By what principle are water wells classified?

To provide a private house with water, you need to equip a well or a well. In this case, you can encounter several types of groundwater, each of which is intended for specific purposes: watering the garden, eating. For a well to function well, it is important not only to correctly determine its location, but also to get access to quality water. To do this, you need to know how different types of sources work.

Classification of aquifers

The deeper the aquifer is, the cleaner the water is. The soil is not homogeneous in composition - clay or stone water-resistant strata alternate with loose substances - sand, marl, silt or limestone. The sand is closer to the surface, the limestone is deeper.

It is difficult to choose the ideal location for the well, as the reservoirs are located differently in each region. To determine where there is a water vein, they use different methods, including folk methods - they determine by the type of plants, use a vine, a barometer.

When drilling a well, you can find the following types of groundwater:

• Verkhovodka. These are limited areas, which are surrounded on all sides by waterproof layers. The liquid can be used for technical purposes, since all chemicals get into it - the filter layer in such areas is very small. The downside of the verkhovodka is that it is fueled by rains, and in the summer heat, the level decreases significantly. You cannot drink such water without preliminary preparation.
• Groundwater is located below. Since there is a large layer of soil on top, the liquid is cleaner and more transparent. Its amount depends on the season - in spring and autumn the level rises, in summer it decreases. Sand beds are better filled with water in forest areas, but in open areas, the liquid can completely disappear during the hot season.
• Interstratal water deposits are located between two impervious horizons. They are located at a depth of 20 to 80 m under pressure, therefore, when drilling, fluid is sometimes ejected.
• The artesian aquifer is a type of interstratal. They are also characterized by high blood pressure. The advantage of a well drilled to the artesian layer is that the liquid level in it is always the same. Moreover, under the action of the pressure, the water mirror is high. The liquid is suitable for use without additional filtration.

Before starting drilling, it is necessary to make several test shafts and take the liquid for analysis to determine the quality of the water - suitable for human consumption or needs to be subjected to additional treatment.

Varieties of wells

There are several main types of water wells:

• abyssinian;
• sandy;
• limestone.

There are also wells, but their arrangement is associated with increased costs of labor and funds. Sometimes it is necessary to use heavy construction equipment, which affects the budget. Water from a well most often requires additional preparation before use due to the flow of liquid from the upper layers of the soil.

Norton's well or Abyssinian well

Such a source can be realized on the site in one day. Features and benefits of a well without a caisson:

• A pipe with a sharp tip is not screwed in, but hammered into the soil.
• At the bottom there are filter holes through which the liquid enters the pipe, and from there it is pumped out by the pump.
• The place where the holes are can be additionally wrapped with geotextiles to prevent sand and dirt from entering the water.

The caisson is necessary if the plans are to connect a pumping station that pumps water up to 8 meters.

The depth of the Abyssinian is up to 20 meters, the diameter of the pipe is not more than 6 cm. In places where the soil is stony or clay, an Abyssinian well is not made, since the tip will not be able to penetrate a stone or clay. The most successful solution is sand. It is better if the Abyssinian reaches the groundwater - in this case, the liquid is drinkable.

If an electric pump cannot be connected, a lever is made to the well and water is pumped manually. This option is suitable for summer cottages, since the flow rate of the source is small - up to 1 cubic meter per hour.

Well in the sand

The sandy aquifer is deeper and produces a clear liquid that is theoretically drinkable. It all depends on where the site is located and how far away the agricultural land that is being watered with chemicals is. If there is no bottomless cesspool nearby, the water is more likely to be clean.

The well in the sand is deeper than the Abyssinian - up to 40 meters. When drilling it, a casing is used to strengthen the walls. The sandy soil is very mobile, so they try to immediately close the drilled section with a casing.

Various materials are used - metal, plastic, concrete. The metal in the sand hole rusts faster, the plastic is not strong enough to withstand the movement of the ground. It is not recommended to install plastic casing below 25 meters. The best option is plastic in metal or concrete.

Sandy springs are the most common because of the optimal combination of water quality, installation price and the amount of liquid sufficient to supply a private house.

Limestone well

If the liquid from the surface of the soil passes through many layers, it is well cleaned and saturated with minerals. The artesian well is deep - over 40 meters, although in the high mountainous regions an artesian layer can be found at a depth of 25 meters.

Serious requirements are imposed on the arrangement of a well on limestone - the method of drilling, materials for the casing. The service life and water quality will depend on this. For example, no company recommends using plastic pipes, as they are easily deformed, and it will be impossible to replace them at a depth of about 100-200 m. To understand how an artesian mine behaves, you can take the example of the deepest well in the world, located on the Kola Peninsula. The shaft shift is over 840 meters, that is, the throat is not directly above the lowest point, but 840 meters to the side.

The liquid level is always the same and does not depend on the season. There is no need to clean or repair it. In fact, you only need to invest in construction, and then use the facility for over 50 years. The well flow rate allows equipping it to supply water to several houses. Such a source can produce over 10 cubic meters of water per hour.

Which well is better to equip on the site

Most often, tenants are guided by the cost of materials work. Sometimes self-drilling is chosen to save money. This is justified if the aquifer is high and the soil in the region is soft. An Abyssinian well or a well for sand will cost less than an artesian spring.

If the depth of the water vein is large, and clayey layers or stones are found in the ground, you will have to overpay to construction firms specializing in drilling. Building a top water is not an option, since more money will later be spent on filtering water or bringing it from other sources, if the level suddenly drops in the summer.

Artesian types of wells have no drawbacks, but they are very expensive, so you can cooperate with neighbors if the issue of water supply is also open for them.