How to locate an abandoned well?

TALK TO INDIVIDUALS

• Property owner.
• Previous owner(s).
• Relatives or acquaintances who may know about the property.
• Neighbors (neighboring wells may give a clue as to well location, depth, etc.).
• Contractors (well drillers, plumbers, builders) who have worked on the property.
• Inspectors (well, plumbing, building, septic system).
• Current or former employees, maintenance personnel.

 

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE  

• Windmills or wishing wells.
• Casing visible above ground, concrete slab or basement floor.
• Small outbuildings (may be well house).
• Circular ring in cement or patch in the floor.
• Basement offset (small room off of basement).
• Patch in step or concrete (access for well below).
• Pit in yard or basement.
• Manhole cover.
• Crock, brick or stone structures.
• Hand pump, hydrant, or faucet in yard.
• Waterline or patched hole through basement floor or wall.
• Water system components (pressure tank, pump, control box).
• Damp circular depression in yard.
• Additions, false walls, access panels which may "hide" well.
• Old building sites recognizable by an old foundation.
• Ornamental shrubs, flowers, or trees outlining old, home or farm sites.

 

RECORDS SEARCH  

• Water Well Record or Water Well Plugging Record at local health department or DEQ.
• Water well or sewage disposal permits at local health department.
• City, township or county officials - zoning or building permits
• Municipal water department - records on water line extensions to homes previously served by water wells.
• Old photographs of the property.
• Aerial photographs of the property (showing windmills, well houses).
• County plat book, soils map, or topo map showing locations of buildings, roads.
• Owner's records (bills, deed easements) or information written on pressure tank, control box, etc.

 

EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS  

• Metal detector.
• Tape measure or "snake" to follow pipes.
• Digging equipment including shovels, hammers, chisels, backhoe.
• Magnetometer or electro-magnetic anomaly detectors (these are available through groundwater consultants).