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Sales and Service 800-533-2848 Well Drilling      A well is a means of extracting water from the ground.  There are layers of porous material underground, such as sand, gravel, or porous rock.  If such a layer is saturated with water it is called an aquifer, and water may be extracted from it.  Some aquifers are exposed to the surface (near lakes or rivers) but most are buried under topsoil, clay, or other nonporous materials.  These materials are known as a confining layer, and restrict or prevent water from moving up to the surface or down to the aquifer.      There are several types of well construction.  A sandpoint is a screened pipe driven into a surface aquifer to a depth of about 20 feet.  It is inexpensive to construct, but will produce only a limited volume of water.  A bored well is a large hole (24 inches or more) drilled down to a shallow aquifer and lined with wood, concrete, or some other sturdy material.   These produce greater volumes of water, but  cannot be easily secured against contamination by debris, insects, or animals from the surface.  A cased well is constructed of plastic or steel pipe (4 to 18 inches) with a plastic or steel screen at the bottom.  A slightly oversized borehole is drilled through the confining layer and into the aquifer.  The casing is set into this borehole and the remaining space is filled with clay grout to prevent contaminants from the surface from entering the aquifer.      Because of the weight of the overlying confining layer water will rise in the casing higher than the level of the aquifer.  This is the static resting level of the wellwater.  In some conditions the wellwater will flow over the casing.  This is an artesian well and extra equipment is required to control whether this flow is prevented or directed to a safe dumping area.  A submersible electric pump will be set into the well below the static water level and hanging on pipe.  The pump will push water up the pipe where it will be connected to the site's plumbing system.  As water is pumped out of the well, additional water enters the casing through the screen.  The rate at which the water enters the casing depends on conditions within the aquifer and the construction of the casing and screen.      A well that is only used in the summer can discharge water directly at the surface.  Wells used year-around need protection from the cold.  An insulated, heated wellhouse can be placed over a well.  Water lines leading from the wellhouse to other buildings are then trenched in at a depth of 6 feet to get below  the winter frost level.  More commonly, a pitless discharge unit will be placed on the casing 6 feet below ground level.  The pitless discharge connects the pipe leading up from the pump to the buried water pipes.  The only part of the well above ground will be 12 to 18 inches of the casing, a cap, and an electrical conduit.    One of  our Ingersoll-Rand TH-60 drill rigs E-Mail Us