Hand dug wells: their properties, construction & sanitation.
This article offers advice for hand dug water wells and the sanitation and maintenance concerns with this water supply type.
We provide advice about what to do when things go wrong, how to inspect hand dug wells for safety, safe practices for actually digging a well, and how to address hand dug well sanitation
. In our guide to hand dug wells we discuss how a hand dug well is constructed, maintained, and kept sanitary or "safe to drink".
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- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?
The world wide popularity of hand dug wells is accounted for by the ease of construction without specialized equipment, the simplicity of water raising equipment (a bucket on a rope has worked for thousands of years), and the ability of the Dug well to hold a large volume of water in storage for times of peak demand.
[Click to enlarge any image]
Watch out: digging a well by hand is quite dangerous, risking collapse on and death to the excavators. Also, in very deep wells, there may be air quality safety hazards. [2]
Dug wells are usually constructed during dry weather when the water level is at its lowest, both for safety (less likely wet soils cause well collapse) and to determine the necessary depth of the Dug well to obtain adequate water supply.
Details about how to dig and construct a hand dug well such as the Oaxaca hand dug well shown at left, begin
at HAND DUG WELL PROCEDURE.
[Click to enlarge any image]
You might see an antique hand water pump shown at left of this article, or even a rope and bucket for removing water from the well.
But don't assume this is the only way that water is being delivered from the well.
Often we find a hand dug well whose water is delivered to the building by
a ONE LINE JET PUMP.
As we show in this sketch at below left, courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, Usually a hand dug well is less than 20 feet deep.
Dug wells have the same sanitation difficulties as springs and cisterns: they are easily contaminated by surface runoff and in some cases may have limited ability to deliver water at modern quantity and flow rates.
Hand dug wells range in depth from a few feet to as much as three meters and are used worldwide. Often the Dug-well was lined with dry-laid stone.
Dug or excavated wells are the picturesque wells we see on postcards, with an above-ground wall and a bucket lowered by rope into the well.
But dug wells continue into modern use, often with the installation of either an in-building jet pump draw water from the well into the building. We weren't sure what the little cover in our photo above was hiding - a dug well, a cistern, or a modern well casing extending above ground.
Sources for repair parts and installation instructions for hand pumps on dug wells and shallow wells are provided at our reviewers list at the end of this page.
The hazards of hand dug wells include poor sanitation (ground water and surface runoff easily enter the drinking water supply), and cave-ins during construction or injuries to tools dropped into the well during construction.
We are particularly concerned about the safety hazards to children when a dug well does not have a child proof wall and/or cover.
At HAND DUG WELL PROCEDURE we describe all of the detailed steps in the procedure for constructing a hand-dug well with concrete well rings in Mexico.
But do not begin a well digging project without advice from an expert and do not try digging a well without following these and any other recommended safety measures for well excavation:
The following advice is adapted from The Hand Dug Well [instruction manual, by Henk Holtslag & John deWolf, Foundation Connect International. Links to a copy of that free manual are at our references section [2].
Photo above: this looks like a hand dug well that has an above-ground protecting wall and a cover over the actual well opening (you can just see the red edges of the cover.
Photos above: Safety grille installed over a dug well in Campeche, Mexico.
If there is a concern for people tossing trash or contaminants into a dug well, a screen or grate may not be enough. The solid iron cover over the dug well shown below is installed at Campo St. Maurizio, Venice, Italy. The domed top sheds rainwater and keeps out tossed or other debris and contaminants.
Above: Domed iron well cover, Venice, Italy. Below: an unsafe dug well cover at a New York property.
Dug wells and hand pumps on old water wells are an attractive nuisance, especially to small children. The cover should be secure against entry by children.
Photos above: the thin cover over this dug well was easily kicked aside (after we removed the toddler who was found standing atop the well - Ed.)
Photo above: author's dog Katie is left on guard at an unsafe rotting-wood dug well cover in Dutchess County, New York.
"Well safety" in the literature collapses two rather independent areas of concern
This topic moved to DUG WELL SANITATION PROTECTION
...
Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.
@Ted Allen,
Thank you for an interesting geothermal system design question. I don't know a solid answer but I suspect you may need to install a small circulating pump to mix the water if you're diagnosis is correct.
