About 60 million people in the United States rely on a private water well for their needs. One of the main concerns that worried authorities and private well owners are contaminants entering into the water supply that poses a risk to their health. The main culprit is arsenic which can be naturally occurring, odorless and has no taste. Arsenic can cause severe illness, such as cancer, in those that consume it.

However, there are many practical methods that can treat and prevent contamination which well owners can quickly obtain and install in their systems. What many well owners do not tend to worry about, which is harder to solve, is the chance of the well becoming dry from the changing water table levels.

A Dry Well and Ground Water Tables

The ground water table level is not as static as you may think. An extended period without rain may lower it as much as a sudden downpour will flood it. Although the efforts after a flood are a pain with the clear up of excess water and the disinfection of the well, the results from a drought are far more severe.

Signs of your private well drying up in drought-like conditions could start with any of the following:

• Tap water looking murky or muddy
• A change of taste in the drinking water
• As air comes through the system spigots might start to sputter

Even if you have not noticed any of these signs yet but are experiencing an unusually dry season; it might be best to check your well depth. To do this just remove the cap and drop an ice cube down. Measure the time it takes until you hear the splash of the ice cube in the water. You can then estimate the depth of the water in feet by this formula:

16 X (time measured in seconds) X (time measured in seconds) = depth of water (approximately)

Increasing the Water Yield in Times of Drought

If your well starts showing signs of drying up or you are worrying about the depths from testing; first consider the age of the well. A well’s life span is considered to be approximately 20 to 30 years (possibly longer), as the well gets older its yield is likely to decrease naturally. If the well is far younger than this, then you may want to consider your options for increasing the supply of water. One method is water well deepening.

Water well deepening is an effective method to increase the yield of the well, should new fractures containing water be discovered in the process. It is a rather simple process to lower the depth of your well, but you will need to hire a professional well construction company to aid you in the project. It should be noted that often (but not always) the chances of finding a new fracture containing water lower the deeper into the ground you go. You can see an example of Skillings and Sons performing this task for the television program This Old House.

If you plan on the water well-deepening action, then remember to ensure that the process of deepening the well hasn’t caused contaminants to leak into your water supply. This can easily be done by testing the water after the water well deepening has been completed.

Water Well Deepening

Water Well Deepening is a relatively easy method to increase your supply of water if you are experiencing a rather dry season, as long as the correct testing is carried out afterward. With the proper deepening of the well, you can increase the yield during standard months and ensure you have a ready supply of water during hard months.