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Since we're on the subject, let's talk about wells. A well is a hole dug to the water table or an aquifer (see the glossary for definitions), and a pump or other system to draw the water out. Like anything else, wells are highly regulated by the offices of local and state government, especially the health department. A badly done well can leak some nasty contaminants into the local water system. Also, wells are generally not cheap to sink, and you'll probably be wanting a deep well, since the deeper the well, the more likely you are to get truly clean water. Even then, you'll probably end up filtering the water to make sure. So, bottom line: Use a licensed well-driller and get it done right. And when deciding how and where to do your well, get some insight from the farmers and older residents nearby. If you're lucky enough to have access to the perfect well-drilling sitefor instance, a water table 20 feet down, in deep loam or sandy clay with few rocks and no nearby contamination potentialit's quite possible to hand-drive the well. Here's how it's done: To limit the pumping that will have to be done between the well and the house, find a site as close to the house as possible. The site must be at least 100 feet away from and uphill of any source of contamination, such as an outhouse, animal stables, or septic systems. Use a 1.25-inch to 2-inch well point (drive point). A well point is a pipe, usually 18 to 60 inches long, with openings large enough to allow water to enter. The size of the openings depends on the sediment matrix holding the water. The finer the sediment, the smaller the holes will need to be. Holes should let finer particles in but keep large particles out. Pound the well head down into the soil with a maul. When you need more length, remove the hammering cap, clean the threads, and screw on a new riser pipe (5 to 6 feet in length, with a 6-inch nipple) using some monkey wrenches and with a little joint or pipe thread compound in the threads. Start pounding again and repeat the process. Special drive couplings may be needed during this process to keep the impact off the threads. There are abundant websites with suggestions for determining whether your well point has entered waterbearing ground. If you reach an artesian source with some pressure, you might get water gushing up through the pipe. Otherwise, you'll have to attach a suction pump to bring up the water. Boring a well in rock-free soil is possible with a hand-turned auger, but the process is immensely labor-intensive. Posthole augers can be driven by a power head and pressurized with water to soften and clear out the hole. Keep in mind that you can use the hand-drawing method to bring up water from a well if it's deeper than 200 feet. A suction pump, on the other hand, will not work with water more than 20 feet down. For deeper wells you'll probably use a submerged push-type electric pump (possibly solar or wind-powered), or a windmill. Hand-digging a wide shaft and finishing it with a windlass was the traditional way of creating a well years ago. This method is not practical or safe, especially if the shaft is deeper than the diggers are tall and the soil is unconsolidated. Shaft collapse is a common hazard. Get advice and experienced help. |
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