Frequently Asked Questions

The equipment used during the drilling process is approximately the size of a semi-truck. Because of the weight and bulk of the drilling rig you need to carefully consider your propertied access when chosen a well location. Graham and Currie offers free estimates that include a site visit prior to well installation. Our personnel will assist you in picking the location on your property that will be best suit for the installation of your new well.

The well drilling process is very complex, but the following websites give very useful outlines of the process. For more details please call us directly.

http://www.epa.gov/seahome/private.html

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/privatewells/faq.html#q2

Wells are permitted by county governments. Each state has well codes that provide a basis for county codes, but each county builds off this basic outline and develops it own individual well program. These programs provide guidelines that well drillers must follow when choosing a well location and constructing your well. Typically a counties environmental health department has the duty of enforcing regulations, granting permits, and determining proper driller practices. For more information about your counties regulations please their environmental health department or give us a call. We are always glad to assist you.

If your county doesn’t yet have a permitting process you will not be required to apply or pay for a permit. However, each state has regulations that act as basic guidelines for all well drilling. Any licensed driller is obligated to follow state regulations even if no county codes are enforced.

Well drilling is a construction process and thus creates some disturbance. As a well is drilled ‘cuttings’ or the displaced soils will collect around the well construction. The process also utilizes water, so sites can get muddy and wet. Graham and Currie does all we can to limit this disturbance, but it can not be avoided. When considering a well it is helpful to remember that the ‘mess’ created is only mud and water and therefore temporary, but the well we construct for you will be an valuable and permanent resource that will far outlast any superficial disturbance.

The first step is to take a look at where well drilling is feasible and legal. After you take your properties layout and the county/state regulations into account the area where you are able to put a well is actually somewhat limited, that being the case most well locations are determined by necessity. If there are multiple viable locations we take many factors into account; nearest know source of water, the topographic nature of your property, and proximity to your point of use. Graham and Currie would be happy to visit your site and assist you in choosing an appropriate well loction.

 Graham and Currie does not sanction or discourage the use of ‘divining rods’, using the services of a ‘dowser’ is solely up to the customer’s discretion. As long as the well site is feasible we have no issues with the client soliciting the services of a ‘water witch’, but we do not offer the service. If you are interested we have provided a link below that will further explain the practice.

An average well construction takes one to two days. However, the time it takes to drill a well depends on many factors. The depth, the material we are drilling through, and the weather all play major roles in determine the length of time the process takes.

The amount of water you can expect to obtain from your well is dependant on where your property is located and your local geology. It is impossible to pin point the amount of water any well will produce before drilling, but through years of experience drillers are able to give reasonably accurate estimates of expected yields. We have been in the drilling business for nearly 100 years and we draw on that experience to provide individual customers with honest and sensible assessments of what their well will produce, but no one can guarantee the quantity or quality of water.

Well drillers refer to the amount of water your well will produce as a yield. We measure a well yield in Gallons Per Minute (GPM). A very simple way to think about yield is to say that a well’s GPM tells you how quickly you can draw water from the well without running it dry. For example, the average garden hose will produce approximately 8 GPM when turned completely on. If your well yields 20 GPM, then you could run your garden hose wide open for an extended period of time without fear of your well going dry. On the other hand, if your wells yield was 5 GPM, running the garden hoses wide open would eventually run your well dry and you would have to wait for the well to refill before you could continue using it. It is important that you understands your wells capabilities and work with in them. Pumping water from your well at too high a rate can damage to your pumping system and the well structure. It is important that you discuss your wells specific capabilities in detail with your drilling contractor. We will be happy to help you best utilize your water, while protecting your investment and the precious groundwater resource.

Your well’s depth will be determined by where we encounter water and how much water your application requires. As we drill we constantly monitor the amount of water your well is producing. When you have a supply adequate enough to fulfill your needs then we stop. Much like yield, no one can determine what the exact depth of a well will be before drilling, but we use our experience to give you a reasonable estimate based on our experience in your area.

This is a complicated question that requires a very in depth explanation. An over simplified answer is that a well meant to support a normal home should be a minimum of 3-5 GPM depending on depth and construction.

There are two basic types of residential well constructions in our state. The first is a 4” screened well. Screened wells occur mostly in the sandhills and are relatively shallow. These wells range in depth from 60-250 feet, but on average are 110’ deep. Because of their relatively small diameter and shallow depth, screened wells do not store as much water as larger/deeper well. This lack of storage means that the yield of these wells is extremely important when determining viability. An average screened well needs to produce 5 GPM in order to provide for a normally home comfortably. Yields of less than 5 GPM in screened wells can be used for homes, but the water usage must be very carefully monitored and judicious.

The second type of well is a 6” rock well construction. Rock wells can range in depth from 50-3000 feet and are the most common type of well construction. The first major difference between a rock well and a screened well, is that a 6” well can store double water of a 4” well the same depth, this coupled with the fact that rock wells can be drilled much deeper than screened wells means that they are less dependant on yield for viability. If necessary you can run a home on less than ½ GPM provided the well is deep enough to store a good quantity of water and you are carefully with your water usage.

As we drill we will keep you up to date on how much water you have and then help you determine whether you need to drill deeper or if you have enough water to supply your application. Below is outlined a basic idea of yields and rock well depths needed to make the well a viable source of water for the average home. (This table assumes that the static or resting water level in your well is no more than 30 feet from the top of the ground and that the well is used responsibly)

YIELDWELL DEPTH NEEDED

10+ GPMat least 60’

5 GPMat least 200’

3 GPM at least 300’

Less than 2 GPMat least 400’

This table is a very rough outline intended to give you an idea of the way depth and yield work together to determine a wells viability. Each construction is different and there other factors, such as static water level, that are very important. During the drilling process we will inform you of the details of your situation and help you make the best decision for your particular application.