In the next few days you may notice a large well drilling rig and testing apparatus in the areas close to the athletic fields at Orange High School. This is one of the first steps to the process of designing and installing a new Geothermal Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning System for the school, as funded by the bond passed by Orange County voters in November 2016. These folks will only be on site for a week or two drilling two test wells and performing conductivity and soil testing for the site.
The information provided by this testing will be utilized by the engineers to design geothermal well fields consisting of a few hundred wells, which will be utilized to heat and cool the school. Actual installation of the geothermal well fields and equipment inside the buildings will not occur until the design is complete and a contract for installation is awarded to a contractor. More information will follow as the project design progresses.