam) in 1667 – an early civic effort to provide a reliable groundwater source for an expanding population.

In the early days of our republic, there were no aqueducts or canals – especially not for agricultural purposes. Farmers farmed where the water already was. The first major American agricultural water conveyance was the South Hadley Canal in Massachusetts, completed in 1795. It was 2.5 miles long, serving both for transport and to supply local farms with water.

Today, people live and farm wherever they want; getting water to the settlement or orchard is merely a matter of permits, funding, and engineering. At WellJet®, we use HPC’s patented high-pressure hydrojetting process to make groundwater extraction as efficient, environmentally friendly, and economically affordable as possible. We’ve done it for thousands of satisfied customers around the globe for more than a decade.

So Happy Birthday, America! As long as groundwater is needed, WellJet® will be here to provide it.