FAQs on how to measure well depth.

This article series describes how we measure the depth of a water well.

FAQs on How To Measure the Well Depth

These questions & answers about measuring the depth of a well were posted originally at WELL DEPTH, HOW TO MEASURE - you'll want to review the procedures and advice offered there.

The sketch at page top, courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, outlines what happens during a well drawdown or well flow test procedure.

The illustration shown here explains that measuring water level in a well requires avoiding getting hung up on well piping, seals, spacers. Source: How to Measure Water Level in a Well, Oregon Water Department, cited at the end of this article.

[Click to enlarge any image]

On 2019-01-27 by (mod) - if I drop a penny into a 200 ft deep well will I hear it strike water?

Cris

Assuming you have normal hearing and that there is water in the well at some unknown depth,

You might hear the penny hit the water if the water is near the top of the well.

The depth of the Well from the ground to the well bottom (which is the number you gave) does not tell us where the water top is.

On 2019-01-27 by Cris

If I drop a penny in a 200 foot deep well will I hear it hit the water?

On 2018-02-22 by (mod) -

Robert,

It means that you're well has a very minimal static head or reserve of water in the world war, and unless the well has a fantastic flow rate it's not likely to be adequate

On 2018-02-21 0 by Sukanta kumar behera

225

On 2017-10-19 by Robert

@neil millar,
My will is 36 feet deep I have 14 foot of water is that good or bad

On 2017-03-06 by (mod) -

Typically people drop a string with a small float and weight down to find the top of the water column, then on pulling the float out, measure the length of the string - from top of ground or top of casing to the string bottom.

With care to avoid snagging in the well it's similarly possible to measure the depth of the water column.

On 2017-03-06 16:11:00.535627 by David C.

How do I measure the air gap?

On 2016-08-30 by (mod) - how deep is too deep for a shallow well pump to pum

A one line jet pump can lift about 25 ft.

On 2016-08-30 by Anonymous

how deep is too deep for a shallow well pump to pump

On 2016-07-24 by (mod) -

Neil Millar:

As the answer to your question was previously lost here it is again:

The foot valve is usually place 3-5 feet above the bottom of the well bore (not the bottom of the aquifer that feeds the well) so as to reduce chances of picking up avoidable mud and debris.

On 2016-07-24 by (mod) -

30 feet of static head is about 45 gallons of water. Or if you meant that the static head is 330 feet, that's about 500 gallons of water.
The static head does not tell us your flow rate.

If the well flow rate is poor then once you've run out that 45 or 500 gallons, you risk exhausting the well. If you know the well's flow rate (aka recovery rate) and run water slower than that you'll be OK.

On 2016-07-23 by Phil allessio

my well is 360 ft deep and rises to a static head of 30 ft. I have a small pond and it is getting very low. can I safely run water to my pond for a few hours and not at full blast..

On 2015-10-28 by neil millar

how far away should foot valve be from bottom of aquifer

Question:

(July 29, 2011) RAYMOND E. GARDNER said:
No where in your process do you refer to water softeners.

Reply:

Raymond, water softeners have really nothing to do with determining the depth of a well so they're not discussed in the article above.

See WATER SOFTENERS & CONDITIONERS - where you will find very extensive information about water softeners and their installation, adjustment, and maintenance.

There are indirect relationships between water softeners and
- well water quality (hard water, need for softener)
- running out of well water (a water softener stuck in the regen cycle)

but those don't have to do with well depth - which is the subject of this article.

Also in that INDEX you may want to see the article titled

How Much Water is In the Well?

Question: how deep should the pump be set in the well?

(July 22, 2012) gary said:
my well tag says 220 ft deep so were should the pump be set

Reply:

Gary a precise answer depends on pump type, well condition, soil properties at the well bottom - but typically the pump is set at 5 feet off of the bottom of the well. No lower, possibly a bit higher.

Question:

(Aug 27, 2012) Another Mark said:
The previous owner said she thought the well is something like 300 or 400 feet. How practical is the weight and string method for a well of this depth?

Reply:

Not very. I'd ask for help from a well driller. Just dropping a pipe or tool into a deep well is annoying.

Question: How far from the reservoir would a new home's septic tank need to be

(Oct 26, 2012) HAJAH NORMADIAH GHANI said:

We have found two handdug wells but are unsure of the depth besides it is cluttered with dense overgrowth which will be cut. I'd like to build a waterfall since there is a six feet wall nearby.
Any suggestions?

(Apr 23, 2014) Hanover said:
I'm interested in selling a piece of land; however, the piece of property is located near a neighboring town's water source (reservoir).

How far from the reservoir would a new home's septic tank need to be located if i can sell the piece of land to a builder?

Reply:

Hanover, please see

CLEARANCE DISTANCES, SEPTIC SYSTEM for details on septic clearance distances from various types of bodies of water. The distances are different for tank and drainfield.

