Well
The well as a method of water supply has been known since ancient times. Our ancestors did not know anything about drilling wells and alternatives to a well in village house it just wasn't there. He has lived to this day. Despite the apparent simplicity of the work, digging a well, at least for the purposes of not only the technical use of water, but also drinking it, is unlikely to be possible on your own. The thing is that it is not possible to determine in which sector of the site the aquifer is closest to the surface of the earth without the help of specialists. Therefore, before deciding on the feasibility and, in general, the very possibility of constructing a well on the site, you should invite geophysicists to carry out a set of exploration activities or drill a small test well with a depth of 10-15 m. The advantage of drilling an exploration well is that during the work, water and soil can be taken to study their biochemical composition in the laboratory. It is important to understand that a well, in comparison with wells, has a much lower potential for water yield. And if your house has a large area, the bathrooms have bathtubs, showers, washing machines and other water-absorbing equipment, which, moreover, is intensively used, and in summer season Additional load on the well is caused by watering/irrigation systems - you should think about whether the well will have enough productivity? On the other hand, the low productivity of the well leads to its rapid siltation, which mainly occurs in the first ten years of use, and if you use the well irregularly, without choosing a debit, as a result of which the water in it is rarely renewed, this period can be reduced to 3-4 years. In addition, the water yield of a well may vary depending on the season, and it may also be influenced by the fact that there is a different volumetric water intake from the area of the water lens that supplies your well with water. If the water level in the well drops and its filling slows down, you will have to limit your water consumption, which will cause discomfort. In the worst case, the water tank may simply become depleted. After such a problem arises, you have to deepen the well, and sometimes even dig a new one. As you understand, this process takes more than one day and will be critical for a family living in the house permanently. The quality of water is globally affected by environmental degradation: in our time, groundwater without pressure often simply does not meet the requirements sanitary standards. In addition, the well is a structure into which wastewater can enter. Therefore, a number of requirements are imposed on the location of the well on the site: it must be located on a hill, be removed from septic systems, sewers, toilets, cesspools, places where livestock and birds are kept, and other potential sources of pathogens. It is not possible to comply with these requirements at every site. Also, if water tests from a well do not meet SanPin requirements, you will have to install a purification system in it, which will entail additional costs. It is not surprising that most owners of their own home used for permanent residence, prefer to use a well as a source of water supply.Well
There are two types of wells: “for sand” and “for limestone”. Let's look at each of them separately. 1. Well “on sand”. It is drilled in the same way as a well, to the first aquifer. In this regard, such a well has all the disadvantages of use that I mentioned earlier, but its advantage is that these disadvantages are expressed on a smaller scale. Thus, the productivity of a well “for sand” on average reaches a cubic meter or two per hour, which is quite enough for a typical household. Due to higher productivity, the likelihood of siltation decreases, and accordingly, the service life of the well increases and, with regular use, can reach 15-17 years. A well “for sand” is drilled to a depth of 15m to 35m, but sometimes in search of aquifer it is necessary to go deeper into the ground to 50m. In order to prevent such a scenario, it is necessary to first, as I mentioned above, carry out reconnaissance activities on the site. If you touch upon financial side As a matter of fact, drilling a well “on sand” will cost more than digging a well. In this case, you will need to hire specialists with equipment, buy a pump and filter to operate the well, and choose a casing option. However, this option will be more cost-effective than the one discussed below. 2. “Artesian” well. In general, it is technically correct to call only self-flowing wells artesian, but this name has taken root among the people to designate a well “for limestone,” that is, one that is drilled to a limestone aquifer. An artesian well has the most high performance(up to 100 cubic meters per hour), so it can provide water to even the largest house. The undoubted advantage of such a well is the high quality of water. Limestone itself is a good natural filter that protects water from external pollutants. Also, the functioning of the well is not affected by fluctuations in standing level groundwater, and its service life is 50 years or more. It would seem that everything except cost has advantages, but in reality everything is not so simple. First, water from a deep well is saturated with iron, fluorine and other microelements, so often, in addition to universal filters, it is necessary to install additional filters for iron removal and water softening Second, according to the law “On Subsoil”, limestone aquifers are classified as minerals and the right to use them is necessary availability of a license. Due to the specific requirements for the conditions for constructing wells “on limestone”, comply with them to an ordinary owner a plot with a house (or even without it) is not possible. In this regard, artesian wells are drilled illegally in 99% of cases. When deciding to make such a well on your site, you must understand that from now on you will constantly be exposed to the risk of criminal liability for illegal subsoil use. And thirdly, the most important thing, which, however, in Russia they never think about. It is unknown how such widespread drilling will affect the environment. deep wells and violation of sanitary standards for their arrangement. As a person who is not indifferent to environmental problems, I urge all readers of this article to think about the future of our planet and still choose a sand well or a well as a source of water supply. Thank you for your attention.Well - a budget option ensuring water supply summer cottage away from the central highway. Compared to a well, it has a number of advantages:
- absence of metallic taste and unpleasant odor;
- low cost of building materials and pump for pumping water;
- ease of disinfection and annual cleaning;
- durability (service life up to 50 years and above);
- versatility (does not depend on power fluctuations);
- construction of a well does not require special permission.
