Why Sanitary Well Caps Are Important for Protecting Your Water Supply

Hi, I'm Susan Boser, water resources educator with Penn State Extension. And today we're going to talk about why sanitary well caps are important for protecting your water supply. The above ground part of the well that you can see is called the casing and that's the part coming out of the ground. On top you will have a well cap. Now most caps are standard caps and they're bolted on to the well casing with horizontal bolts as you can see here. While they do provide a cover, there is an air gap between the casing and the well cap itself and this can allow for things like bugs, vermin and other critters to enter into your well and potentially cause issues with bacterial contamination. To prevent these things from entering your well, you can purchase a sanitary well cap. Now a sanitary cap is different than a standard cap. One way is that the bolts will enter vertically instead of horizontally. Also on the inside of a sanitary cap, you have this rubber gasket and that makes a nice seal with your well casing preventing the vermin and insects and other things from entering your well. Now to purchase one of these, you'll need to know the diameter of your well casing and these can be purchased online or at a local hardware store. There is some wiring involved so if you're not sure about that, you can contact a local well driller for assistance. A simple upgrade of a sanitary well cap is one way you can protect your drinking water supply from bacteria and surface water contamination. For more information about your water supply, you can visit Extension's water