How to Drill a Well Using Water

Determine the location for your well. Do not locate your well on a hillside or close to underground utilities or septic lines. Select a site with good surface drainage so water and debris will not collect around the well-head.

Purchase or rent a hydra-drill. A hydra-drill is a small, one-person-operated, rotary drill designed to drill shallow wells. It can be transported in the back of a pickup truck or on a small trailer. It is light enough to be hand-carried to areas inaccessible to a vehicle, such as woods or uneven, rough terrain. A hydra-drill can be rented from the equipment rental department of building supply centers or purchased online. A hydra-drill can drill multiple wells and is a useful tool for farms or ranches that may need to install multiple wells to water gardens, crops or livestock. A hydra-drill will drill through sand and clay but cannot drill through rock.

Provide adequate water to operate the drill. If you are close to a water supply, use a garden hose or pump water from a nearby pond or stream. If you need to transport water to the drill site, you will need from 50 to 150 gallons. Plan to have at least 1 gallon of water for each 1 foot of well depth. Transported water can be stored in 55-gallon drums. You will need a pump to move the water.

If you are using transported water, dig a shallow containment pit next to the well-head to save and circulate the water as you drill. Using a hand shovel, dig the containment pit about 3 to 4 feet wide and 2 to 3 feet deep. Water is pumped down the center of a PVC schedule 40 pipe. The PVC pipe is used as both a drill stem and a drill bit. Teeth are cut into the bottom of the pipe to provide a cutting edge. The pipe is slowly rotated into the ground. Cuttings are carried to the surface by the force of the water around the pipe. As the water flushes back up the drill hole, divert the water back to the circulation pit to be re-circulated. Maintaining circulation is one of the most important factors in drilling a successful well. Additional lengths of pipe are added as the well is dug until a water-bearing strata is reached.

Once the total depth of the well has been reached, pea gravel is poured down the inside of the PVC pipe. Fill approximately 3 feet of the bottom of the pipe with gravel. During the drilling of the well, a small area of sandy material is evacuated at the end of the drill pipe. The gravel fills this vacuum and allows water to flow to the pipe from all sides and the bottom of the well. Install a down hole pump and your well is ready to provide fresh, clear water for years.