WESTPHALIA  —  B&H Well Drilling is currently in the process of drilling 45 boreholes, each 400 feet deep and six inches in diameter, as part of Fatima High School’s new ground-source geothermal heating and cooling system.

“It’s a fairly nice-sized job,” said co-owner Greg Bonnot. “This a 90-ton system, (which is) a fairly nice sized system.”

After the holes are drilled, B & H will install a one-inch ground loop the full depth of each hole, after which the holes will be filled with thermal grout, in this case a mixture of bentonite and graphite.

The ground loop carries heat-transfer fluid through the system, and the thermal grout aids in heat transfer between the ground and the loop. “In the summertime (the system) takes the heat out, and (during) wintertime it brings the heat in,” Bonnot explained.

State Tech has similar systems, and B&H did the drilling for a lot of them as well.

Bonnot grew up in the well-drilling business. He and his wife Donna started their own drilling business in 1989, and later added service and the installation of well pumps. In addition to drilling and boring, they service residential, commercial, farming, and industrial wells. The company serves more than 30 counties in Missouri and is well-known and respected.

“I have a great crew,” Bonnot said. “You can’t do a job of this nature without them.”