Hand dug wells....

[smstonypoint]

I may be wrong but I don't think SC has a law requiring old wells to be covered or filled. Anybody know for sure?? Would that be the DHEC people??

Correct. Here's a link that will allow you to download the DHEC regs. Based on a quick scan, the regulations have sections on drilled and bored wells. I didn't see anything on dug wells, but that's not to say they aren't covered.


SC DHEC Residential Wells

Steve

 

[chrisott]

My Father-in-Law (God rest his soul) used to tell me that as a kid he would be lowered down the hand dug well on a rope to scoop some more sand out of the bottom of the well. He was always afraid of the lower layer of rocks giving way and trapping him. This probably was in the early 1930's and the well was dug in the 1700's when the farm was started.

 

[Lloyd_E]

My cabin property has a hand dug well that my cousin's husband re-dug to 13 feet. It has lots of water... not drinkable though...

The well is from the original farm house of early 1800's. About 25 feet back is the old house foundation which I will explore this spring/summer.

 

[Shmudda]

I have a hand dug well that was used until 1996 for potable water on my property. My grandfather dug it in the 1930's. It is about 5' in diameter and 25" deep and lined with sandstone. I have been in it a few times in my life fixing the suction pipe for the pump. Not really something I enjoyed doing! My grandfather found about a dozen water wells in his life time, all with either the peach or willow limb. Whats interesting is all these wells are still in use today and NONE have ever run dry! I personally have fiddled with the dowsing method and I can actually get it to work, wish I could have had my pap see that, he would have been very proud! Peach or Willow limbs are the ticket!!

Anyways, the hand dug well is only about 25' from the house and has never run dry. Today though we use a drilled well not far from the hand dug well.

All I can say is my hat is off to those old birds in the early 1900's. They knew the value of a dollar, and wasn't afraid to work for it either! They did what they had to do to survive, plain and simple.

Craig

 

[beeforty]

Looking at your picture brought to mind a recent "Dirty Jobs" episode I happen to catch.. He was filling Mine hole that looked just like your well. Only instead of filling them they used a 2 part foam on a tarp and made a plug for the hole. Then kept adding foam until it was about 6-8 deep then filled the top with dirt. One of the dangers of old well or mines is bad air that you need to watch out for if you are thinking of going in. Sure makes you glad we have all our modern devices, I sure don't know any one who would think of trying anything like that.

 

[nue2farm]

I remember my Dad digging a well back in the mid forties. He dug around a pipe well that had quit working. He followed the pipe down about 30 feet or so, cutting it off as necessary, he would run a long piece of wire in to the 3/4 inch or 1 inch pipe ever so often. When water came out it was good to go. That well was still in use in the 80's and would still be good water if any one lived in the ole home place.

 

[The Dougster]

In most States, there are well defined rules and regulations regarding abandoned wells, drilled or hand dug.. they are dangerous on many points as has been pointed out. Kids love these things!
If you have one on your property, it wise to refinish around the well to prevent animals and kids from falling into the well. Make certain there is no possibility of surface water from entering the well, which is a major cause of pollution.
Nobody needs to hear a sermon on this. Common sense dictates what should be done.

 

[JB4310]

Nobody needs to hear a sermon on this. Common sense dictates what should be done.

At least something better than an old car door

 

[Verticaltrx]

I can attest to needing a good cover on a dug well. A few years ago my mother was mowing near the house with her Grasshopper zero-turn mower. There had been a small depression in the yard for a while and we thought nothing of it. I get a call that the mower was stuck and she needed some help getting it out. I arrived there and the tail-wheel of the mower had fallen into this sink hole which turned out to be an abandoned well. Took the boom on the back of the tractor to lift it out. The well had been covered with some 1" thick oak boards many years ago and then covered with about 12" of dirt. Not sure how long ago this was, but we have owned the farm since '82, and it must have been before that. I excavated out around the top of the well and made a 6" thick reinforced concrete cover with a lifting ring on it(in case we ever wanted to open it back up.) Set it in place an back filled with some top soil and called it done.

The well was about 3-4' in diameter, 30' deep and lined with stone. It's only about 10' away from the drilled well which currently serves the house (which is only 60' deep.)

 

[Jay4200]

Hey - he asked for pics! Kay...

Here is my dug well (roughly 24' deep) - its at the end of the trench. I ripped out the old shallow well jet pump system and replaced it with a deep well pump. (what a PITA)

Here I am, down the well - the ladder is suspended from my tractor's bucket with Ancra straps...not the safest method in the whole world, I'll admit, but it worked and I'm still alive:

And this is what it looks like all pressure-washed, filled up, and with the new deep-well pump installed:

All done:

Wicked. The water is plentiful and clean, and now I have 60 PSI! (only had one fitting explode) Tastes good too.

JayC