Submitted by pinetreesandcake t3_yhhnpl in Maine
Fortunately, we didn't find it by having someone fall through the rotten board that was covering it. We've covered it up temporarily with a large, sturdy board but I'm wondering what people do in these situations?
Fill it in? Have it covered with a concrete cover?
My heart skips a beat thinking about how my two year old was walking a over there just this morning. And I want to deal with this asap.
But what about ghosts?
Yeah if The Ring taught us anything. It’s probably better than cover that bitch up. Next thing you know little ghost bitches are coming out your tv.
If you think it might ever be useful again- then cover it, but if you want to fill it you should do some research…
A quick google search-
There are very good reasons for well owners to make sure inactive or abandoned wells on their property are properly decommissioned:
-Improperly abandoned wells threaten drinking water supplies by providing open conduits into aquifers.
-If a drinking water well is being replaced because of water quality problems in the original well, the abandoned well is a direct threat to the new water supply if it is not properly sealed.
-Improperly abandoned wells can create a liability problem at the time of property resale or if the well causes contamination in neighboring wells.
-Shallow dug wells create a physical hazard simply because of their large diameter and the potential for animals or people to fall into them. Typically, the older fieldstone-lined wells are the most dangerous because many were finished flush to the ground surface and were covered with wooden covers, which are now decayed or non-existent.
Reinforced concrete cap on top of it.
A good sturdy pressure treated wooden structure that is secured usually works. That way it can only be uncovered with power tools, in case you might need the water at some point in the future. You could dress it up with an old fashioned wishing well type structure over the secured cover… Beyond that, how much are you willing to spend?
Well, from googling around on the internet, looks like you're supposed to fill them in rather than just covering them up - but I imagine that can get pretty expensive. One estimate said up to $12,000 so. Yikes.
If you decide to cover and not fill, make sure it is well marked or that the cover won’t get grown over so that it gets lost for someone years from now to find it by chance. Turn the cover area into a planter, bench or something that won’t disappear under overgrowth…
Fill it with bodies? Or is that out of the question?
Tourist Season is over my friend......
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That is crazy money. How deep is it? They usually aren't that deep at all and like they said cheaper to cover it and then make use of it if needed later on.
I don't know how deep it is yet. Needs more investigation. We just found it today. I'm guessing that's an extreme case to cost so much.
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If it's a dug well with well tiles in it, all you need is a cover...it's very difficult to advise with so little description.
That's fair. I don't know too much yet.
The rotten board that was covering it is all that remains of the last persons attempt to abandon the well. What ever you do, don't cover it with wood - the same thing will just happen again to someone else in the future. Also - having an unused open well risks contaminating the clean water below.
Hand dug? Fill it with stone, you can recap it with wood or whatever but it will just bump the problem down the road with a fair amount of risk mixed in. If it is a dug well call a driller they will come out with a round cement cap that gets put a little ways down in it that is made to seal them up and keep surface pollutants out of the water table.
We have a late 1700s well on our property. It has a little wooden hat that is secured over it so nothing can fall in and then I forget that it exists
Full it asap. That's a big liability for you. I don't think you need clean fill for it, I don't know if you have a truck or a buddy with a truck but just fill it with what you can get for free.
Get a dump truck full of gravel
Ii would rebuild a well house around it. Better to have it than not in case of emergency.
If you really want to fill it, any sand or bank run gravel would be fine.
Have you read or seen Dolores Claiborne? You may need that well during a solar eclipse!
Excellent film!
keep it you never know when you can use it to not fill. We have access to three dug Wells on our property. It’s easy to hook up a pump to and use it for irrigation purposes.
according to Japanese legends, you should never fill a well.
I put a small pump in our well and have it flow through a stone water feature in our garden.
We got boot grate to go on top of the well, 1/8" thick metal slats 1" apart in a grid. like fashion.
I’m assuming your talking about a dug well? You could always fill it In, put a concrete cap over the well, do the old board trick, or even if your fancy could build a well house around it.
Call an abandoned mine plugger
We had to fill one in. This was about 25 years ago. The fill has since settled and we went and put a marked wooden cover over it.
Very useful for disposing of used motor oil, paint, chemicals, annoying relatives, campaign signs, etc.
slingshotcoyote t1_iudvcof wrote
Cement or wooden cover. You could drill a pump into the cover and have a water source for outside gardening, animals, etc. Personally think it’s a waste to fill in abandoned wells.