Posted: 8/28/2009 1:40:53 PM EDT
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I have just heard about sand point wells, or driven point wells, today. I'm still reading about them, and am curious if anyone has ever installed one.
If I were to install one, it would be in the basement, which is expressly prohibited in Wisconsin (one of the sources I am using to learn about them). I need to check Iowa law before I do anything. The reason you cannot (in Wisconsin) install one in the basement is the risk of contamination from a leaky sewer line. I can certainly understand how that would be a concern. Without having looked at any prices on parts, I think I could get one installed with a hand pump for less than $200 by doing the labor myself, and have a water source that will not freeze or require electricity. Whether or not the water would be fit to drink (or if I even find water) would be unknown until I made an attempt to install one. My thought is; the worst outcome (complete failure) would waste $100 and my labor. Please excuse my assumptions regarding prices and practicality. This is all new to me. I was talking to my family doctor today, and he was telling me that he had installed one in a public place, within city limits, and only had to go down twenty feet to find enough water to create a functioning well with an electric pump installed. He said a hand pump would give me the same result, as long as the water was there. So...anybody know what the heck I am talking about? |
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Yes, I know what you're talking about. My parents currently have one in the house they live in.
I'm not sure where you live, country or city, but here in Wisconsin many municipalities will require you to connect to a municipal water supply once available and cap your well for various reasons. If you live in a more rural area, you may not have as many restrictions placed on you for installing a sandpoint well. My first suggestions to you would be to find out how deep the water table is where you live. If you live on a hill, you may have to sink the well deeper than is reasonable for what you intend to use it for. You can most likely contact a local NRCS office in your part of IA for help on locating the depth of the water table. My second suggestion would be to find out from your state, county, and possibly your municipality what the requirements are for installing a sandpoint well. Here in Wisconsin, as I'm sure your now aware, our regs. are mandated by the Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resources, but municipalities have the right to impose more stringent requirements. As you stated, it is against the law in WI to put a well in your basement due to the possibility of cross contamination either from a sewage backup or flooding. Either way, your well would be submerged and the water would no longer be potable, until it is flushed/corrected. There are other requirements for wells in WI too, such as it has to be a certain distance from sewer laterals/pipes and/or septic systems. I don't have the regs in front of me, but this is about the extent of my knowledge. Good luck. |
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Thanks for your detailed reply.
When I googled, one of the first links that came up was a PDF file of Wisconsin's DNR requirements. You are correct. There are other requirements and criteria to follow to install one to meet code. It sounds like a cheap and simple way to put a small well in, if the water table is not too deep. I need to read quite a bit more and ask someone local about the water table and such. The biggest problem with putting one out in the yard (if it is even legal where I live) is keeping it from freezing. Anything that requires electricity would be a waste of time for my purposes. Oh, by the way. Welcome to the site. 
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I got to thinking last night. My great-grandparents lived on an acreage. They had no indoor plumbing. They had a hand-pump about fifteen foot from the kitchen door. I don't think they covered it in Winter.
What kept things from freezing up? People lived this way all the time a hundred years ago. |