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Directories Int'l Realty US Realty
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Is Your Well Deep Enough? Stuart Lieberman, Esq., Many homeowners who have wells don't have deep wells. Today, local ordinances often require fairly deep wells. But that wasn't always the case. I recently was involved in a litigation in which drinking water wells found in many of the homes were 30 feet deep? That means that these people were actually drinking run off from the streets. Often, there are two aquifers, which are the sources of water that drinking water comes from. There is a shallow aquifer and a deep aquifer. It is usually best to obtain water from the deep aquifer. That's the more protected aquifer and the one that's more likely to produce cleaner water. If you have a well you might very well not even know how deep it is. But if it's shallow, and if you live in an area in which there has been development, you may wish to explore getting a deeper well. I live in New Jersey and I certainly would not want to have a shallow well. Much of New Jersey is heavily industrialized and if I had a shallow well, there's a good chance I'd be drinking contaminants that could make me and my family sick. You might be in the same situation. It's important that you test the water on a regular basis. If any problems arise, you need to cure those problems. Curing them might mean installing a new well or some kind of filtration system. You might also want to find out when your well was constructed and whether it meets contemporary well installation standards. Many older wells were not constructed in the safe manner that generally governs new well drilling. This means that the older wells are more likely to become contaminated. Just because your well is buried in the ground doesn't mean that you can bury your head in the ground. If you get your water from well water, you need to make sure that your well is safe and that your water is safe. This isn't a case where what you don't know can't hurt you. Believe me, it can. A deeper well is often a solution to a well contamination problem. Shallower wells are more likely to be dirty. Go deeper and you may be safer. But that is not always an option. Sometimes water is not available at deeper levels. Sometimes the water found at deeper depths can also be dirty.. Filtration is another option. Filtration systems can take out many contaminants, but not all of them. And filters need to be maintained and replaced. They can also be costly. Air stripping systems can also be effective. They work well with solvent contaminants. But these systems are costly to install. Of course, if a public water supply is available, the answer may be to abandon your well and hook up to the public water supply. Personally, I favor public water. It tends to be monitored and it tends to be safe. But, public water is often unavailable. In any event, watch those old, shallow wells. In some cases they are still ok. But in many cases they have outlived their safety. Consider a deeper well for your safety and piece of mind.
The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.
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