Last week, we started our countdown of the top 10 stories of 2023. We finish the list this week, with our five most popular stories of the year.

 A reminder of the ground rules: This list, which started last week with numbers 10 through 6, includes our top 10 stories by pageviews, published Dec. 16, 2022, through Dec. 15, 2023.

Now, let’s finish the countdown.

5
Drilling in Clay, Shale and Mudstone: How do you React?

The rotating panel of fluids experts from CETCO Drilling Products has written for The Driller for more than a decade. Over time, they’ve shared tips, methods and strategies for groundwater, HDD, foundations and more. In this April column, Mario Brunet, one of their technical sales managers, helps us keep our pressure down when we hit reactive conditions downhole.

4
Trading University for Trades: A Gen Z Driller Perspective

It’s a good exercise to think about what the industry might look like in 10 or 20 years. (I know I plan to be retired by 20 years from now; I don’t know about you.) Thinking about folks like Rachel Bourne rising up the ranks in the industry gives us comfort. Rachel, who started writing for us in November, is an accomplished driller and graduate of Ontario’s Fleming College drilling and blasting program. She also sits on the board of the Ontario Groundwater Association and even helped found an NDA chapter in Ontario. She’s going places and young professionals would do well to follow her lead.

3
Clearing Up Questions about Soda Ash, Make-Up Water

George Dugan is the second of CETCO Drilling Products’ technical sales managers to make this year’s top 10. George and the whole CETCO gang talk about make-up water and pre-treatment often, so you know it must be important. In this column that squeaked in from last December (we go mid-December to mid-December for this list), he talks about why you pre-treat with soda ash, alternatives to soda ash and when you might not even need it at all.

2
Mr. Beast Did 100 Water Wells in Africa? Next Time, Call Us

This fall, YouTube personality Mr. Beast posted a video about his foundation’s trip to several countries around Africa. They installed water wells underserved areas, 100 in all. Anchor Brock Yordy in The Driller Newscast episode 85 from November welcomes such a major social media champion, because bringing water to water-stressed areas is important. But, hey, call us next time. We can come along, lend some expertise and help.

1
The Pros and Cons of PVC for Water Well Installations

Stories surprise you, sometimes. We often do “explainer” type stories that just, well, explain stuff. This one, we wrote in April and just kind of put out there — not a lot of promotion in our email or social channels. It lays out the ABCs of PVC for groundwater applications. That’s it. Useful resource to have on the site, we thought. Readers agreed. And agreed. And kept agreeing.

That’s it, our top 10 stories of the year. You stick with us through changes in format, delivery, name and everything else. We honor that, and plan to continue to produce great stuff that folks find valuable to keep them coming back.

Thanks again, and have a prosperous 2024.