It provides the information you need to do the best possible job of protecting the water you depend on for your family's drinking water supply. Your answers will reveal how your practices might be affecting your well water and water quality in your area. A series of fact sheets suggests things you can do to modify practices and directs you toward additional information and assistance if it is needed. It does, however, highlight important factors associated with protecting groundwater. Several studies show older wells are more likely to be contaminated than newer wells.
Deeper wells tend to have fewer problems than shallow wells.
Construction methods influence the ability of the well to protect groundwater from direct surface contamination. Hand-dug and driven wells do not meet current well construction standards. Landscape features Separation distances and drainage direction influence whether potential pollution will reach the well site. A large separation distance and an upslope position of a well site reduce the pollution hazard of a particular source. There are many structures and activities around a rural well site that pose a risk to the water supply.