Water Well Facts in Central Maine
How is Your Well Drilled?
Constructing most wells consists of three operations: Drilling a hole down to bedrock. Installing well casing into the bedrock. Drilling through the bedrock until water of adequate flow is produced.
After an adequate flow is produced, water fills the hole and levels off. Each foot of hole store approximately 1½ gallons.
Depth of Your Well
There is no sure way to predetermine the actual depth of any well. Experience on similar wells in the area will generally provide us with a good estimate.
Water Pump System
When we install your pump system, type and capacity of your pump must be correctly matched for the flow and depth of the well to assure your well will continuously supply your water needs.
Location of Your Well
State law requires a 100-foot setback from your septic field and a 60-foot setback from the septic tank. Reduction of minimal setback may be applicable.
Water Flow Needs
Water use is expressed in terms of gallons per day. The critical issue is whether a well can meet the demands of a household during those periods of day when water use is at its peak. An average family will use up to 300 gallons per day.
Well flow rates are expressed in terms of gallons per minute. Most drilled wells store a considerable amount of water.
Example: 100 feet of water in the well is 150 gallons of water in storage. For this reason, water can be pumped from a deep well for extended periods of time, at rates far in excess of the flow into the well.
The State of Maine Well Water Commission and the Maine Ground Water Association have established these guidelines listed below. The guidelines are based on a single family dwelling of four people.
Depth of Well
Gallons per Minute