Artesian Well vs. Dug Well

[cathywoodford]

Hello. I am building a new home. Can someone give me the Pros and Cons of an Artesian Well & Dug Well? Or if you know a website where I can find that information that would be great.

Thanks

[Grumman-581]

Google is your friend... Try it once in awhile...

A "dug well" can also be an artesian well...

[cathywoodford]

Thanks, but I have already looked at that but I am actually looking for a comparison of Surface/Shallow/Dug wells to an Artesian. Any ideas?

[hallerb]

So the water isnt contaminated I would want a deep well.

surface water is too variable

[marson]

not sure what you mean by artesian well. around here, it is a well where the water comes to the surface naturally. only occurs on very specific sites. also in minnesota, the health department regulates wells. i believe shallow wells aren't even legal, since they draw on shallow groundwater which can be contaminated. (i believe they have to be at least 50' deep).

[WM]

Same here.

Artesian wells flow freely without a pump. They are not necessarily shallow though. The source could be several hundred feet underground and comes to the surface due to fractures in the bedrock.

[Robert Gammon]

In many areas, but not all, of the country, artesian wells are water wells that have pressure behind them. A pump may or may not be required, although one is usually installed to get the flow rate and pressure high enough for typical household use.

For instance much of Southeast texas sits on an aquifer, an artesian source. To tap into the aquifer, wells must be dug to a minimum of 250 ft, and to be safe, 300 feet

[cathywoodford]

[Harry K]

Marson's definition is the correct one. To be accurately called an "artesian" the water must reach the surface on its own, no pump. What you are referring to is a "drilled well".

Back to your original question. Shallow, dug wells are risky for two reasons (both already mentioned.

Contamination Unreliable flow unless you luck out and hit a very shallow aquifer.

The equipment needed for both wells is the same. Pump, pressure tank, control equipment, pipe, wire. Of course the deep drilled well will use more pipe and wire but that is the only difference (other than cost)

Harry K

[WM]

That's a drilled well or non-artesian well.

[cathywoodford]

I was speaking to a well driller and he said that the water at 300' could be just as good or just as bad as the water at 25'. He really couldn't give me the "this is why you should go with a drilled well" answer.

Thanks.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Out at my cabin, I have a drilled well. Plenty of water all season, next door neighbor has an artesian well plenty of water most of time. His water is better quality than mine. Both work very well.

[rogersdawn2]

drilled wells can be artesian wells if a well is drilled to a 300 ft depth and the static water level is at 200 feet it is a artesian well the water is pressurized enough to bring it up to 200 ft. a well that has water running out the top is a flowing artesian just my 2 cents scott

[Tom G]

A little history. Wife's grandfather (lived outside of Fedora, SD, not too far from Artesian, SD) told me that they tapped into a flowing Artesian well for the old homestead. Water came out of the ground on its' own, flowed through the house, out to the barn, then into a cattle tank outside and then overflowed onto the ground. He said the belief was that if you ever shut the water off, it would divert to another outlet and then you wouldn't have water anymore. Of course they were wrong and eventually they ran off enough water to lower the pressure until the water quit running altogether. When we used to visit while he was alive, they had a drilled well ( I think he said 700' deep) that had the nastiest water you ever tasted. Smelled like rotten eggs, tasted like rotten eggs, and gave you the scoots better than ExLax. We brought bottled water but some cousins from Washington state would bring KoolAid to add to the water so they could drink it. He used to laugh because he said they never did figure out why they still got the scoots. He was quite the gentleman...lived to 103 and to talk to him, you would think you were talking to George Burns' twin brother.

Tom G.

[Grumman-581]

If it is pumped, it is not an artesian well... An artesian well can be drilled or natural, but the key ingredient is that it must be under enough natural pressure for the water to come to the surface on its own...

[Robert Gammon]

Poor definition.

According to the US Geological Survey, any subsurface water that is under pressure underground is artesian, even if the pressure is not strong enough to cause the water to flow to the surface.

The artesian surface needs only to be moderately above the confining rock layer in order to be classified as artesian. Wells in Brunswick Georgia in the 1880s were so strongly artesian that they could supply multistory buildings without pumping, however today, almost all of these wells require pumping to get the water to the surface as there has been so much depletion of the aquifer.

[nothermark]

dug well - most of the contaminants are what you and your neighbor dump on the ground.

drilled well - contaminant source expands to unknown distance and into unknown past.

It is generally, but not always, the case that deeper drilled wells get into older, less contaminated by man water. OTOH, they are more likely to pick up mineral contamination because of the longer path to where you tap it.

[Robert Gammon]

Deeper you go, yes the longer its has been there and the more likely it has dissolved limestone and other minerals in it. Hard water, foul tasting/smelling water are all possible. bacterial contamination unlikely. Salt intrusion is possible in areas close to salt water.

[CattleProd]

Of course you will get the water tested every year just to be safe, no matter where it comes from.

Your state can do that very accurately and very reasonable in price.

[Robert Gammon]

Water at 300 feet is much less likely to be contaminated with bacteria from animal waste products (including humans) than water at 25 feet. Water at 300 feet is much less likely to be contaminated with agricultural waste products (fertilizers) than water at 25 feet.

Iron, Sulfur, and Calcium Carbonate content are what the driller was talking about. How does the water TASTE was the driller's concern.