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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Modern wells are generally drilled into bedrock. Rock is porous, even something like granite. So the water moves in underground streams called aquafers through the rock, which filters all of the bad stuff out of the water. Unfortunately, it can also put bad stuff into the water, like various minerals — even arsenic. That’s why people with wells should test their water periodically, to make sure it’s still OK.
The well itself is a hole drilled into the rock bearing the aquafer. It’s about 6-8 inches wide and usually somewhere between 200-800 feet deep. It fills with water, which is pumped out, and can seem ‘infinite’ as long as it’s not pumped out faster than it’s replenished.
However, aquafers aren’t infinite, and too many wells into a single one can deplete it, or slow the rate at which it refills the well.
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