Farm Compliance

The American Farm Bureau Federation supports NGWA efforts during awareness week to provide well owners (and other users) with useful information on the importance of ensuring a clean, safe water supply.

Cliff Treyens, NGWA’s public awareness director recommends owners of household water well systems consider the following steps:

Proper well location and construction: Work with a qualified professional, a water well system contractor or hydrogeologist, to determine the best location for a well. When having a well built, use a qualified water well system contractor, who should be familiar with state or local well construction codes including those pertaining to separation distances from potential contamination sources.

Regular well system maintenance: Get an annual well system maintenance checkup to reduce risks to your water supply and prevent costly and inconvenient breakdowns.

Water testing and treatment: A dirty well can create an environment suitable to bacterial growth and impair effective disinfection. A qualified water well system contractor can determine if your water well system needs cleaning.

Ground water protection: Locate any abandoned wells on your property and contact a qualified water well system contractor to determine whether the abandoned well has been properly decommissioned. An improperly abandoned well can be a direct pathway for contamination into the aquifer. Never dispose of any substance down an abandoned well.

If the abandoned well has not been properly sealed, always use a qualified water well system contractor to seal it. This requires special techniques, equipment, and materials.

“All of these steps are important to ensure a continued supply of safe ground water. We encourage people to learn more and find ideas for promoting ground water awareness at www.wellowner.org,” Treyens said.