Shallow Well

[Ponyboy]

The active well on this property is a rock lined shallow well about 6-8 feet deep with a sheet of plywood over the top and then covered with plastic. I am no very familiar with wells, but know this is not a proper shallow well. What are the regulations for shallow wells?

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A well head for a deep well was located on the other side of this property. The top of the pipe is welded shut and the metal tag on the well reads:

Department Of Ecology

Uniqui Well

AKF912

Do not remove tag

I found this tag is a well ID which led me to a Department of Ecology drilling report. This well was drilled in 2004, 61 feet, but does not look like it was ever activated.

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Any other ideas?

[tim5055]

You can run the tag # you found in the State of Washington Database.

From a quick read, the new well was dug in 2004 and no pump was installed. As you say it appears that it was never put in service.

[Bill Kibbel]

I am no very familiar with wells, but know this is not a proper shallow well. What are the regulations for shallow wells?

In PA, the standards are set by the individual county health departments.

In my home county, the minimum standard requires a watertight steel casing to a minimum depth of 30' feet and 5' into bedrock or other impervious strata and grouted. This shows shallow wells are no longer acceptable. "Open surface" wells haven't been permitted since probably the first half of the last century, although I still find some occasionally in service. The most recent find was a spring-fed pond supplying all water to an inn & conference center.

[Chad Fabry]

I have an open surface well. I guess it's not actually a well; it's a 10' section of 24" culvert stuck in the ground surrounding a little spring. It's a nice place to put my pump and it keeps the tadpoles and frogs from clogging the intake.

[Tom Raymond]

That sounds more like a spring box. One of the local builders here has one that supplies his home, two others, and a commercial building. If you hit a good spring you can have an endless supply.

Tom

[Tim H]

Like Bill said, it's about local hydrogeology and regulation. Around here (Lower Alabama), the well you inspected would be a petri dish. The requirements in the counties I inspect are right in line with what Bill describes. If you want to kill a few hours learning everything you never wanted to know about private water systems, you can go here;

http://www.purdue.edu/envirosoft/private/src/title.htm