My property has allot of water around it ... many springs and such, but faint find one on my property. I was thinking or maybe doing a DIY well instead, seen lots of videos online. According to som documents from the GIS I've seen, the water table is between 3 and 5 feet underground. Based on what I've read, you have to drill through the standing water table, past a layer of clay and or sand, and into the next layer of water, I'm wondering how deep I should expect to have to go reach acceptable quality water. im also curious as to why the first layer of water is no good ... I'm assuming potential contamination from the ground, but really I'm not looking for a total potable water source, just one for showering an washing dishes ...
Expected well depth in area with many springs
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THis is going really vary....ned to ask around.
Close to surface water may be contaminated....
I have a under ground water layer in line with the river....that continues to a seep(spring?)...then runs back to the river.
That was about 7 ft down in the floodplain........nest hit water under a layer of hardpan approx 20 ft down.... gravel and rock...Was able to get the point thru.
Kept pounding to 27 ft.....and had a good recovery rate with a hand pump....never had it tested but tasted OK.
State approved drilled and cased well up the hill 185 ft cased and grouted to 95 ft...so no intrusion of groundwater.
Personally, Looing back... I would not drill a well.... that I question whether it was potable or not....Way too many possible problems.
Do it right.
Close to surface water may be contaminated....
I have a under ground water layer in line with the river....that continues to a seep(spring?)...then runs back to the river.
That was about 7 ft down in the floodplain........nest hit water under a layer of hardpan approx 20 ft down.... gravel and rock...Was able to get the point thru.
Kept pounding to 27 ft.....and had a good recovery rate with a hand pump....never had it tested but tasted OK.
State approved drilled and cased well up the hill 185 ft cased and grouted to 95 ft...so no intrusion of groundwater.
Personally, Looing back... I would not drill a well.... that I question whether it was potable or not....Way too many possible problems.
Do it right.
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18,882 Posts
There are many areas with subsoil layers like you describe. But many areas are far different.
My land has 30 feet of clay sitting on top of a hundred feet of hard sandstone. Not far from me it is the same, but with 50 feet of boulders, from the size of a basketball to the size of a car, on top.
I know of areas that have brine at some levels.
At some point, I expect you'll get some hillbilly telling you about witching for water, underground rivers and planting by the phases of the moon. Talk to a well driller.
My land has 30 feet of clay sitting on top of a hundred feet of hard sandstone. Not far from me it is the same, but with 50 feet of boulders, from the size of a basketball to the size of a car, on top.
I know of areas that have brine at some levels.
At some point, I expect you'll get some hillbilly telling you about witching for water, underground rivers and planting by the phases of the moon. Talk to a well driller.
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As mentioned above, shallow wells close to drain fields or in a long term pasture area run the risk of excessive fecal contamination. If the well is intended for potable use , the well generally has to go close to the bottom aquifer.
Some in my area who have suitable wells for household use had to go from 75 to almost 200 feet to get water within acceptable fecal levels to rate as potable due to the fact that this area was used as hog farming and cattle ranching for the last 125 years or so and the combined hog farms and cattle ranch covered about 8 sections of land until about 30 years ago when the majority of the hog farms and smaller cattle operations began being sold off as single dwelling 5 to 10 acre tracts.
Even after the section and a half was developed and county water run into those tracts, due to the heavy beef cattle pasturing of 20,000 or so head maintained in parts of the remaining 6 or so sections from the 1930s, the water authority condemned all wells 50 feet or closer to the surface.
The utility here has a multi prong approach to controlling wells beyond the shallow well condemnation in that electric service requires suitable sewer or septic system and water supply to a residence built since the 1970s and any residence on a well must be a deep well.
So be sure to check all your local regulations if you have any long term livestock or other agricultural operations within a square mile of you.
Some in my area who have suitable wells for household use had to go from 75 to almost 200 feet to get water within acceptable fecal levels to rate as potable due to the fact that this area was used as hog farming and cattle ranching for the last 125 years or so and the combined hog farms and cattle ranch covered about 8 sections of land until about 30 years ago when the majority of the hog farms and smaller cattle operations began being sold off as single dwelling 5 to 10 acre tracts.
Even after the section and a half was developed and county water run into those tracts, due to the heavy beef cattle pasturing of 20,000 or so head maintained in parts of the remaining 6 or so sections from the 1930s, the water authority condemned all wells 50 feet or closer to the surface.
The utility here has a multi prong approach to controlling wells beyond the shallow well condemnation in that electric service requires suitable sewer or septic system and water supply to a residence built since the 1970s and any residence on a well must be a deep well.
