Destruction of Wells

A well that is no longer useful must be destroyed in order to:

• Assure that the ground water supply is protected and preserved for further use.
• Eliminate the potential physical Hazard.

Abandoned wells can facilitate ground water quality degradation by allowing :

•    Pollutants, contaminants, and water to enter a well bore or casing
•    Poor quality surface and subsurface water, pollutants, and contaminants to move between the casing and borehole wall
•    Poor quality ground water, pollutants, and contaminants to move from one stratum or aquifer to another
•    The well bore to be used for illegal waste disposal

 In addition humans and animals can fall into wells left open at the surface.

The objective of destruction is to restore as nearly as possible those subsurface conditions which existed before the well was constructed taking into account also changes, if any, which have occurred since the time of construction.