Types of wells
Depending on the area, you can install several types of wells:
- spring(its depth reaches 4-10 m and depends entirely on the springs gushing out from under the ground. Usually, such reservoirs take a very long time to fill - from 5 to 10 days);
- drainage(the most popular wells. Their depth is 2-3 m. They are filled within a few hours to several days. They are not highly environmentally friendly, since water is drawn from the nearest groundwater - 2-3 water layer);
- river(its depth can reach 30 m, but its filling is no higher than 1.5 m. Unlike other types, the water in river wells does not decrease, no matter how often you use it);
- artesian(water is extracted from limestone layers at a level of 20 to 200 m. Such a well is not popular, as it requires high costs).
Based on the type of building materials, wells are divided into:
- wood(low-cost, but short-lived - it can last only 15 years in working condition. The pit is not strengthened in any way, so it can collapse at any moment. In addition, contaminated water can seep through the soil);
- brick(to build this type of well, a concrete foundation and wall reinforcement are required, as well as special bricklaying skills. Otherwise, it does not require special costs and it is quite possible to do it yourself);
- reinforced concrete(you can fill the walls yourself or buy concrete rings. Despite the high financial costs, such a well will last a very long time).
Calculation of well volume
Having chosen the type of well and building materials, do not rush to start construction. First you need to assess how much of the well can satisfy all your needs - do you plan to use it purely for home water supply, or also for watering a summer cottage. If we take into account only the need for drinking water, then on average for a family of 4 people you will need about 600 - 1000 liters.
In order to determine the area (S), we substitute the data into the formula:
S = πR², where π = 3.14.
To avoid running out of water later, plan so that you always have a supply. To do this, we calculate the volume of the well in three times the size:
V = πR² x h x 3
Before you start building a well, you need to evaluate the site and choose a place - within a radius of 50 meters from it there should be no dirt or sewage, so that contaminated water does not seep into the well. It is not recommended to dig a hole near the foundation of a house. The distance between them should be less than 5 m. Otherwise, water will wash away the soil, the foundation of the house will sag, and cracks will appear in the walls.
The depth of the well depends on the groundwater. In order to determine its distance, you can use the services of a specialist or pre-drill a well. You can also find out the depth of a similar well from your neighbors.
No matter how deep the hole is, keep in mind that its fullness depends entirely on the water layer. If there is not enough water in the well, there are several options to fix this:
- deepen the hole to the next water layer;
- make a sump (pit) a little deeper than the water layer;
- install a “tent” - the walls of the well expanding on the sides, thanks to which the water intake increases with a minimum flow (Fig);
- move the well to another location;
- clean and disinfect the pit.
By the way, the last thing - cleaning and disinfection - must be carried out at least 1 - 2 times a year. The procedure is as follows:
- all water from the well is pumped out;
- all debris, dirt, silt is removed from the bottom and walls of the pit;
- the walls are treated with chlorine solution;
- water is poured back into it, where a chlorine solution is injected in a ratio of 150 mg of chlorine per 1 liter of water. Cover the well with a lid and leave for 2 hours;
- pump out all the water again and fill it with clean water. Repeat the procedure until the smell of chlorine disappears.
In order to sewer system functioned correctly in the local area, before you begin its construction, you need to prepare a project in which engineering calculations must be carried out. This is necessary in order to calculate the volume of the sewer well. After calculating the required diameter of the pipeline and the volume of the well, it will be possible to determine where in the site and at what depth it is possible to locate this engineering structure.
