water well drilling

By Don Adams
Adams Well Drilling

No. An experienced water well professional will not leave debris after drilling your well.

Here’s why.

The drilling process takes up soil, clay, rock and other geologic elements from sometimes hundreds of feet below the surface. Leaving excavated piles around your property would be unsightly, disrespectful and unprofessional. Additionally, not cleaning the borehole and surrounding areas of loose materials could lead to water-quality issues like turbidity and contamination. While there are numerous guidelines for distancing your well from potential hazards, it’s always generally advised to keep the area within at least 100 feet in all directions clear from debris and other water-supply pollutants.

Keeping your well area clear of debris will leave your borehole clean and permeable.

As a result, water will flow easily into the well for reliable, continuous access. Your water will also be more fresh and safe for consumption.

At Adams Well Drilling, we pride ourselves on working to leave your residential or commercial property as clean as when we came. We use the excavated material as backfill for waterline trenches. Any excess material can be hauled away to be disposed of safely and legally. You may also decide you’d like some of the material for your own landscaping purposes.

By Don Adams
Adams Well Drilling

Our goal is to provide clean well water to your home or business as efficiently as possible. Life revolves around access to this vital resource, whether it’s for drinking and washing clothes or for servicing industry.

But efficiency can’t overlook doing it right — with an eye toward safety and quality assurance. The process is broken down into two major phases that can generally be done in one or several days:

• Water well drilling
• Pump installation and delivery infrastructure

Water Well Drilling and Pump Installation Done Right 

Drilling the Well

After first choosing a location that will yield the greatest volume of the highest quality water, your water well professional will then break ground. We use a large, industrial power drill to access the freshwater aquifer beneath your feet. This may require drilling down several dozen feet or even several hundred feet. Common drilling techniques include rotary, cable tool and down-the-hole.

Geology and topography vary around places here like Franklinville, Rushford and Bolivar, NY. There’s no guarantee as to far down we’ll have to go or the obstacles we may encounter. Experience here is valuable.

Once we reach the aquifer, a long, carbon steel casing is then placed into the hole. This captures the water. We then pour cement or grout into the hole around the casing for a secure fit and cap the well to seal it from outside contaminants. 

Pump Installation and Delivery Infrastructure

Now we need a way to get the water out. Today, we use only American-made pumps by Goulds Water Technology – a Xylem brand, the leading technology in the water-well industry. Most often, submersible pumps (suspended directly within the aquifer) work best for supplying a steady, dependable flow from deeper wells. Jet pumps at the surface will work perfectly for shallow wells.

We then install a water-delivery system to the property. This often involves excavating a trench for the water line from the wellhead to point of entry. A pitless adapter is installed below the frost line to provide another sanitary seal at the junction of the well casing and water line.

From there, the delivery instructure usually involves a pressure tank and any other treatment systems you may choose to install from a third party.

Congratulations! Your Water Well System is Installed

We cap the well securely so nothing bad can get in, while still allowing for easy access if your system requires maintenance in the future. Generally within 1-3 days, we leave your commercial or residential property as clean as we found it.

Contact us for a free consultation at (585) 968-3923.

By Don Adams
Adams Well Drilling

Great question. Location will determine how strongly your water well will perform over its life. From one end of your property to the other, differences in elevation and ground composition will influence a number of water well drilling factors including:

• Depth and topography
• Groundwater flow
• Distance from potential contaminants
• Distance from source to consumption
• Geology
• Service access

Water well drilling here in the Southern Tier of Western New York is a way of life. It’s how generations of people have accessed clean, pure water here for hundreds of years. I’ve built a successful career from the practice since 1978. We benefit from temperate seasons, which provide water from an abundance of seasonal rainfall and snowmelt. Still, there are numerous factors affecting water volume and quality everywhere.

What Factors Should I Consider When Drilling a Water Well in Western New York?

1. Depth and Topography

We’re blessed here with the beauty of rolling hills and valleys. It’s picturesque, but when it comes to water well drilling, it can mean significant differences in aquifer depth from one location to another. 

Generally, clean well water can be found anywhere between 30 and 300 feet here in the Cuba, Wellsville and Olean, NY areas. But the region’s varied topography offers no depth guarantees. Property records may indicate the depth of earlier wells. 

The lay of the land may also affect your water quality. Natural low-lying areas prone to standing water and flooding might let disease-causing bacteria and other microorganisms into the well system. It’s typically better to locate the well on higher ground. If that’s not possible, ensure the well casing is capped higher than the historic flood level. Sloped ground and concrete pads also help to divert surface runoff. 

