Learn About Water Well Drilling

Posted August 3, 2009 – 11:18 am in: Equipment

Water well drilling is an age old method for reaching water held in aquifers. Those are underground layers of permeable rocks that hold water. Let’s take a look at these wells and how they’re drilled.

A standard water well is pretty common place. It’s a vertical shaft and something used to carry water out from the shaft. The bucket type well is often a hand drawn well. That’s because the water is drawn out by hand. The simplest form of these include a bucket on a rope. People throw the bucket into the well then pull it back to the top with the rope. Some versions of this type of well include a mechanical assist. The bucket is drawn up by a crank, rather than hand over hand.

Water well drilling reaches the water held in those porous rocks. As a result the water contains more minerals than would be found in water from other sources. People who have drunk water from a well are familiar with the gritty texture of the water and the definitive metallic taste. Such water is often softened before use. That removes the minerals, some of which can be toxic in large enough quantities.

Windmill pumps sometimes follow water well drilling. Wind can provide a lot of energy. It’s more than enough to pump water up from the well.

Gravity provides the water that water well drilling reaches. Water wouldn’t seep down without the force of gravity to pull it. Most of this originates as rain or snow. Wells reaching into aquifers account for about 20% of the fresh water in the world.

Water well drilling is accomplished in a number of ways. Dug wells are dug in the ground. Stones line the walls to keep the well open. Wells can be driven into the ground with a hammered point, then pipes attached. A pump then brings the water to the surface through the pipes. A drilled well can go much deeper. It is created by mechanical drilling, often rotary drilling.

Well, a water well drilling isn’t quite as simple as people think. It can be a deep subject.

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