Question:

(June 8, 2014) Jon A said:
Hi!
Regarding the FHA minimum distance between wells and septic tanks, is the 50 foot distance generally allowed to be decreased if there is a concrete house foundation between the two?

(July 3, 2014) Anonymous said:
Would it matter if the well is old and not in use anymore and not ever to be used anymore?

Reply:

Jon,

No, a house between well and septic doesn't improve clearance distances. The reasoning is that contaminants could certainly flow underground below or around an intervening building.

See WELL CLEARANCE

Reply:

Anon,

If you want to violate well clearance distance to a septic system and assert that the well is old, not in use, and not to be used, STILL it cannot violate clearance to septic because of the risk that sewage effluent finds the well opening and thereby contaminates the local aquifer.

Even if you're not drinking the water, someone is.

The solution to the case you describe is to *properly* abandon the well - which usually means filling in the well with concrete to be sure that surface water or casing leaks never inject contaminants into the aquifer via the well bore.

See WELL ABANDONMENT PROCEDURE

Question: how to measure well clearance to septic

(Sept 4, 2014) kristi said:
Is the 50 foot distance from a well to septic field measured to the base of field or the pipe run?

Reply:

Kristi, measure from the nearest end or other point of effluent piping to the other site feature.

Question: home addition too close to water well

(Oct 17, 2014) Theresa said:
We purchased a home two years ago. We just recently are having a well issues, 2 Well companies have came her and said that where our well is and an addition that was put on this home in 2000 is in the way.

Simply put the addition on the home we bought was approved by the city and retained a permit to build.

However now the addition is so close to the well (with in inches) the Well companies can't work on our well.

They say we have to remove the addition. Question: is there not building code laws that say how far away from a well a building can be built? This is the first home we have purchased with a Well,

we had no idea that a Well Contractor needs a minimum amount of space to work on a well, and had we knew of this we never would have purchased this home, and yes we did get a home inspection?

(Oct 17, 2014) Theresa said:
How far away from a new home addition does it have to be from the top of a drilled well?

Reply:

See WELL ABANDONMENT PROCEDURE

Question: two handdug wells but are unsure of the depth

(Oct 26, 2012) HAJAH NORMADIAH GHANI said:

We have found two handdug wells but are unsure of the depth besides it is cluttered with dense overgrowth which will be cut. I'd like to build a waterfall since there is a six feet wall nearby.
Any suggestions?

Reply:

It sounds to me as if the hand dug wells you describe may be unsafe. You'll want to find out what's there and perhaps to abandon them by filling them in if they're not to be used.

See WELL ABANDONMENT PROCEDURE

Question: hit water at 7 feet down - can I just hook up a 1 line jet pump?

31 Jan 2015 George 1 said:

I have an existing well with a 3 inch metal casing. I hit water with a weighted string at around seven feet down.

I want to use it as a dedicated well for my garden. Can I just hook up a jet pump with a suction down-tube, and turn it on when I want to water my garden?

Reply:

George

You don't give the depth of the well, its flow rate, nor its type (drilled, dug, for example) so I can't guess about its suitability in flow capacity.

But yeah, a one line jet pump can draw water from a depth of 27 feet or less.

I'd find out more about the well before spending much on equipment to use it.

Question:

(Feb 4, 2015) gloria said:
is there a way to measure how much water may be in my well during a drought

Reply:

Gloria

If you mean can you measure what's in a well now and from that know what's going to happen in a drought, I'm not aware of an easy answer; but you might get some clue by talking with local well drillers and neighbors and local water testing companies - about their experience with similar wells during dry seasons.

There might be a (small ) chance of finding clues by sending a camera down the well bore or casing to look for static water lines at different elevations in the well.

And at a minimum you'd like to do a true well flow test to get an idea of where the well is now.

you certainly want to see

WELL FLOW RATE

WELL FLOW TEST for WATER QUANTITY

...

Continue reading at WELL DEPTH, HOW TO MEASURE or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see

How much water is in the well casing:

STAIC HEAD of Water in the Well explains the role of water stored in the well casing or cavity itself and shows how to determine that volume.

More about measuring the actual depth of a well is

at DEPTH of a WELL, HOW TO MEASURE.

How fast can we take water out of the well:

WELL YIELD DEFINITION - explains how well yield or well flow rates are measured, provides formulas, and an example of calculations

How much water can we get from the well:

WELL YIELD, SAFE LIMITS - explains the true volume of water that is available from a given well, the role of the static head, the flow rate, the pumping rate, and factors that affect well life and changes in well yield.

Suggested citation for this web page

WELL DEPTH, HOW TO MEASURE FAQs at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER SUPPLY, PUMPS TANKS WELLS

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