On 2022-10-18 by Ted Allen
I have a dug well consisting of a 150 gal cistern with (3) 48" well tiles stacked on top of the cistern. It has a deep well pump at the bottom of the cistern. This well is for my pump and dump geothermal system. This being my ejection well and my injection well ~ 100 ft away is 12ft deep.
The system has been on line since 1996 and up until the past few years no problems, but with the decreasing snowfall rates in the NE I've been noticing the entering water temp dropping below 40 degrees and when this happens the system shuts down. It seems like the snow had insulated the well previously and prevented the cooling effect of the cold air and frost.
So the well is ~48" diameter down 12 ft then the hole in the cisteris 26" and then the cistern is a 7 ft octagon 6'-8" deep.
My theory is the water at the top which can be within a foot of the well cover is cooled by the frost and since it wants to sink because of it's density there is a constant circulation of cold water dropping down to the pump where it gets picked up and fed into the geothermal system. I'm looking at putting a cover on the top of the cistern to break the circuit. Does this sound feasible.
On 2022-10-07 by InspectApedia-911 (mod) - can a 24ft hand dug well to reabsorb 1500gal. over an 8hr period?
@Reg Rogan,
If your dug well is normally filled with water it would be a surprise but certainly possible for the soil conditions or surrounding geology to change such that the well stops giving water and instead drains it away.
We also seen this happen when someone drills or digs another Well nearby tapping into the same aquifer.
But I would be surprised if a well were cycling between providing water and taking it back.
Is it possible that the geometry of the well-piping could have caused water to siphon out of the well?
On 2022-10-07 by Reg Rogan
is it possible for a 24ft hand dug well to reabsorb 1500gal. over an 8hr period ? the pump is shut off,nothing being taken out of the well.
On 2022-09-10 by InspectApedia-911 (mod) - safest way to retrieve the lumber from the well
@Jim Frank,
We list a number of well retrieval tools and approaches at
WELL PIPE RETRIEVAL TOOLS
and some of those may be able to grab lumber - as can a grappling hook and a decent line.
Watch out: don't work alone, don't fall into the well.
Watch out: be sure that your wells have safe covers and that a child (or older person) can NOT fall into the well.
On 2022-09-10 by Jim Frank
Our place has two hand dug wells on it. At this time one is dry. The other is not, but it has quite a bit of fallen-in lumber from an old cover that collapsed. What is the safest way to retrieve the lumber from the well? Would a grapple hook work or is there something better?
We are not looking to go down into the well, it is quite deep. We measured 50 ft before hitting water, and another 20 ft of water.
@Paul,
Your friend has, perhaps, misunderstood what kind of well you have.
A hand dug well is just that: a large-diameter hole in the ground, dug by hand. There is no "well point" - a well point is used in a driven point well like those shown and discussed at
DRIVEN POINT WELLS
On 2022-09-07 by Paul
I have a hand dug well and every year it runs dry between August and October, comes back between November and January. My property is at 800ft elevation. A friend of mine keeps telling me to dig out the well point... how do I do that and what will it do?
Sure Oceans,
In my opinion, using hand bailers to clean out a silt-laden dug well is not the best approach to removing sediment and silt.
Above on this page we list several excellent guides for cleaning hand-dug wells.
Read through some of the dug well cleaning and restoration articles there to see the range of tricks and tips people use for a faster, more-efficient, and safer way to remove crud from the well bottom.
See HAND DUG WELL CLEANING & RESTORATION PROCEDURES
Separately
more-sophisticated well cleaning methods are described in procedures for drilled wells where there is less working room. There you'll see some interesting well cleaning methods using special siphon pump arrangements that pump water down through a suction device that picks up the silt and returns the glop to the ground level through a second pipe.
But
Watch out: When you've got tree root invasion of the dug well sides, as we see in your photo, there are increased risks of both water contamination - surface runoff following tree roots into the well, and of well collapse.
You might want to find a well company or plumber who has a well inspection camera that may let you take a closer look at the full depth of the well.
See WELL BORE CAMERA SYSTEMS
On 2022-07-15 by Oceansnotion - Need to carefully remove 3 feet of silt from 35 feet down
Need to carefully remove 3 feet of silt from 35 feet down, water level is at 21 feet, I got a rough estimate of 65 feet from linking conduit together, air lift wouldn't seem to work in these ranges. !00 year old well estimate of 65 feet 4 foot diameter, house and old pump house right beside.
