Friday, May 13, 2016

By Pamela Rogers


Water wells refer to excavation in the ground that are meant to provide access to groundwater for domestic as well as commercial use. Excavation of wells is done through various methods such as driving, boring, digging, and drilling. The choice of method is determined by various factors such as cost and type of well that is intended to be dug. When in need of some of the most experienced water well drillers West Texas is the best location to check out.

The history of wells is a long one. They have existed for almost as long as human beings. The first types were shallow and extended to short distances from the surface. However, as technology got better, methods of excavation became better too. Modern methods are very complex. They are more efficient, convenient, and simpler.

Classification of wells basing on the method used to excavate them places them into three main groups, that is, driven, dug, and drilled wells. The most traditional type is the dug wells. These wells are dug by hand and are more common in rural areas because they are inexpensive. Driven wells are more advanced and extend deeper than dug varieties.

The aquifer in which wells reach can also be used to classify these excavations besides basing on the excavation technique used. Under this classification criterion are two types of wells only, that is, confined/deep and unconfined/shallow wells. Those that only reach the upper aquifer are called unconfined while deep ones are called confined. Deep wells expend to aquifers lying between impermeable strata of rock.

A third method of classifying wells bases on the use they are put to. Under this classification, there are also two types of wells, that is, production/pumping and monitoring wells. Production wells have diameters of more than 15 centimeters. The diameters are often cased with concrete, plastic, or metal among other materials. They are meant to provide groundwater by pumping.

Monitoring wells also go by the name piezometers. The diameters in these types of wells usually are comparatively much smaller. They find use in monitoring hydraulic head and in sampling groundwater for chemical analysis. Basing on the use of a well to classify it produces vague classifications because monitoring wells can be utilized as pumping wells and vice versa.

Contamination is often a major problem in wells, especially shallow ones. Wells may be contaminated by pathogens, chemicals or several other materials from different sources. Pathogen contaminants include fungi, parasites, viruses, and bacteria and they result from human or animal fecal materials. Fecal materials usually come from on-site sanitation systems like septic tanks and pit latrines.

Another common source of contamination is chemical contaminants. These originate from sewage, sewage sludge, and fertilizers in the form of nitrates. Others come from dry-cleaning and gasoline in the form of VOCs and pesticides while others come from airbag inflators and rocket fuel in form of perchlorate. Leaching also contaminates groundwater in wells with minerals. Some of the most commonly occurring mineral contaminants are arsenic, radon, lead, chromium VI, and uranium.




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