Well Water Sources

A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. In modern, large scale applications, well water is drawn up by a pump.

A modern method for well-drilling uses pre-cast reinforced concrete well rings that are lowered into the hole. Driven wells can be created in unconsolidated material with a well-hole structure, which consists of a hardened drive point and a screen of perforated pipe, after which a pump is installed to collect the water. Drilled wells can access water at much greater depths than dug wells.

Two broad classes of well are shallow or unconfined wells completed within the uppermost saturated aquifer at that location, and deep or confined wells, sunk through an impermeable stratum into an aquifer beneath. A collector well can be constructed adjacent to a freshwater lake or stream with water percolating through the intervening material. The site of a well can be selected by a hydrogeologist, or groundwater surveyor.

Prior to treating pathogens, chemical contaminants, and minerals that may be present in well water, filtration of suspended solids from a well-water stream is an essential step in the creation of potable water. Well water used for irrigation also requires filtration of suspended solids for protection of downstream equipment.