If your water does not come from a public source, you
are most likely getting your water from a private drinking
water well. There are three types of drinking water wells:
dug, driven and drilled.
To ensure that these water sources are well-functioning,
it is crucial that they be properly constructed and maintained.
- Dug water wells
- Dug wells are holes in the ground that are created using
a shovel or backhoe. Because these holes are quite shallow
(10 to 30 feet), they are the most susceptible to contamination.
To decrease the chances of contamination, follow these steps:
- Case the well with a watertight material
and a cement grout or bentonite clay sealant by pouring
along the outside area of the casing up to the top of the
well.
- Cover the well with a concrete curband
cap that is approximately one foot above the ground.
- Situate the pump in your home or in a
separate building rather than beside your well in a pit.
- Driven water wells Guidelines for the proper construction of private drinking water wellsLike dug wells, driven water wells also pull their water
from the area above the bedrock. They are typically deeper
than dug wells (30-50 feet) and are usually located in areas
that have thick sand and gravel deposits. These wells are
still relatively shallow and are also susceptible to contamination.
To decrease the chances of contamination, note the following:
- During construction, metal pipes of assembled
lengths between two and three inches are driven into the
ground. A well point located at the end
of the pipe will help drive the pipe through the sand and
gravel. The screen on the pipe will allow water to enter
the well, while filtering out sediment.
-The pump for the well should be on top
of the well or in your home. You should dig an access pit
around the well down to the frost line and attach a water
discharge pipe that is joined to the house pipe with a fitting.
-The well and pit should be capped with
a large diameter concrete tile and the access pit cased
with a pre-cast cement.
- Drilled water wells -
Drilled wells usually run 100 to 400 feet into the bedrock.
A drilled well gets its water supply by intersecting bedrock
fractures that contain ground water. To properly construct
a drilled well, consider the following:
- Use a metal or plastic casing that is 6 inches
in diameter to extend into the bedrock. By law, the casing
should extend 18 feet into the ground, with at least 5 feet
into the actual bedrock and 1 or 2 feet above the ground’s
surface. Pour a sealant along the outside of the casing
to the very top of the well and cap the well.
- Install a submersible pump at the bottom of the
well. If there is a shallow water table, you may
want a jet pump that is located inside your home. These
types of pumps require special wiring and electrical service.
- Install a pitless adapter that will provide a sanitary
seal at the point where discharge water leaves
the well to enter your home. This adapter is attached directly
to the casing below the frost line and ensures a waterproof
connection. Be aware that most old drilled wells do not
include these features, but they are still crucial to obtaining
non-contaminated water.
