All About People

Bundick Well & Pump is ready to serve residents and communities amid challenging soil and groundwater conditions on the Delmarva Peninsula

Somewhere along the line, Jimmy Bundick’s and Jeff Shelley’s septic system and well installation company became a people business. Satisfying people’s sewage and water needs has brought success and continued growth to their business on Virginia’s history-rich eastern shore.

In addition to onsite systems, Bundick Well & Pump Co. installs domestic water wells and underground utility services in and around the rural community of Painter, about 60 miles north of Norfolk. “Not a lot of big things happen here,” says Bundick. “Operating on a small scale, we seldom encounter large-scale problems.”

The company has developed several subdivisions designed to provide building sites for what Bundick calls “affordable housing.” Community-oriented and quality-driven, he and Shelley have a 35-year record of steady growth and success.

On the Delmarva Peninsula, less than three miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Chesapeake Bay to the west, the soils are mostly sandy clay over a thick layer of heavy blue clay. “We embrace advanced treatment technologies that enable less suitable sites to support new construction,” says Bundick. “These same technologies are welcome tools to replace malfunctioning systems.”

Family of employees

Bundick and Shelley started the business in 1975 with six employees, and they now have 40, most of whom interact with each other as a family. The work includes about 20 percent complete system installations (new and replacement), 40 percent repairs, 30 percent pumping, and 10 percent service contracts.

“We have about 12 people assigned to the onsite installation and repair business, but because we cross-train our employees, it may not be the same 12 on an onsite installation from day to day,” says Shelley. Bundick runs a fleet of three vacuum trucks as well as a crane.

“This is a family business,” says Bundick. “My wife, Pat, is the bookkeeper — I call her ‘the hub of the wheel.’ Our daughter, Brook Duer, handles fleet and equipment administration, prepares job quotes and does the billing.” Other family members in the business are Jimmy and Pat’s son, Danny, and Brook’s husband, Pete. Danny heads up the water division, and Pete manages all permitting for onsite systems and wells.

In the division of labor, Jimmy Bundick is the first person most customers encounter on site. He handles site evaluations, works with system designers to match the system to the site, and coordinates with Pete Duer on all permit issues.

When the design is approved, Shelley’s work begins. “My primary responsibilities include marshaling the personnel and ordering and staging the material so that work can proceed in an orderly manner,” he says. “As the primary crane operator, Jimmy does the heavy lifting when treatment tanks, pump vaults and other items require a crane for installation.”

The last two years have been challenging. “With a slowing economy we have had to go the extra mile to keep our employees productively employed,” says Bundick. “As the demand for various skills has shifted, as individuals’ preferred roles have been accommodated, we have reevaluated some jobs and reassigned some personnel. Through this, we have saved five positions.”

Putting himself on the line first, Bundick is not drawing a salary this year. Most employees have been with the company more than 20 years, and given the way Bundick treats them, that is no surprise. “It helps that we have a lot of irons in a lot of fires,” Shelley adds.

Small problems seem big

The local economy is changing. Agriculture, commercial fishing and food processing, long the mainstays, are being affected by environmental concerns, harvesting regulations, and shorter fishing seasons. Many folks deal with fixed incomes and jobs that do not command top wages. When the water stops flowing or the toilet stops flushing, Bundick Well & Pump is the first call homeowners make. Often, the second call is to a social services agency.

“We jump right on ‘no water’ or ‘no flush’ calls,” says Bundick. “It doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are — people need basic services. We respond on the same day the call comes in. If we can’t get there that day, we call. It is what people expect of us.”

Repairs for people on some form of public assistance have forced the company to become familiar with the agencies responsible for the social safety net and the administrative quirks of the various programs. “Sometimes it is necessary to coordinate the work with multiple agencies, each paying a portion of the bill, and the landowner paying a part as well,” says Bundick.

“When the problem affects a person’s sewer or water service, there are no small problems, and while the solution may be simple and straightforward, restoring the system is always a big deal to the people affected. We use our vacuum trucks for both scheduled tank servicing and to relieve the pressure and buy some time when we encounter ‘no flush’ problems. It is an easy interim fix that reduces the homeowner’s anxiety.”

New requirements

Virginia has expanded the variety of permittable onsite technologies to help overcome a wide range of site conditions. “Our service area is about 90 miles from north to south and runs from the ocean to the bay,” says Bundick. “Across this large area, we encounter a wide range of soils, some with deep water tables and others with very shallow water tables.”

Soil conditions can change rapidly in a short distance. “We had never seen water tables as high as they were last spring,” he says. “Some land that had never been known to flood did so repeatedly. We were not able to get into the field as quickly as we would have liked.”

Deeper soils can sustain the conventional septic tank and aggregate absorption area, requiring 18 inches of vertical separation between the water table and the bottom of the aggregate. As water tables creep closer to the surface, more advanced treatment systems and different effluent dispersal systems are needed.

New Virginia Department of Health “emergency regulations” provide more specificity about required treatment levels and the soil conditions that trigger their application. With a better understanding of the behavior of various soils and the availability of advanced technologies, a paired hierarchy of soils and systems has emerged.

“Only by keeping current on the various technologies and new regulations can we provide comprehensive, informed guidance to landowners,” says Bundick. “This in turn requires training from multiple sources: Virginia regulators, the Virginia Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association, and multiple manufacturers.”

In addition to the traditional training venues, at least one vendor, VAMAC, has opened its doors and hosted training events for all comers. That has helped Bundick and other installers avoid hundreds of miles of travel, overnight accommodations and related expenses. “We can get there and back in the same day — a long day, but the same day,” he says. “It’s a help.”

Diverse and flexible

Bundick’s installations, big or small, benefit from a flexible, cross-trained crew. For a large installation at a school, Shelley deployed seven men representing every skill level. “Some men will return to the site for several days, while others, like an electrician, will be assigned only as needed,” says Shelley. For smaller jobs, the crew may only be one or two.

The company’s diverse operations and services require the first-contact office personnel to be well versed in all aspects of the business. “Our non-technical staff people have been with us so long and have learned so much that they make Jeff’s and my job easy,” Bundick says. Skilled office staff let the owners be more productive and spend more time on job sites or with customers.

The equipment inventory includes two Takeuchi excavators (2008 and 2000), a 2000 Volvo backhoe, a 2008 Ford leveling tractor, and a 1985 Ditch Witch trencher. Four dump trucks handle bulk transportation, and two other trucks are assigned for deliveries of septic tanks and Puraflo peat biofilter treatment modules (Bord na Mona).

As management requirements for advanced treatment systems kick in, Bundick and Shelley see the operations and maintenance market expanding. “The national economic situation on top of the traditionally slower pace of life and business on the shore mean that management will likely grow faster than new installation work rebounds,” says Bundick. “This change in focus is an opportunity rather than a barrier for our business.”

For nearly 40 years, Bundick and his family have been there for business and homeowner neighbors. With “a lot of irons in a lot of fires,” and the next generation moving into leadership roles, the company is positioned to ride the next wave of opportunities that sweeps across Virginia’s eastern shore.



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