A commercial well that allows you to irrigate crops or provide water for a community needs to be placed correctly. You want the water source to last for a long time, and you don't want to be a bad well-neighbor and affect other people's wells. This means being very careful about where exactly the well will be drilled and make sure you have all permissions in place.

Verify the Location of Other Wells in the Immediate Area 

When you draw water from a commercial well, you're drawing from a water source that is shared with many other wells. That does not mean you can put your well anywhere. Look at the surrounding area and see where other wells are physically placed. Try to keep your well away from those. When you have a well drilled, the construction can introduce contaminants into nearby wells through dust and debris, and if you're drawing from a smaller aquifer, you could make the pressure in the other wells drop. You have to be sure your well won't affect others nearby.

Test the Water From Your Specific Section of the Aquifer

Once you start drilling and hit the water source, it's a good idea to get the water tested. Even if you're drilling a well into an aquifer that is known to be safe and that is used by other wells, you want to be sure you're not drilling into the lone pocket where the water has too much sediment or other contaminants. Aquifers are not giant pools with completely smooth walls and a smooth perimeter. They can have shallower and deeper areas, as well as pockets where the water may be separated from the rest of the aquifer by a ridge, preventing a lot of circulation.

You want to be sure the water you actually draw from your well is up to the standards you need it to meet. If you do get questionable results back, speak with the drilling company to see what modifications can be made to draw water from a better part of the aquifer.

Start the Permitting Process Early

Depending on the state in which you live, you could face a tangle of permits and permissions for your well. It's understandable if you don't want to deal with these, but you have to, so start the process early. It's much easier to take care of mistakes and requests for more information when you haven't started setting up the drill site yet and you still have time to make changes to your plans. If you're not sure where to start, the drilling company can help you. Some may even work on getting the permits for you, although the amount of help provided will vary between companies.

Drilling a commercial well for agriculture or community use is a major undertaking and should not be approached carelessly. Get your plans in place and get them approved before anything else, and once you can do so, get that aquifer water tested to ensure that continuing to drill the well is advisable. 

Contact well drilling services to learn more. 

Share