So be sure to check all your local regulations if you have any long term livestock or other agricultural operations within a square mile of you.
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I live at Many Springs. Lots of wet weather springs.
Wells are 200 to 400 to get good water.
Wells are 200 to 400 to get good water.
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OR you could find a well driller with hillbilly roots who knows more about the region than all the "educated" folks in a 500 mile radius.
For the record reading the topography and native flora of the land can tell you as much about the underground water supply and ease of accessing it as all the great technology that science can buy.
But of course it depends on using the grey matter between one's ears that jokes all the difference.
Having lived in the desert (where some wells went to 1200 ft and some to 100 ft) and having lived in Florida where some wells were as shallow as 40 ft etc. etc. I can tell you that having surface water around doesn't mean anything. Here in Virginia we are surrounded by rivers and creeks and yet some folks only find water at 300+ ft and it is often full of minerals and needs to be softened and filtered. Others hit it at 100 ft and get drinkable and clean water just fine. You always have to be wary of coliform contamination of the water and it is more likely in shallow wells. It is also likely in areas that experience frequent flooding and/or where there is heavy pressure on the aquifers. Areas where there is heavy fracking/oil exploration and activity are obviously higher risk for all sorts of problems (West Texas, Oklahoma etc.). I would consult GIS maps and hydro/geo engineers. People witch for water all day long and find it but it frequently happens where water is abundant and it is the difference between finding a well spot that will produce a well that gives you 2-5 gpm vs a well that could have produced 30 gpm. That is the difference between science and the hillbilly method.... My $.02
The thing is, I'm not looking for a drinking water source, there is a public spring right up the street where I can get drinking water, I'm just looking for a water source for showering, dishes etc. One of the Neighbors gets his water exclusively from a spring that is on his property, however, I don't think I have anything similar on my property. What about DIY drilling a well, and getting the water tested? if it has any issues, I drill deeper ?
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Most jurisdictions have a requirement that water wells be installed by "approved" contractors. The contractor is required to register the well and maintain/submit records to the county regarding the well's depth, strata penetration, productivity etc. I live in very rural Indiana and my well and all of my neighbor's wells (that are permitted) are listed on the county health department website. I have looked at the information on all of the wells within about a mile of my property for comparison on depth, stratification, and pump placement to see how my well compares. I have done the same thing on "legal" septic systems registered with the county within a mile of my property.
To some, this fairly common form of regulation may sound like government over-reach and intrusive to the rights of private property owners but, despite my libertarian leanings, I understand and appreciate the need for this oversight. If my neighbor injects contaminants into the aquifer, or allows contaminants to leak down a shoddy well into the shared aquifer, he is "taking" my property rights to fresh water.
I respect what you are doing. Please don't take any offense. My comments are only meant as a suggestion that you may wish to review the web site for your county health department to see if they have any pertinent regulatory requirements and also to see if they maintain a data base on wells in the area immediately around your property. I also trust that you have already considered relative risks of showering and washing dishes in non-potable water.
To some, this fairly common form of regulation may sound like government over-reach and intrusive to the rights of private property owners but, despite my libertarian leanings, I understand and appreciate the need for this oversight. If my neighbor injects contaminants into the aquifer, or allows contaminants to leak down a shoddy well into the shared aquifer, he is "taking" my property rights to fresh water.
I respect what you are doing. Please don't take any offense. My comments are only meant as a suggestion that you may wish to review the web site for your county health department to see if they have any pertinent regulatory requirements and also to see if they maintain a data base on wells in the area immediately around your property. I also trust that you have already considered relative risks of showering and washing dishes in non-potable water.
I am actually considerate of why regulations exist, and that generally they are there to protect people. I'm also an Engineer ( although not a septic or environmental engineer ), so I'm not trying to do things without being informed. In general I get the reason that septic systems need to perk correctly, sit a minimum depth etc. Also point taken about contaminating an aquifer etc. In my case, I know that some of the local wells ( anecdotally ) are fairly shallow, many many springs in the area etc. In general, I'm just trying to understand the theory of why wells are dug so deep even when water is so close to the surface. If people educate themselves and make informed decisions about what they are doing, then there is less need for regulation. For instance growing up, anyone with the expertise and ability to generate a mechanical drawing could pull permits to build, but these days in that area it costs you an arm and a leg, and you have to spend 5 years as a journeyman, or pay an arm and a leg even to touch any part of the wiring in your own home. But again, point taken
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