When one lives in the country you learn not to take the basics of life for granted, like food, shelter and especially water. I had the opportunity to observe well-drilling in action. The company arrived and set up the drilling rig beside the well casing, which at our place protrudes out the ground 30 inches or so. Here is what I observed.
The crew began by measuring how far down the water level was presently. Then a trench was dug on the side of the well-pipe so the plastic water-pipe, leading to the pump house, could be disconnected. Next the wells water-pipe and pump were pulled out of the well and set aside. A new 20 foot long length of well-pipe was raised up and welded onto the existing well-pipe and then the drill was lowered down the well until it hit bottom, then drilling began. While the drill bit was chewing up dirt and rocks it was lubricated with water. Air was forced down the well and the water, dirt and gravel creating enough pressure to force the dirt and gravel back up the well. The dirt, gravel and excess water were blown out onto the ground. After the drill bit went down several feet the drilling stopped and the well-pipe was hammered down further into the ground. This process was repeated until the new well-pipe had only about 30 inches remaining above ground.
Due too a layer of clay a second length of 20 foot well-pipe was added and drilling commenced again. A good source of water was found by deepening the well about 40 feet. Once the drilling portion of the operation was completed the pump and water-pipe had to be placed back into the well. First however, the water line leading from the well to the pump house was reconnected. A hole was cut into the new pipe, about 2 feet under ground level. A brass fitting was placed around this hole, with parts on both the inside and outside of the well casing (pipe). The inside part of this brass fitting was slotted so that a corresponding part on the water pipe going down the well lock onto it with a rubber casket sealing the connection so it would not leak as water was pumped up from the well and pushed into the water tank in the pump house. With the pump back down at its new depth, about 180 feet, and electrical cables reattached, the pump was run for 15 minutes or so, until the water ran clear.
One of the things which impressed me the most was how small the water pump appeared in comparison to how much water it could raise up the well. I think my wells casing is about 6 inches and the pump maybe only about 4 inches in diameter and 24 inches in length. That pump is quite a little work hours - thank goodness.
