Handout
Authors
Publication Date: April 2011 | Publication Number: az1486 Download PDF
This educational materials covers the key components of a well owners need to know for proper maintenance of a well. These include:
- Aquifer: underground formation capable of yielding or transmitting usable quantities of water.
- Water table: point where groundwater is located. The well must extend below the water table level to operate effectively.
- Borehole: hole created to access the aquifer.
- Well casing: steel or plastic (PVC) tubing or pipe installed in the borehole during or after drilling to support the sides of the well and prevent caving. More information is given below.
- Annular space: space between the borehole and the well casing.
- Drop pipe: pipe by which water travels to the surface.
- Pitless adapter: device that connects your pump underground (below the frost line) to the service line to your house. More information is given on page 2.
- Surface seal: consists of steel casing (with 1 foot extending above the ground surface) and cement grout placed between the casing and the borehole to prevent contaminants from entering the well system from the land surface. More information is given on page 2.
- Well seal: tamper-resistant, watertight cover steel plate of at least one-quarter inch thickness on the top of all inside and outside casings of a well to prevent anything from entering the well, including contaminants, animals, and small children. Alternatively, a well cap can be used in place of the well seal for abandoned wells or wells with no pumps. More information is given on page 2.
- Well screen: perforations (series of openings in a casing, made either before or after installation of the casing) in the casing that allows water to enter the well while keeping sand and gravel from entering the pump. More information is given on pages 2 and 3.
- Pump: located either above ground or submersed to draw water to the surface. More information is given on page 3.
- Pressure tank: stores water above ground for household use. More information is given on page