Constructing a Well

Siting.

One of the first things to decide is where to place the well. Assuming that an aquifer has been found at depth, the important considerations include maximizing distances to potential contaminants, access for machinery and potential future uses of the property. Septic systems, waste disposal lines, animal feedlots and buried fuel tanks all have the potential to degrade groundwater quality. Wells should always be at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) from any building site, in an area where future access can be preserved when repair, alteration or abandonment become necessary.

Construction.

There are many ways to construct a satisfactory well. The intended use and local geology usually dictate which methods will work in a specific area. Some of the common construction methods include digging, driving, and drilling.

A dug well is built by excavating a hole into a water-bearing zone, lowering a casing into the aquifer, and constructing the seal. Dug wells usually

are inexpensive, but are restricted to the near-surface, which may be insufficient to provide ample water quantity of suitable quality. A driven well typically consists of steel point attached to a section of perforated pipe or stiff screen, and sections of solid pipe. After digging or auguring an oversized hole to later accommodate the seal, the well constructor drives the assembly into the earth until the screen or perforations penetrate an aquifer; then he pours the seal. Most wells are constructed with well-drilling equipment. The two main types of drilling machines are the cable tool and the rotary drill.The cable tool uses a heavy string of tools (bits), dropped repeatedly over the same point, to loosen, fracture and pulverize the earth so that it may then be lifted out of the hole with a bailing bucket. The loosened material and pulverized materials are referred to as drill cuttings. In dry formations, water may be added to the hole to hold the cuttings in suspension so they may be more easily lifted. The bailing bucket is a long cylinder, fitted with a one-way valve at the bottom. The bucket is lowered into the hole, then lifted and drained as the hole is advanced.

Rotary drills use hardened drill bits to cut through the earth. Compressed air, water, or special water-based fluid called drilling mud is used to suspend the cuttings and lift them from the hole. This mud is usually forced down the inside of the drillstem, past the drillbit, where it picks up the cuttings, then up the outside of this drillstem to the land surface. The drilling mud also helps hold the hole open and forms a cake or barrier inside the hole so the fluid and cuttings are forced up the hole rather than into the formation.

Sealing.

Regardless of which method is used, care must always be exercised in constructing the casing seal. Improperly sealed wells can contaminate water over a wide area. To construct the casing seal, the well constructor creates an oversized hole down to the intended sealing depth. The casing then is inserted, and the annulus (the space between the casing and earth) is filled with the sealing material.

Where the formation is prone to caving, another temporary casing may be necessary to hold the hole open while the seal is constructed. If the sealing depth is shallow (less than 18 meters [50 feet]) and there is little standing water in the sealing area, a special type of clay, known as Bentonite^®, may be used as the sealing material. Dry Bentonite^® chips or pellets are slowly poured into the annular space between the casing and the natural formation. The other common sealing material is cement grout, which is similar to concrete without the gravel component. This fine-grained cement is pumped into the bottom of the annulus until it reaches the land surface.

Developing.

Once the well is drilled and the physical components have been constructed, the well must be developed. The purpose of developing the well is to maximize its discharge capacity. This usually is done by alternately pumping the well and surging water in the bore to wash silt and sand from the formation and open it to greater flow rates. A properly developed well will produce adequate quantities of sand and mud-free water.

Testing.

After completion of construction, a well test is performed to determine the capacity of the well to yield water over time. This can be done with a pump, a bailer bucket, or by blowing compressed air into the well bore. A component of this test is the monitoring of the well’s drawdown. Drawdown is the change in water level in the well due to pumping.^* A 1-hour test is considered the minimum period necessary to evaluate a well, with 4-hour and 24-hour tests being more reliable. This information is necessary to determine the usefulness of the well for its desired purpose and the size of pump it can support.

Disindfecting.

The well construction process will invariably introduce bacteria into the wellbore. Once construction is completed, the casing, wellbore, and the standing water in the well are sterilized, usually with chlorine or hypochlorate solution. Once the disinfectant has had sufficient opportunity to sterilize the well, the well is purged, and the fresh water usually is tested for biological and chemical purity.

Logging.

During construction, development and testing of the well, it is very important that the constructor record every detail about formations encountered, water-bearing zones, construction components, and well yield. This record is called the water-well report or well log. It is extremely useful if the well ever needs repair or is to be abandoned. It also provides valuable information to the landowner, other well drillers, and resource managers.

Repair and Abandonment.

Over time, old and improperly constructed wells will deteriorate. The landowner is responsible for any wells on his or her property. Wells with faulty seals or that are commingling aquifers may deplete or contaminate the resource. Depending on the original construction methods and materials used, a defective well may be repaired by a skilled well constructor. In many cases, it is easier and cheaper to permanently abandon a defective well than to repair it.

Permanent abandonment typically involves removing the existing casing, cleaning out the hole, and completely filling it with cement grout. In situations where the casing can not be removed, the casing must be perforated so the cement grout can penetrate into the formations and prevent any vertical movement of water in the wellbore.