Can't tell if there has been collapse of wall below the root levels of two huge sycamore trees. Ground has subsided and both structures leaning into each other for mutual support. West coast drought has dropped it about 20 feet.
6 people on the property, I have replaced the configuration as seen to shallow well pump but need to return to deep well configuration, any ideas for removing silt and sediment?
Do you have any idea for hand bailers for such a need or a better procedure. I was thinking of a two stage arrangement of two sump pumps. One in the well the end of it's hose in a bucket with another sump pump to pump it out the rest of the way.
On 2022-02-19 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - does water infiltrate in the seams of the casings
@Joseph,
If the concrete well rings or sections are solid, only a small volume of water enters at the sides at the seams - most water will enter at the well bottom.
On 2022-02-19 by Joseph
In a concrete lined dug well, does water infiltrate in the seams of the casings , though the bottom of the well, or both?
@Linda Griesbach,
Someone may have been speaking carelessly but in my lexicon, "bore hole" is the hole created when we DRILL a well. Maybe 6" in diameter.
When we DIG a well, the hole diameter will be much larger as one or more human beings get down into the hole to excavate to make the well.
So if your contractor really said bore-hole, I'm not sure of her level of expertise or care.
But depending on how your hand dug well was constructed, yes, its sides might need maintenance or repair.
If the well sides are lined with stone, that needs to be intact and in place and sound to avoid risk of a well collapse.
And surface runoff from rain ought not be running right into the well.
Perhaps you could post a photo of your well (one image per comment)
and
another of its interior walls.
A dug well might also need periodic cleaning, for example, if soil or silt is accumulating on the dug well bottom, reducing its water volume.
Finally, as the local water table drops - as may well occur in some locations due to global warming, it may be necessary to deepen the well from time to time.
But all that said, it's disappointing if a new dug well needs any significant repair after just two years.
Let's get the details.
On 2022-01-13 by Linda Griesbach
Our nonprofit African Educate has had a hand dug well constructed in rural Uganda for 2 years. The contractor now says the bore hole needs maintenance. Does this seem reasonable?
On 2021-07-03 by inspectapedia.com.moderator - lining a hand-dug well with rock masonry
@Steve,
First take a look at WELL RINGS: WHEN TO USE or OMIT
as that's a faster, easier, safer way to line a dug well.
When a dug well is lined by hand-built masonry, the opening is dug large enough that the finish-opening diameter, when the masonry liner is installed, is the desired dug-well size.
Depending on where the water table is found the mason will use a combination of mortar, stone on a footing, and some dry-laid stone joints to permit water entry through the well sides.
Other than safety precautions appropriate for working in the bottom of a hole (collapse, air, safe entry/exit, not working alone, helpers to lower materials, etc) it's standard stonemasonry.
A thorough answer of your question, much more than I should try re-typing here, is found by reading through the articles in this series, in the sequence given at the
Recommended Articles
found near the end of the article above on this page;
Start with HAND DUG WELL PROCEDURE
If there's a specific question you have in mind and for which you don't see a clear answer, just ask.
On 2021-07-03 by Steve
What is the procedure for lining a hand-dug well with rock masonry?
A good place to start is
On 2020-12-29 by Lisa Ann Conley
My back yard stays saturated year round. I need a system of acquiring the water for use in my home for water only for bathroom, dishes and othe non drinking uses. I need to dig a well and set up system for use. Thank you
On 2020-12-03 - by (mod) -
Shirley
You'll want to find a local well company or possibly an excavation contractor who assures you that they are experienced with dug well repair.
Keep in mind that it is just about impossible to assure that water from a dug well is sanitary - free from surface runoff and bacteria - so at the very least you'd want your well water tested, annually or more-often, at the very least for bacteria.
On 2020-12-03 by Shirley
I have a dug well that was dug in 1980 when we purchased the property. Has been great water and very plentiful. Have not ever had a dry well. Started getting some sand in the water lines and 14 months ago cleaned out the well and added pea gravel. The well is 25ft deep.
While cleaning out the well noted some of the tiles are chipping and some sand getting in. Now water line is dirt and sand. Is there someone who can dig out the silt and replace tiles? What/who would I look for? Husband passed 13 yrs ago and unfortunately for me took his wealth of knowledge. Appreciate any info
On 2020-09-09 - by (mod) -
Billy
Thanks for asking a helpful question.
