But state law says that when making repairs or drilling deeper, any wells that do not meet current standards must be upgraded to those standards. So, to be practical, if the well pre-dates 1975, it will most likely be cheaper to drill a new one than it will be to deepen and upgrade the existing one to current standards. Another issue with drilling deeper is that in some parts of the state, the driller sometimes hits brackish water. This is particularly a problem in the central part of the state, Powell said. When digging a new well, a rule of thumb is that the closer it is to a stream, the more reliable the water supply will be, the engineer said.
Water generally moves toward streams, especially in central and eastern Kansas.
If drilling a new well, the owner still must make decisions about the well that s replaced. I have known several cases where the old well was not plugged and later it led to contamination of the new well. Not plugging an unused well is often a costly decision. It s important that work on new or existing wells be done by persons trained in the proper laws, regulations and methods needed. Powell encouraged well owners to find licensed and top quality drillers.