Planning a location for your well
Please read 10CSR 23-3.010

The location of the well ideally should be within 20 - 100 feet of the main point of use. If the well is to be used for a residence, for example, the well should be close to the house and the electric hook-up. If the well must be located farther than 100 feet from the point of use, this will increase the cost of the well. It means more digging, more pipe and larger wire. The well and the pressure tank should be as close to each other as possible to keep installation costs at a minimum.

Try and choose a spot that is not directly under large trees or trees. As the branch system on the tree grows, it could make it difficult to service the well in the future.

Care should be taken to stay away from existing buried lines (telephone, water, electric, gas, etc.). Avoid an area that may consist of uncompacted fill, such as the site of an old basement or a buried trash/brush pile.

A note about old wells ...
If your property is the site of an old or abandoned well, steps should be taken immediately to properly plug these open pipelines to disaster.

Contrary to popular belief, these wells do not make reliable back-up water sources. Unlike old cars, if they were adequate and reliable sources of water, they would not need replacement.

If you know of an abandoned well, contact the owner and strongly suggest that it be properly plugged.

Clear an approximately 20 X 20 ft. or greater space for the trucks.

Ideally, the trucks need to be placed side by side
with the drill rig located to the left of the drill
support rig. This allows the drilling crew to load
the drill extensions and the casing needed to reach
the desired depth for your well.

We will take care to minimize the area affected, but because there will be a significant amount of mud, rock cuttings, silt, and water produced during the drilling process, you may want to move vehicles and other outdoor items out of the flow pattern area.

Electricity is helpful so that the pump and electrical components can be hooked up immediately, but it is not completely necessary in order to drill the well.

If you have electricity available at the construction site, it will allow the connection and testing of the pump. If electricity is not available, the well can be drilled and the components set in place.

Pipeline and electric line paths.
Call 1-800-DIG-RITE.
Be aware of buried utilities that may be in the path of the trenches that will be dug for the pipelines and/or electrical lines that will connect your well to the home and the electrical source.

Outdoor hydrant.
Your water system may include one or more frost-free outdoor hydrants. Choose the locations for these that will be beneficial to your development plans. We use and recommend Woodford brand frost free hydrants. Woodford hydrants are American made, top quality hydrants. The $15 or $20 savings you realize by using cheaper import hydrants will be lost the first time you have a hydrant prooblem.

Call Tom Schroeder to verify your locations, give an estimate of the cost, an explanation of warranties, and to make recommendations on any modifications you may need to make.

Regardless of who you hire, we recommend that you require the contractor to provide you with "certificates of insurance". These are available to you free of charge and certify that the contractor you are about to hire is properly insured. If your contractor cannot, or is unwilling, to furnish a certificate, chances are they are not insured. If you hire an uninsured contractor, you could be held responsible should an accident take place on you property. We are always more than happy to provide you with a certificate of insurance if requested.

Set a date for construction.
Once you have read and accepted the terms of the contract, set a date for the work to be completed. Be aware that your contractor may have a queue of contracts to fill, and may need a few weeks to get to your contract.

Winter is not a deterrent to drilling a well, but severe weather of any kind may delay drilling. (Click the image on the right to see a larger view of this hard-working crew at a job site drilling a well during January - with all their heavy winter coats on)

After the work has been completed.
In all water system installations, the equipment and plumbing must be protected from freezing. Locating pressure tanks and plumbing in basements or in below ground crawlspaces provide the most effective place to prevent damage from freezing. Pressure tanks can also be located in existing above ground structures if they are insulated and heated to keep temperatures above freezing. To prevent freeze damage, all above ground structures must have a source of heat and be well insulated when extended periods of extreme low temperatures are encountered.

In some installations involving manufactured housing or when no outbuildings are present, it will be necessary to construct a small building. A well insulated building 4' x 4' x 4' tall or larger with a 32" wide or greater door or removable lid is adequate size to house the pressure tank and plumbing. Make sure the door opening is large enough to allow future access for servicing and repairs. We recommend that the inside walls be covered with some form of sheeting to prevent damage to the insulation from nesting bugs, bees, and rodents. Larger buildings can be used but remember that a larger space requires more heat.

Another method is to bury the pressure tank at the well and place the pressure switch inside the well casing at a point below frost level. We mount our pressure switches on a 6 foot length of kink proof rubber hose. This allows easy access to the pressure switch without having to pull the pump to make a simple repair. We recommend this type of installation whenever frost resistant tank storage space is not available.

The tank we use is manufactured by our pump manufacturer Sta-Rite Industries of Delavan, Wisconsin. It is a fiber glass tank that resists rust unlike metal tanks. Our tank also has a replaceable air cell that can be replaced without digging up and replacing the entire tank. For more information about fibrewound tanks, you may want to review this document published by Sta-Rite Industries - Fibrewound Tank Manual (Adobe Acrobat .PDF format).