Types and features of wells
Sewage wells for private housing construction can be constructed from various materials: concrete, plastic, brick. Most often, rings made of concrete with factory-produced reinforcement are used for their construction.
A reinforced concrete tank is a structure assembled from ready-made rings of standard sizes with a diameter of 0.7, 1, 1.5 or 2 meters. Theoretically, it can be of any configuration, but in practice, as a rule, a round one is used.
According to the method of wastewater disposal, wells can be discharged into the general city sewerage network (if the diameter of the network is sufficient to receive your wastewater), with local recycling (absorbent), or adapted for pumping out with a sewer truck and removal off site. Structures of the second type are used only in the case of deep groundwater in the area (at a level of at least 4 m along the ground), and if the groundwater is located close to the surface, then a sealed type of well must be used with periodic pumping of sewage. According to the standards, a sewer well must be placed at a distance of at least 5 m from the foundation of the building, and an absorbent type of structure must be placed at a distance of at least 10 m from residential buildings. If there is a source of drinking water on the site (well or spring), the distance from it to the sewer tank must be at least 50 m.
Important! Sewage should not be discharged into the groundwater layer, as this will lead to contamination of the groundwater and the soil in general.
Sewer outlets from toilets must have a diameter of at least 100mm, but if the outlet is only from the kitchen, then a diameter of 50mm is sufficient.
To calculate the volume of the well, use the values \u200b\u200bof water flow. According to the standards, 150-170 liters of water are allocated per day per person (in the absence of a bathtub) and 230-250 liters if a bathtub is installed. For a family of 4 people (2 adults and 2 children), the daily water consumption rate will be approximately 1 m3 (600 - 1000 l). On non-clay soil, a absorbable well with a bottom area of 1m2 is able to absorb 1m3 waste water. To ensure a supply, the daily rate must be multiplied by 3, respectively, for a family of 4 people, the volume of the pit under the well should be 3 m3. The working volume of the concrete tank is calculated from the bottom drain pipe, which must be buried at least 0.7 m. You can also bring into the sewer drainage pipe at the same depth.
When digging a pit, it must be taken into account that a sand and gravel cushion with a layer thickness of 30-40 cm must be poured onto the bottom to filter the sewer. Accordingly, the digging depth will increase by this amount. The installation depth of the tank must be below the freezing level of the soil so that the drains coming into the well through the pipe do not freeze during the cold season. This value is determined from the standards depending on the climatic region in which the construction object is located.
Calculation method
By depth sewer wells They usually make from 2.5 to 3 m. Subtracting 70 cm from the bottom of the drain pipe, we get a net working depth of 2.3 m.
The volume of a well is equal to the product of the area of its bottom and its height:
The area of a circle is calculated by the formula S = πR 2, respectively,
V = 2.3 m x 3.14 x R 2 = 3 m 3
It follows from this that the radius (R) in this case will be equal to 0.65 m, respectively, the required diameter will be 2 times larger - 1.3 m.
Then we round the resulting number up to the nearest standard value standard size, we get – 1.5 m. Consequently, to construct a well with a depth of 2.3 m and a working volume of 3 m 3, standard factory-made reinforced concrete rings with a diameter of 1.5 m will be needed.
Today, there are plenty of sites on the Internet that provide an online calculator for calculating the diameter of a pipeline and the volume of a sewer well pit. In order to perform the calculation, just enter the values of the internal and external diameters in the appropriate field of the calculator concrete rings, as well as the total height of the well body in meters. If you decide to build a brick well, then you can also find sites online that provide a free calculator for calculating the amount of brick. Also on online calculator you can calculate the volume of a concrete ring, the consumption of concrete and reinforcement for it, including the total cost of the materials used.
The selection of the required diameter of a plastic well is carried out using the same method as described above. A pit of the required volume is placed under a plastic container, the bottom of which is covered with a crushed stone-sand cushion. Plastic tanks can be purchased in monolithic and prefabricated versions. One of their advantages over concrete ones is the wide range of produced models of various diameters.
Manufacturers offer a large selection of standard sizes: diameters from 400mm to 2.5m. Also, their connections are more airtight than concrete ones, which helps protect the joints from sewage leakage into the soil. Corrugated pipe well body allows you to easily adjust the desired depth. A system of plastic extension rings also helps with this task.
