The Difference A Modern Well Can Make

Many rural properties are as old as the farmland around them. These old properties are resilient, timeless, and practical, but that doesn't mean they can't be improved. If your home relies on a hand-dug well that was installed many decades ago, it might be time to upgrade your home's water supply with a modern well. This article covers the differences between old hand-dug wells and modern drilled wells. 

Hand-Dug Wells

Before modern construction equipment like excavators, backhoes, and high-powered drills, the only way to dig a well was to grab a shovel and get to work. Workers would dig into soft soil and clay until water began filling the hole. Then, they would dig and bail water out of the well as they went. Once the water rushed in faster than they could bail it out, they would stop digging without worrying about the actual depth of the well. These traditional wells are at least wide enough for one person to stand and work in, and they may be lined with large stones, bricks, or tiles that provide a small degree of water filtration. On many older properties, these wells are retrofitted with modern well caps and pumps.

Hand-dug wells are limited in depth. They can only barely drop below the water table before the water becomes impossible to bail out as the digger works. For this reason, hand-dug wells are prone to drying up due to heavy water use or drought conditions. Many families find that they must watch their water usage carefully if they are reliant on only one hand-dug well. Since these wells only use crude filtration methods and are relatively shallow, they may become contaminated by pesticides and other pollutants, as well. 

Drilled Wells

To fix the issues with hand-dug wells, engineers created a new well-digging technique: drilling. To create a drilled well, workers typically use a large rotary drill mounted on a truck. They position the drill over the desired location of the well and simply bore a hole deep into the ground. Workers place a well pump deep into the well before closing it up with a well cap.

Unlike hand-dug wells, drilled wells can be installed through solid rock, and they can extend far beneath the water table. This makes them more practical for properties in drought-prone areas because they can be used to access previously inaccessible sources of water that won't dry up when people need them most. They are also narrower than hand-dug wells and capped close to the ground, so they are less noticeable to guests. 

To learn more about modern drilled wells, contact a well drilling service in your area.