How to Hand Dig & Drill a Well

Contact your local county Water Conservation Board or State Department of Natural Resources to determine if a permit is required to drill a well on your property. Secure required permits and/or water rights before proceeding.

Select the site for your well. Avoid low-lying areas where water runoff and debris could collect around the wellhead. To avoid contamination of your well, always drill a well at least 75 feet from a cesspool, septic tank or stockyard drainage field. Do not locate your well near clumps of trees with invasive roots such as willows. It is feasible to drill a shallow well by driving a pipe in the ground. A screen is usually attached at the end of the pipe to filter sediment. A shallow well is only used for watering crops or gardens. Water in a shallow well is easily contaminated by rain runoff. A deeper well for drinking water can be drilled by one person with a hydra-drill.

Drill your well with a hydra-drill. A hydra-drill is a portable rotary drilling rig that can be easily operated by one person and easily transported in a pickup truck or on a small trailer. It can be hand-carried to remote locations or places that have rough terrain without vehicle access. A hydra-drill can be rented from local construction equipment rental yards or purchased online. It is an helpful tool for farm and ranch operations as it can drill multiple wells. You can drill additional wells as needed to water a garden, water livestock or fill a stock pond or swimming pool. A hydra-drill works well for penetrating sand and clay subsurface soils. It will not drill through rock.

Provide a source of water for your well drilling project. If you are close to a water outlet, a hydra-drill can be operated with the water from a garden hose. Otherwise, you will have to haul and store adequate water and a pump to the drill site location. Plan on at least one gallon of water for each foot of projected well depth. Water circulation is imperative to successful well drilling with a hydra-drill. If you have to haul water, dig an adjoining holding pit to recirculate water during the drilling process. The holding pit should be about 3 feet wide and 3 feet square. The circulating water washes the cutting to the surface.

Drill your well following the instructions that accompany your hydra-drill. Additional lengths of PVC pipe are added as the well proceeds. The drill is simply formed by cutting a sawtooth pattern at the base of the first joint of PVC pipe. Additional joints of PVC pipe are added as the well progresses. Continue drilling until you hit water-bearing substrata. You will know when you hit water as there will be a larger volume of water coming out of the pipe and the water will be warmer than the water drawn from a water spigot.

Pour enough pea-sized gravel down the inside of the pipe to fill the pipe 2 to 3 feet from the bottom. The gravel will act as a filter and allow water to flow to the borehole. Filling the bottom of the pipe will push the PVC pipe up the hole a bit. This is normal. Cut off excess pipe. Set the down hole pump. Pour pea-sized gravel down around the outside of the PVC pipe to stabilize the pipe. Fill almost to the surface around the exterior of the pipe. Smooth out the ground surface around the new well. Place a protective cap (an inverted 5-gallon bucket works well) over the top of the well to prevent dirt and debris from entering the well. Enjoy the water produced from your efforts.