2. Groundwater Flow

An experienced water well drilling contractor should know the groundwater flow direction, more often than not. Groundwater in an unconfined aquifer usually flows the same direction as the ground slope. When slope isn’t so obvious, years of drilling in an area reveal valuable trends for finding volumes of clean well water.

Why is groundwater flow important? In addition to knowing how much water you can expect in your location, you also want to know what is flowing in. Which brings us to our next point.

3. Distance From Potential Contaminants

The earth itself — its soils, clay, sands and rock — is a natural filter for groundwater. But water must travel certain distances to shed disease-causing bacteria and contaminants.

The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) urges the following minimal distances between the wellhead and sources of contaminants (unless state or local codes have stricter mandates):

• 200 feet from cesspools receiving raw sewage
• 200 feet from landfills or garbage dumps
• 100 feet from manure storage
• 100 feet from petroleum tanks
• 50 feet from septic tanks
• 50 feet from livestock enclosures
• 20 feet from roads

Of course, it’s usually better to locate the well upgrade from these. It’s common courtesy to keep wellheads at least five feet from property lines.

4. Distance From Source to Consumption

The ideal location for your water well is up to Mother Nature. That said, water may have to travel considerable distances and slopes from source to consumption. Discuss these realities with your water well professional to plan for the appropriate infrastructure. 

5. Geology

Geologic zones that hold fresh groundwater are called aquifers. Depending on your location, your groundwater may sit under rocky formations, clay-based soils, sand and/or silt. Geology can impact everything from difficulty with drilling and pump installation to water volume and quality. Experience will account for these variables in building a water well system to your needs.

6. Service Access

A well-planned and well-built water well will produce clean water to your home or business for many years. But as with any machinery, it may require some ongoing maintenance. A professional will install your well, pump and delivery infrastructure to be easily accessible for servicing.

With decades of experience, Adams Well Drilling is the go-to contractor for well drilling and pump installation in the Franklinville, Cuba and Olean, NY areas.

By Don Adams
Adams Well Drilling

If you’re planning for water well drilling and pump installation on your property, there are several things you must first consider. 

First ensure the apparatus is constructed safely and legally by a professional and that there will be a continuous flow of potable water. You don’t want to muck up this vital resource by choosing a poor location or violating a local ordinance. A properly planned water well should produce millions of gallons of clean, fresh water for your home or business over the course of its useful life. 

Here’s how to do it right.

3 Steps to Prepare for Water Well Drilling on Your Property

1. Choose a Location to Fit Your Needs

If you’re building a new home or business that will need a dependable source of well water, be sure to scout your groundwater table before beginning construction. The last thing you want is for your ideal water well location to be right underneath the foundation of that nice, new patio you just built.

Location is everything when it comes to water well drilling. You must ensure the well is at the right place and depth to produce an optimal volume of water for your needs. A conservative guideline is 150 to 300 gallons per day to service a home of two to four people. This estimate should factor peak use times (morning showers, evening dishwasher use, etc.). If you’re an industrial operation, your water needs may be even greater.

Factor seasonal considerations into your location. If your well water will service farming operations, lawn and garden watering, or swimming pool use, your well may require additional output during those seasons. 

Additionally, be aware of factors that may hinder drilling and pumping processes. Land features like steep slopes and poor water drainage may cause the well to fail. It may be difficult to pump water up an excessively long water line, as well. And, for Heaven’s sake, don’t drill where a septic system may leach into the water table.

2. Government Regulations

Government regulations protect everyone involved. But most importantly, they protect the water customer from environmental hazards and equipment mishaps that could happen in any industry.

Some local municipalities may require only a permit to drill a water well. Likewise, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health have recommendations for water drilling, testing and purification.

The process may be daunting, but educate yourself on the requirements before contracting the job. Of course, the professionals at Adams Well Drilling are NYS certified and registered to perform all water well drilling, pump installation and on-site maintenance.

3. Choose an Experienced Professional

As with any professional service, water well drilling and pump installation requires know-how gained only through experience. In addition to the certifications and registrations mentioned above, an experienced well drilling contractor will know the ins and outs to correctly and safely install and maintain the equipment you need. 

The environment and land around us in the Olean, Franklinville and Cuba, NY areas provide a continual source for pristine well water. Still, tapping the fresh water resources beneath our feet takes a seasoned hand. Feel free to contact us here if you have any questions.