What is a private well?

Private wells are wells that are not part of a public water supply. Private wells have fewer than 15 connections and serve fewer than 25 people. They are usually wells that serve a single home or farmhouse.

How does a private well work?

Well water is a private water source taken directly from the earth. To create a private well, a hole is drilled into the ground down to the aquifer—a permeable layer of rock that contains water. A pump system is then used to carry that water up and into your home.

Does a private well run out of water?

Whenever it is warm out, there is a chance of your private well running dry. Most wells flow without problem through warmer months, but in areas of drought and a low level of groundwater there is a chance for them to run dry. Read on to learn about the signs of a dry well and what can be done to fix one.

How do you maintain a private well?

Keep hazardous chemicals, such as paint, fertilizer, pesticides and motor oil away from your well. Periodically check the well cover or well cap on top of the casing (well) to ensure it is in good repair. Always maintain proper separation between your well and buildings, waste systems, or chemical storage facilities.

How big is a private well?

Dug wells have a large diameter, are shallow (approximately 10 to 30 feet deep) and are not cased continuously. Driven wells are constructed by driving pipe into the ground. Driven wells are cased continuously and shallow (approximately 30 to 50 feet deep).

How Does My Private Well System Work?

How far from house Should a well be?

As a general guidance, personal drinking water wells should have a minimum horizontal distance of at least 10 feet and preferably 25 feet from such boundaries. State or local standards may be less or more stringent in your area.

Do wells have clean water?

Well Water Tastes Pretty Good

Municipal systems treat their water with chemicals to make it safe for general consumption. The most common additives are chlorine, chlorine dioxide and ozone.

What is the life expectancy of a water well?

A well can last 50 years (I know of one well that did). However, a drop or complete loss of water production from a well can sometimes occur even in relatively young wells due to a lowered water level from persistent drought, nearby development, or over-pumping of the well which can dewater the water-bearing zones.

How often should a well be cleaned?

9. As a routine maintenance practice, clean your well at least once a year. If you have an iron or sulfur bacteria problem, clean more often.

Is it safe to drink water from a well?

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.

Can you fill pool with well water?

As we said above, you can fill your swimming pool or hot tub with well water. In fact, it's one of the least expensive options, especially compared to a pool water delivery service. Some people choose to fill their pools with city water or municipal water from their house, but not everyone has this option.

What are the disadvantages of well water?

Can private wells run dry?

Some private wells run dry every summer, while others, which may be right next-door, flow without a problem even during a drought. Geographical or physical conditions of the soil or rock and well construction may cause these differences.

How is water from a private well treated?

The Full Chlorination method kills bacteria that may be present in wells, plumbing systems and in the aquifer surrounding the well. This is the method most commonly used by well drillers for wells with persistent bacterial contamination, or for wells that have been affected by surface or flood waters.

What are the 4 types of wells?

Do wells need to be cleaned?

Following are some signs that may indicate a need to clean your well system. The well water is turbid, which means it is cloudy or has suspended matter in it. There has been a decrease in the well's capacity—that is, the gallons of water per minute that the pump can supply to the system.

How do you live with well water?

What do I need to know about buying a house with a well?

At a minimum, your well should be tested every spring for harmful bacteria, dissolved solids, nitrates and its pH level. You can buy testing kits to do the testing yourself. Be sure the kit tests for bacteria, nitrates, contaminates like copper and lead and the presence of pesticides and fertilizer.

Should you put bleach in your well?

Disinfecting Your Water

You can disinfect your well with household chlorine bleach such as Clorox, Purex or a generic brand. The chlorine in the bleach kills bacteria. Note that it may take more than one chlorination for your well to return a satisfactory test.

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 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 far can you pump water from a well?

Different well pumps can push water different distances. For example, a well pump with a single line tends to push water a maximum of 25 feet vertically. Comparatively, shallow well pumps can push water 30 feet vertically.

Does well water need to be filtered?

When you own a home with a private well, the safety and quality of the water is your responsibility. Well water almost always requires some softening and filtration to make it ideal for drinking, cooking, and cleaning.

How long can you run your hose on a well?

How Long Is It Safe To Run A Well? This depends on which submersible pump you use. The majority of people are fine with continuous running, but there are limitations which prohibit usurers, but some have limits of “run for less than 2 hours” or “leave to cool down after 30 minutes”.

Where does well water go after it is used?

Where Does Well Water Go After It Is Used? If we leave our houses to catch flood water in another yard, we generally dispose of it either by draining it underground or by sending the water to a wastewater treatment plant through the sewer line.