It is not safe nor durable to use greenboard nor any plasterboard or drywall as the protective surround for a dug well. That material will not endure outdoor exposure to the weather and it also lacks adequate strength to assure a safe barrier.
On 2020-09-05 by Billy
Is it safe to use green board around a dug well?
On 2020-09-09 - by (mod) -
Billy
Thanks for asking a helpful question.
It is not safe nor durable to use greenboard nor any plasterboard or drywall as the protective surround for a dug well. That material will not endure outdoor exposure to the weather and it also lacks adequate strength to assure a safe barrier.
On 2020-09-05 by Billy
Is it safe to use green board around a dug well?
On 2020-06-16 - by (mod) -
Elva
A lot depends on whether the damage is entirely above ground or whether the sides of the dug well below ground are damaged and to caving in. Obviously above ground is easier to repair on site. Perhaps you can post photos, one per comment, so that we can see the situation there.
On 2020-06-15 by Elva Pruden
The well has been from beginning of time I have lived here since 1979. The top of well is falling apart I want to fix it
I have a rock laid well too is concrete and falling apart how do I fix it or build a new on
On 2020-06-07 - by (mod) -
FM
That's an interesting and troubling problem that, if I've got this right, could be described as intermittent loss of water in a dug well.
I don't know for sure what's happening but I suspect that something is temporarily draining the aquifer that is supplying your shallow well. The effect could be weather related, not just dry or wet spells that affect the groundwater level but even more-subtle changes such as in barometric pressure.
At an old well that served for years but now lacks water, we might ask what has changed. Global warming, changes in weather, may lower an aquifer such that the supply to your well is now 'on edge' and is more-obviously impacted by barometric pressure or other variables.
Or if another well, shallow or deep, was built nearby and taps the same aquifer, that could be the cause.
On 2020-06-07 by fmaclean@bellaliant.net
We have a 15 ft dug well. We went to bed and the water in the well was almost overflowing. We woke up the next morning and the cut off valve had kicked in because the water level was so low. It rained all night. There was no water being used. The pump never turned on. We had a plumber come in and he said there are no leaks in your lines.
Your pump is working fine. The well still didn't seem to want to recover. We turned off the breaker and the well recovered to full in two hours. We turned the breaker back on and turned the pump on and for the next two months no water issues.
Well always full to overflowing. Last night went to bed lots of water in well, no water used, this morning we have no water. Pump turned off because water level drained to cut off valve. What is going on? Why is our water disappearing? It is not coming in to the house.
On 2020-05-22 - by (mod) -
Vicki
It may be possible to make minor repairs to the surround for your well, but take great care not to enter, nor fall into the well, as obviously that would be fatal.
You should not work alone.
You should also make some diagnosis of why the existing masonry wall is failing, so that that underlying problem is corrected. Otherwise you're wasting your effort.
If you post some photos, one per comment, I may be able to offer more specific suggestions. Without knowing the present construction and materials it does not seem useful for me to propose specific repair items or methods. For example, I don't know if your well surround is made of stone or concrete or concrete block or something else.
On 2020-05-21 by Vicki M
MY dug well that has an above-ground protecting wall and a cover over the actual well opening is in my bard yard across a stream no equipment can get to it, the wall is splitting and cracking and falling on the ground can I repair this and how
On 2019-12-16 - by (mod) - Can a dug well freeze solid?
Rachel:
Can a dug well freeze solid? Sure.
Water in a hand dug well or even a bored well can freeze, depending on the climate, air temperature, and distance from the surface of the water to the ground surface. It's not common but can happen, especially in very cold weather and where the well water level is close to the ground surface/.
A water well whose water rises to above the winter frost-depth is more-likely to freeze if the well is not protected from frost. That's why people may build an insulated structure around and over the well.
To be accurate you will want to know the frost depth in the location where your fictional (or historical-fictional) well is located. That's the typical depth at which soil can freeze in winter weather. (Snow cover, leaf cover, etc. can reduce the chances of soil freezing but that's probably not relevant to your plot).
