eli5: When people used wells for drinking water, how did they not get sick? Was there some type of filter or was the water just naturally clean?
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Wells work fine for clean water as long as you put the outhouse/manure pile/compost heap/bird coop/septic bed a good distance away from the well and not uphill/upstream from it. My uncle made the error of building a new chicken coop too close to the wellhead and everyone in the house started getting sick. They had the water tested, the well cleaned and uncle moved the coop farther away. All kitchen water was bottled, filtered and/or boiled for a while until the system cleared itself out and the water tested clean. It’s a more dangerous problem with outhouses and septic beds. Overland flooding and heavy downpours are also a risk.
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