Why seal an unused well?
Unused and unsealed wells pose many health and safety risks. These risks include falling into the well, acting as a direct conduit for contaminated surface water to reach groundwater, and liability issues if your unsealed well is discovered to have been a source of contaminants.
Minnesota law requires all unused wells and wells found to pose a threat to health or safety be sealed. Well sealing is the responsibility of the current property owner and Minnesota law mandates the sealing be completed by a licensed well contractor.
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Do you have an unused well on your property?
No. Are you sure?
Private wells are a necessity for drinking water. If your property ever had a a building site, there is a good chance that you have a well on your property. In some cases, your current well is the original well on the property. In other situations, a newer well was constructed and an old well sits unused and unsealed.
There are many reasons a well has been abandoned, including:
- Not enough water
- Needed repairs
- Became contaminated
- Lost or abandoned when property changed hands
- Land use changed
- Home was connected to a community water system
Historically, wells may have been constructed indoors or outdoors. When locating a well indoors, look for glass blocks or a concrete patch in steps, a small basement room with pipes, a cut-off pipe sticking up from the floor, or a small concrete patch that is newer than the rest of the basement floor. When locating a well outdoors, look for a windmill, well/pump house, low or sunken spot, manhole covers (wood, concrete or metal), wet areas caused by water seeping from a pipe, constructed rings of dug wells (concrete, block, tile, bricks, rock), and pipes above, at, or cut below the ground surface.
Groundwater interactions in Karst landscapes
