How Does the Water Well Drilling Process Work?

You already know why you would need a water well drilling contractor in Western Minnesota or Eastern North Dakota: You want a water well – and in Western Minnesota or Eastern North Dakota, no less.

What you may be unfamiliar with is how the water well drilling process works. Don’t be ashamed if you are, because while we personally find well drilling to be a fascinating process, we’re glad it’s not taught in schools. Otherwise everybody would want to drill wells for a living, and Geo-Tech of Minnesota would drown in competition.

But if you’re investing in a new well, and you would like to know what you’re actually paying for, please read on. You’ll be well educated in no time!

1. Select a Good Location

A water well should not go just anywhere. The location for a new well must be safely far away from any septic tank, leech field, barnyard, buried fuel tank, or surface water such as a creek or pond. This is to ensure that contaminants do not seep through the soil and into the well. If you understand why you wouldn’t want to drink from a puddle in a chicken yard, then you know why proper well placement is important.

An elevated area usually makes the best spot for a new well, as potentially contaminated water would drain away from it. An area which is prone to flooding – where a well would accumulate contaminants – is the worst spot.

It is wise to consider the distribution of a property’s groundwater before drilling, too. Any place where the groundwater is plentiful yet not too deeply buried is automatically a strong contender for a new well.

2. Get a Permit

A Minnesota homeowner typically doesn’t need a permit to drill a well on their property. The state does require permits for some wells, but most of these are used to draw more than 100,000 gallons of water per day. You also need a permit to draw infested water, although we strongly doubt you would want any.

Do make sure your well contractor is fully licensed by the state, if for no other reason than to determine whether they are competent or not.

3. Drill, Baby, Drill

Once all the machinery is in place, it’s time to do what well drillers do best: drill. Your well contractor will most likely use one of two different drilling techniques.

• Rotary drilling – A drill bit is connected to the end of a pipe so it can bore through the soil and stone beneath. Ground up rock debris is saturated with specialized drilling fluid so it can cool and lubricate the drill before it is flushed clear of the pit. The drill operator carefully takes note of the depths and formations of any water bearing rock revealed by the drill bit.

• Air hammer – A pneumatic drilling tool called a down-the-hole hammer is lowered deeper and deeper into the ground. The nubbed tip of the cylindrical device pulsates violently as it bores a hole. Meanwhile, compressed air is used to clear away rock debris. Air hammering is often reserved for ground with too many hard rocks for efficient rotary drilling.

4. Install a Casing

Once the well has been drilled deeply enough, it is ready for its casing. This long tube, which is typically made of PVC or steel, extends the depth of the well to help maintain its structure over the coming decades. The casing and its grout coating also serve as a barrier, prohibiting contaminants in the surrounding earth from seeping into the well’s drinking water.

5. Install a Pump, Screen, Pitless Adapter & Well Cap

Once the casing is in place, four other devices are usually installed. The pump moves water from the well to wherever you would rather have it. It is installed following thorough disinfection of the well, and requires some testing before it can operate reliably. A water analysis is advisable during the pump installation phase of the well creation process.

Whether it’s a continuous slot, slotted pipe or perforated pipe, the well screen’s job is to keep sand and gravel from getting into the water. The pitless adapter creates a seal between the water line and the casing that prevents the water from freezing. The well cap is self-explanatory! It’s the well’s plastic or metal lid, which bars access to insects, rodents and other critters which have no business around your water.

Presto! The well is complete!

The well drilling process is a little more complicated than we just outlined, but you get the gist of it. Now all you have to do is witness the process’s results for yourself.

If you would like a well drilled in Western Minnesota or Eastern North Dakota for virtually any end-use, whether it’s residential, commercial, agricultural or municipal, then we welcome you to contact Geo-Tech of Minnesota today! With us, you’re always well taken care of.