Protect Your Wellhead to Safeguard Drinking Water Supplies

If you utilize a private water well for your drinking water supply, chances are you realize the importance of groundwater. Not only is groundwater supplying your well with water that you are able to use in your home, but it also plays a role in recharging surface water sources – lakes, rivers, and streams – from the ground up.

The immediate 100-foot area around your well head is the area most likely to impact your drinking water supply if potentially polluting activities take place there. Since wells are drilled directly into groundwater aquifers, they are essentially a direct conduit from the surface to water supplies below.

Things to exclude from the wellhead protection area:

• Applying pesticides or fertilizers
• Animal waste
• Septic systems and drain fields
• Dumping of oil, paint, or chemicals
• Heavy equipment

Groundwater also typically follows the topography of the land. This means that any potential sources of contamination should be located downhill from a drinking water well. Be aware of any activities within sight of your wellhead, even those located off your property, and take action if you notice any changes to your water supply.

If groundwater does become contaminated, it can be very difficult to clean up. Groundwater moves very slowly so a source of pollution may not be realized until an entire aquifer or even nearby surface water is already degraded.

In addition to monitoring activities going on around your well, what is on top of your wellhead can make a difference too. Penn State recommends using a sanitary or vermin-proof well cap. This type of cap includes a rubber gasket to form a tight seal with the well casing while still allowing for air circulation. The seal provides an additional safeguard from surface contaminants like insects, vermin, and floodwaters from entering the well.

More information on sanitary well construction can be found in "Five Parts of Sanitary Water Well Construction.