If you need water on your property, and you don't have the resources or know-how to drill a well, you probably want to know what happens when you call out a well drilling service.

In the first place, the well drilling contractors are going to make a plan on where you well is going to go. They have the advantage of knowing where many of the other wells in the area are, and what the ground water situation looks like, and they will likely be able to give you an estimate on how deep they'll need to drill, on whether or not there's an aquifer that's worth trying for. (Even before you get into a situation where you're getting a full estimate, most well drilling services will be able to tell you the average depth of wells in your area.)

Then, they're going to bring their equipment to your property. Now, well drilling equipment is heavy and could damage grass or landscaping features. Some people will not care, but if landscape damage does matter to you, talk to your well drilling service contractors. There's ways to prevent it, and it is more time consuming and therefore more expensive, but if you're worried about heavy equipment marring your lawn, it's probably worth the money.

Once they're set up, they will drill your well out. Now, how deep your well is going to be and what type of bit they use is going to depend entirely on what kind of ground you're sitting on. They are also going to be installing some equipment into the well: the screen, the casing, the pump, the cap, as well as making minor adjustments to the pump in order to get the flow you're expecting. The well screen is put at the bottom of the casing and works as a rough filter, preventing too much silt and sediment from getting into your well. The well casing is a long pipe, and it's intended to maintain the structural integrity of the hole that got drilled. (In theory you could just drill a hole and drop a pump into it, but the hole would eventually collapse.) The pump, obviously, is what is responsible for moving the water from the well to your home, and the cap is the the thing on top of the well shaft that keeps debris from getting into the well water.

Most well companies will also test your water to ensure that it's potable, or safe to drink.

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