Well cap seal keeps Spring Grove surface water safely out of your well

But don’t forget to chlorinate your well, too

Can you see the well cap hiding in the landscaping?
Using landscaping to hide your Spring Grove well
cap isn't always a good idea.

Would you take a glass from the kitchen and dip it in a puddle out behind your Spring Grove home for a drink of water? Of course not. There are all kinds of potential problems with drinking the water off the ground. This is why it’s important to maintain a separation from surface water and the water in your well. Keep in mind that the well pump can actually suck surface water through the cap vent if the water gets too close.

At first blush, it’s easy to see that the water in a puddle is unsavory as a refreshment. Scoop it into a glass and you’ll quickly notice that, rather than the clear, fresh water from the tap, the glass of surface water is dirty. There’s stuff in there – all kinds of stuff.

To get to the puddle, the water was probably run across the surface of the ground. In the process, it absorbed a certain amount of dirt particles and more. It may have passed where the dog has done its business. If not the dog, even the squirrels living in a nearby tree may have contributed to the contaminants in the water.

This makes for unhealthy mix. Dysentery is a likely outcome. But there are other potentially unhealthy items you’ll find in surface water. For instance, parasites may abound in a glass of water scooped from a puddle in your backyard. In some cases, the problem is exasperated because homeowners and business owners terrace around the well cap. Their efforts to use landscaping to hide the well cap actually brings the surface water up closer to the well cap.

These are less likely but potential problems with your well water, too. This is why you should chlorinate your well at least once each year. You should also have your well water tested. A laboratory can confirm that your water is safe for consumption.

Assuming you chlorinate your well once a year, the next step to ensuring its quality is to keep that surface water out of the well. This is why, under the well head you see in your Spring Grove backyard, you’ll find a well cap. Less apparent, from a glance, is the seal between the well cap and the well pipe. That seal is a critical part of your well.

As Spring Grove enters the spring season, with melting snow and rains that are often heavier this time of year, the water around your well cap can reach a level where the water could get past the well cap, assuming the seal is not secure.

The way to make sure that the well seal is in good condition is to have it checked. And, it just happens that checking the seal on a well cap is part of the process when chlorinating a well. In other words, you can call a well technician out to chlorinate your well and have the seal of your well cap checked at the same time.