How do you know where to dig a well?

Can you just dig a well anywhere?

The simple answer to Connie's question is yes. You probably can drill your own well on your property. You, of course, would have to contact your local building department to see if there are any regulations that must be followed.

How do you find underground water for a well?

In order to locate groundwater on your property, you need to get hold of a professional called a hydrologist. He will come to your land and inspect the property to see where the groundwater is located. This is very involved process and not something you can simply do yourself.

How can you tell if you can dig a well?

Underlying Geology: Before digging, it is important to confirm the underlying geology of the land. In most cases, the land should be suitable for drilling and producing water. However, if the ground is mostly made up of rock, the ground may not be porous enough to allow water to flow.

Where is a well usually located?

Find where the water pipe from your well enters the building - usually at a basement or crawl space, or if your home is on a slab, look in your plumbing or utility area. Often the water well is located on the same side of the building as that into which the well pipe enters the structure (but not always!)

All about wells ..Where to DRILL or locate your well.

How do I find the water table in my area?

The most reliable method of obtaining the depth to the water table at any given time is to measure the water level in a shallow well with a tape. If no wells are available, surface geophysical methods can sometimes be used, depending on surface accessibility for placing electric or acoustic probes.

How deep is the average well?

Most household water wells range from 100 to 800 feet deep, but a few are over 1,000 feet deep. Well yields can be increased by fracturing the bedrock immediately around the drill hole and intercepted rock faults.

What should I know before digging a well?

How deep should a well be for drinking water?

For drinking water wells it's best to be at least 100 feet deep so that surface contaminants cannot enter the well. The average well depth for private homes is between 100 to 800 feet [2]. You may need a deeper or shallower well if your area has different geology than another region of the country.

How do you know if your house has well water?

A drilled well is usually easy to recognize because there will be a pipe sticking up out of the ground at least a foot or more, with a thick cap on the end of it. Most homes will have drilled wells, but occasionally you will run across a home with a dug or bored well.

What zone is groundwater located?

Groundwater is found in two zones. The unsaturated zone, immediately below the land surface, contains water and air in the open spaces, or pores. The saturated zone, a zone in which all the pores and rock fractures are filled with water, underlies the unsaturated zone.

Where can you find groundwater?

Groundwater is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers.

Can you always find water if you dig deep enough?

The Deepest Drilled Hole on Earth

This groundwater may be the result of stray oxygen and hydrogen atoms being pressed from rock minerals. So, if you dig deep enough down into the Earth's crust, you'll certainly find water, but no one realistically wants to drill straight down into the center of the Earth to find water.

Is well water everywhere?

Groundwater is everywhere beneath the soil surface and can be ever-present in many places if allowed to recharge. Even in dry conditions, it maintains the flow of rivers and streams by replenishing them, providing a valuable substitute for precipitation.

Do wells run out of water?

Well water will run out if the groundwater level drops below the water intake depth. This can be caused by natural or man-made variations in groundwater height including reduced precipitation, slow groundwater recharge, well infill, high water usage, well drawdown or hydrofracking.

How far away from your house can your well be?

is enough distance a well needs eed to be away from a house? ? It would be recommended that water wells with a minimum horizontal distance of at least 10 feet be within 45 feet and away from such a wall to be considered as an absolute no-contact zone.

Do deeper wells mean better water?

Water quality in a deep well usually changes more slowly than in a shallow well. That's because groundwater does some mixing as it moves through the aquifer. A spill a mile away from your deep well in the Basin and Range aquifer might be substantially diluted with clean aquifer water before it gets to your well.

How fast does well water replenish?

Well water can replenish at a rate of 5 gallons per minute on average, but it will vary. It depends on the age of your well, how long you've been using it, the well's location or geology, and the aquifer the well taps into to replenish its water level.

How long do water wells last?

The average lifespan for a well is 30–50 years. 2. How deep is the well? Drilled wells typically go down 100 feet or more.

Can you drink well water?

Yes, as a private well owner, you are responsible for testing your well to ensure the water is safe to drink. EPA is responsible for making sure that the public water supply within the United States is safe. However, EPA does not monitor or treat private well drinking water.

How much space does a well need?

Room required for well drilling

When it comes to installing your well, one of the most frequent questions we're asked is how much room is required to drill the well itself. Generally, the space required to drill the well is about the size of a truck 30 feet long and 9 feet wide.

What is the best time to dig a well?

Many homeowners assume that well drilling during the winter is more difficult because the ground is frozen. However, winter is the ideal season in which to complete this project. Due to the cold, hardened ground, there's much less mud and damage to your yard from tire tracks left by the drilling rig.

How far down is the water table?

Although the water table varies throughout the Oglalla Aquifer, it is generally 15 to 90 meters (50 to 300 feet) below the land surface.

How long does it take to drill a 300 foot well?

Residential water wells are typically 100' to 300' deep and 4" to 6" in diameter. Local well drillers or neighbors can give you an idea of how deep to drill. A well takes about a week to install and lasts up to 40 years with proper maintenance and care.