Solutions
Sonic Drilling
Fast penetration rates, superior sample quality, and minimal environmental disturbance across a wide range of geologic conditions.
Specialized Sonic Drilling
Jensen Drilling Company provides specialized sonic drilling services for dewatering, well installation, and subsurface investigation on federal, municipal, and commercial projects. Our sonic capabilities deliver fast penetration rates, superior sample quality, and minimal environmental disturbance across a wide range of geologic conditions.
Simultaneous drilling and casing advancement — driven by high-frequency resonant energy — lets JDC recover continuous, undisturbed core samples through unconsolidated soils, dense glacial tills, gravels, cobbles, and fractured rock, all while minimizing spoils and cross-contamination between formations.
Core Capabilities
- —Sonic drilling from 6" to 12" borehole diameter
- —Maximum borehole depth of 300 feet
- —Continuous core sampling through unconsolidated soils, cobbles, and fractured rock
- —High-frequency resonant energy reduces drill string friction and increases penetration speed
- —Simultaneous drilling and casing advancement minimizes borehole instability
- —Minimal spoils generation — core samples recovered in a sealed liner for clean handling
- —Effective in challenging formations including dense glacial tills, gravels, and mixed cobble
- —Well installation, piezometer installation, and formation sampling in a single mobilization
Applications
- —Dewatering system installation on dam construction, excavation support, and infrastructure projects
- —Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers project support
- —Environmental site characterization and soil/groundwater sampling
- —Monitoring well and piezometer installation
- —Geotechnical investigation boreholes
- —Aquifer testing and hydrogeologic studies
- —Well rehabilitation and redevelopment
Drilling Specifications
6"
Borehole Diameter
- Max Depth: 300 ft
- Typical Use: Environmental / Monitoring
- Sample: Continuous Core
8"
Borehole Diameter
- Max Depth: 300 ft
- Typical Use: Dewatering Wells
- Sample: Continuous Core
10"
Borehole Diameter
- Max Depth: 300 ft
- Typical Use: Production Wells
- Sample: Continuous Core
12"
Borehole Diameter
- Max Depth: 300 ft
- Typical Use: High-Yield Dewatering
- Sample: Continuous Core
ADVANTAGES OF SONIC DRILLING
FASTER. CLEANER.
MORE RELIABLE DATA.
- —Up to 5× faster penetration compared to conventional rotary or hollow-stem auger methods.
- —Continuous, undisturbed core samples provide reliable lithologic and geologic data.
- —Reduced environmental impact — no drilling fluids required in most applications.
- —Casing advancement prevents cross-contamination between formations.
- —Effective in formations that defeat conventional methods — gravels, boulders, cobbles.
- —Smaller footprint and reduced site disturbance compared to large-diameter rotary rigs.
Relevant Project Experience
Fresno Dam and Reservoir
Milk River Project, Montana — dewatering well installation under U.S. Bureau of Reclamation contract.
View Project →
Cle Elum Dam Fish Passage Facility
Yakima River Basin, Washington — specialized dewatering support for fish passage construction.
View Project →JDC also brings sonic drilling capability to multiple federal and state dam rehabilitation and remediation projects across the western United States, working as a prime contractor or subcontractor on federal and state teaming opportunities.
Get in Touch
Need Sonic
Drilling?
Contact Jensen Drilling Company to discuss your project requirements — we're available as a prime contractor or subcontractor on federal and state projects.
Call 24/7 — 541-541-3670 →