Patent ID: 9689235
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: E21B

Claim:
1. A shallow well structure for providing high yield, contaminant-free drinking water from a dug well bore, comprising: a fitting connector; one or more slotted horizontal collectors connected to the fitting connector; a vertical well bore, dug under a land surface perpendicular to an aquifer in a water-bearing subterranean formation, the well bore having a generally rectangular shape and being wide enough to receive the horizontal collectors connected to the fitting connector to create a flux face that produces a high yield of drinking water; a well casing connected to a top of the fitting connector, the fitting connector with the horizontal collectors and the well casing joined together to form a unit, the fitting connector of the unit positioned adjacent to a bottom of the well bore such that the horizontal collectors are perpendicular to the dominant groundwater flow and the well casing extends vertically from the fitting connector to above the land surface; a high-permeability crushed-stone fill deposited in a lower portion of the well bore to surround the well casing and the horizontal collectors and allow the groundwater to flow down and into the slots of the horizontal collectors; a geotextile filter fabric placed over the crushed-stone fill; a pump placed in the well casing within the fitting connector to pump the groundwater captured by the horizontal collectors up the well casing to the land surface; a seal placed around the well casing just under the land surface to prevent movement of contaminants downward along the well casing; a loam soil fill deposited over the geotextile filter fabric to provide low-permeability confinement over the crushed-stone fill; and a vented, removable cap with a rubber seal placed over a top of the well casing to prevent entry of contaminants.