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> Many folks think they have to dig or drill their well into an aquifer.

My concern here is ground water will have septic contamination, don't know if that's stupid or not.

Hand dug wells are fun to watch on TikTok, most on the tag are old ones, but a few are people digging them - https://www.tiktok.com/tag/handdug%20well

This one scared the shit out of me - https://www.tiktok.com/@smithalayamrajeev/video/723999758509...

I was looking at this Polish Company selling augers, but I checked local bore records and they were 80m for the aquifer and they were hitting rock pretty quickly in their samples even if I went for ground water - https://www.ebay.com/str/drillpartnerofficialstore




> My concern here is ground water will have septic contamination, don't know if that's stupid or not.

It's not just that, dug and shallow wells are also getting surface water run-off -- basically anything on the ground in the immediate area or uphill. There's actually an acronym for this: GWUDI (Groundwater under the direct influence [of surface water]). They're highly susceptible to seasonal changes and rain. The worst ones are people that in a lower-lying area than nearby farms -- nitrates (from animal feces and fertilizers) and pesticides are all extremely expensive to remove from water.

When you do a drilled well, the annular space (the hole around the casing) actually has to be sealed (with bentonite) to prevent surface water from getting directly into the well and aquifer. I see no mention of this in the article.

Where I live (Ontario Canada) there are environmental laws protecting ground water. Badly done wells can actually contaminate a huge area and affect other people's wells and drinking water.


> My concern here is ground water will have septic contamination, don't know if that's stupid or not.

It isn't stupid concern for drinking water. You could have neighbours with septic tanks leaking, cesspools or using crazy amounts of roundup for their lawn.

But for watering flowers, washing and cleaning ground water is usually OK. You can always make a test of water quality at local authority...

Aquifier water is of good quality but getting to it might be expensive.


Fortunately most dirt is an excellent filter for septic waste. The law requires 40 (double check this number for where you live) of distance between a septic system and a well because at that distance the water that gets through is safe to drink without any more treatment. It doesn't matter how bad your septic system is installed, the 40 feet distance makes it safe.

Note that I said most dirt above. There are types of soil that act more like pipes and so raw sewage from a leaking septic system has been found many miles away. Check with a local expert to see what soil you have to deal with.




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