How does a well work? Is there a finite amount of water in a drinking well? Why is it okay to drink? Do they somehow replenish water or if they dry up that is it?
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Hi!
There are several things to consider . . .
* A normal suction hand pump has a theoretical limit of 32 feet deep, and a practical limit of about 25 feet deep/ Below this depth you need a “deep well” style of pump which is usually submersed at the bottom of the well.
* Surface water will find a low spot (puddle, pond or lake), but if the soil is porous enough the water will sink (filter) through the soil. Here in Eastern Canada I have send “send point wells” in the basements of homes less than 15 feet below the basement floor.
* Drilled wells (like mine) are often as deep as 200 feet. They have a pump inside the well. It pushes water up the pipe that goes deep into the ground.
* They talk about the flow rate of a well. This is the amount that can be pumped out of the well without making the well go dry. Think of it as the rate water flows into the well.
>Why is it OK to drink?
The water in a deep well has been filtered through the sand, gravel, rocks and soil so it is generally clear. Surface water (ponds, streams, puddles) often has bacteria in it. [read PDF here](https://www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/2020-01/bb-14.pdf) These bacteria require oxygen, and do not tend to be in deep wells.
People get their wells tested, and not all wells produce good water.
I lived in a rural community where many wells had uranium in the water. My current well has calcium, manganese and iron. It is very healthy, but had on washers and dishwashers.
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