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Module 4 — Water Well Drilling Agreements
Water Requirements
5.
Proposed well use: Household__________ Livestock__________ Irrigation__________
The well use should be specified as being for household, livestock, irrigation or a
combination. Municipal and industrial wells are usually covered by a detailed contract.
6.
Desired water quality
Finding groundwater with suitable water quality is important for all water uses. A
licensed water well contractor can use a field testing kit to get a rough estimate of some
parameters such as iron, hardness, pH and total dissolved solids, but only the tests done in a
laboratory are really reliable.
Laboratories use the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality to assess water
quality. If testing shows some of the parameters are higher than these guidelines, water
treatment equipment may be necessary.
7.
Desired yield_____________L/s (gpm) Min. acceptable yield_____________L/s (gpm)
The desired yield is the flow rate of water, in gallons per minute (gpm), from an
individual well. To calculate the desired yield, refer to the worksheet "Average Daily and
Annual Water Requirements" in Module 2, "Planning Your Water System". Using this
worksheet, calculate your daily and peak water use requirements. In some areas the desired
yield is simply not available because of slow yielding aquifers. In such cases, the desired yield
should be expressed as the normal yield for the area. A certain minimum yield should be
established so if the well produces less than this minimum, it is not considered economically
feasible to develop as a water well.
8.
Groundwater supply options based on existing records______________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
The licensed water well contractor or well owner should review groundwater
information on local wells to determine potential target aquifers and appropriate well design
considerations. Information is available from the Groundwater Information Centre. See
Module12,"Other Resources".
Well Construction
9.
Maximum desired depth_______________ m (ft.)
A maximum desired depth should be established. Factors affecting this include the known
depth of productive aquifers, and the water quality at the various depths. Also personal
finances will be a factor.
Consolidated Bedrock,
Paskapoo Formation Sandstone units — 30 to 60 m (100 to 200 ft.)
X
0.4 (5)
0.1 (1)
65 (210)
You should discuss the purpose of any new
well being drilled with your licensed water
well contractor. If the well is going to be
used for a non-household purpose it must
be constructed in a manner that will allow
it to be licensed.