So if you want your dug well to freeze-over you need
1. characters in the story who don't know much about wells and freezing problems
2. a dug well that was not protected from cold weather by a structure built over and enclosing the well
3. the level of water in your dug is above the frost-depth for that location
Then in cold weather that dug well water may freeze. The ice on the dug well water will be of course at the surface; it might be just a skim coat that your character can break through by dropping a heavy bucket down into the well (on a rope of course) to fetch water.
But in prolonged very cold weather the surface water in the dug well could freeze to inches or even more. and in unusual cases might be so thick that people would have to look elsewhere for their water.
In New England the frost depth may be 3-4 feet while in northern Minnesota it might be 6-7 feet below the ground surface.
So if the top of your well water is just 2 feet below the ground surface in New England, or just four feet below ground surface in Two Harbors Minnesota, in very cold winter weather the well top may freeze solid.
I think the reason the well doesn't freeze more-often is that in most situations the resting level of water in wells is well below the frost line.
That's my answer, and I'm sticking to it ... until well freezes over.
But it's not just me. Here is what the U.S. Department of Agriculture says in one of their water well articles:
... protect all wells from freezing, mowing, livestock, etc., by enclosing the well within an insulated well house. ... https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/public/AL/642_Water_Well.pdf
On 2019-12-15 by Rachel
Hi! I am writing a novel and an old-fashioned well plays a bit of a part. Is it possible for well water to freeze over?
On 2019-11-25 - by (mod) -
Forgive me Sharon but it's not both a spring and a well; If the water source is a spring, perhaps feeding water into a springhouse from which water is pumped to cisterns serving each home, it is, in almost all locations in the world, impossible to guarantee that that water remains potable - free from bacteria or other contaminants, as it's exposed to surface waters and runoff;
So first you will want a regular water testing program and second you may need water quality treatment and disinfecting equipment.
Having to blow out algae clogs is, on the face of it, confirmation that you want to be concerned about water quality.
Re-lining a well ? I think we need to get a confident definition of what kind of water source this really is.
On 2019-11-24 by Sharon
We just purchased a home built in 1800 in New Hampshire. The water comes from a spring-fed well across the street. There are pipes from that well to both our house and to another house up the road. In other words, the one well across the street feeds all three houses.
Right next to the road by our house is a "well" or cistern that is filled by the well across the street. Apparently this system has worked in the past.
The neighbor said he has had to blow out the pipe leading to his house because algae was growing in it. Just now our cistern is empty, and no water is flowing into it at all.
The neighbor suggests we reline the well and then try to blow out the pipes to unplug them. I'm wondering if this will provide us with safe drinking water. And if so, what is the best way to reline the cistern. Thanks.
On 2019-03-11 - by (mod) -
Brian
Please see the information at HAND DUG WELL PROCEDURE
And let me know if you have any questions
On 2019-03-11 by Brian
have a 30 year old shallow well (15') with a 5' galvanized steel cribbing. Water depth in well is from 8" of water down to 3' of water. We came thru a very dry fall and the water table dropped about 3'. recharge of the well is about 2 gal per hour.
The well I believe could be another 5-6' deeper. this would put us well into the water table and would provide better capacity during dry periods where the water table has dropped. I believe it was only made 15' deep as that was as far as the back hoe could reach when they dug the well.
Q. What will be the best way to make the well deeper.
1) put in a sandpoint
2) dig the well deeper. If so do I need to extend the cribbing to the "new" well bottom. and if so what would / could I use?
thanks
On 2019-03-09 - by (mod) -
It may be possible to return a dug well to service but I can't estimate the cost because I have no idea of the conditions. You need a secure well-structure, a safe well cover, and of course you need water in your well.
On 2019-03-09 by mike schoonover
I have an abandoned dug water well that was dug many years ago. I wish to get it operative with possibly a hand pump. Can it be done and at what cost?
David:
Local well drillers and hydrogeologists often know the common water table depth, though that can vary considerably from one property to another.
And though it can be a costly survey, ground penetrating radar has been used for determining the depth to water, as you can read in Johnson 1992. That survey combined use of ground penetrating radar and also measurement of water levels at local ponds in the area of study. That data permitted a map of the water table. But be sure to take a look at the abstract that we quote below.
On 2015-07-25 by Solomon david
I want to know if there is any eqiument or (material) that can be use for testing dug well to know how deep or how many (feet) befor you get water.
...
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