Hall of FameLongest Horizontal Water Abstraction WellIn 2004 the precision horizontal directional drilling contractor Longbore drilled a 600 m-long blind well in London, UK using a directional drilling rig equipped with 246 m of 16 in casing and 354 m of 8.625 in well screen. The hole was some 30 m below surface and 19 m below the bed of the River Thames near Beckton STW. The abstraction rate of 6.5 million lit/day is the highest on record worldwide, and the technique could be used to help fill a predicted shortfall in the water supply to the city. Contacts: John S Ritchie jritchie@longbore.co.uk Ross Henderson rhenderson@longbore.co.uk 10/05.