A Well-Drilling Primer for Customers

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Photo by MOTHER EARTH NEWS Staff
A typical professional well-drilling rig.

A ready supply of fresh water might seem certain as death and taxes, but any landowner who thinks that aqua pura automatically comes with the territory may be in for a big letdown. The truth is that most surface water is contaminated, at least to some degree, with chemicals, sewage, or surface runoff.

This leaves most rural dwellers little choice but to drill a well. For the great majority of even independent country folk, that option probably will involve calling in a professional driller.

I know, because I’ve been in the well-drilling business for years. So if you’re in the market for a hole in the ground, you might listen up. I’ll let you in on a few facts that’ll give you some understanding of what’s going down when the boring rig sets up in your front yard and that’ll put you in a better position to bargain — or at least get the most out of your money — when it comes time to fork over the cash.

Getting Into Deep Water

The objective in drilling a well is to force a steel pipe, or casing, through existing overburden (which may consist of anything from a few inches of earth to hundreds of feet of alternating layers of hardpan, clay, sand, gravel, and rocks) to bedrock below. Then the actual well shaft is continued past this point into the bedrock itself. This procedure isn’t “carved in stone,” however: In some areas, wells can be successfully completed in water-bearing gravel layers at lesser depths.

  • Published on Sep 1, 1984
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