Choosing to Close an Abandoned Well

Article submitted by:
Amy Gilhouse
Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Technician
1100 Sutton Rd.
Adrian, MI 49221
517.263.7400 X 117
2/16/04

Grandma doesn't want the old well closed; it is the only thing remaining of the farmstead, as she knew it. The neighbor kids and I used to lay belly down around the pit and drop pebbles to hear them plink; plink, against the smooth brick descending diameter. Fishing line dropped over the edge with a hook and worm never did result in any of the gilled creatures that we imagined would come up out of the abyss. Child's play? Had any of the neighbor kids gone down into that well they could have died from Methane gas vapor which is sometimes present, highly toxic and odorless in abandoned wells.

The Groundwater Stewardship Program is encouraging landowners to close abandoned wells to prevent injury or death to people and pets that could occur from falling into a well. When little Jessica McClure fell into a one foot diameter well in Texas the nation was riveted to their televisions for many torturous hours awaiting the heroic rescue.

In addition to accident potential, an abandoned well can negatively allow contaminants to enter groundwater. Agricultural runoff, effluent from private sewage disposal systems and lawn chemicals can seep into leaking and deteriorating casings posing both health and safety threats. Uniformed citizens have dumped everything from tires to weed killer in old wells. Contaminants that enter a well could end up in your drinking water. Abandoned wells are a national concern as one can see from reading the following excerpts from various publications:

• An Alabama Deer hunter fell into a thirty foot deep abandoned well.
  (Source: Outdoor Life Magazine feature called "This Happened to Me: Trapped in a Hidden Well. A True Story" by Steve Lovin, Aliceville, Alabama)

• Washington Construction Foreman plunged twenty feet into an abandoned well after stepping on rotted boards that covered the well.
  (Source: Port Orchard Independent Newspaper, August 2, 1995)

• Illinois boy seriously injured when he fell into an abandoned well at a park. After falling onto a concrete cover, which gave way, the child plunged forty feet to the bottom of the abandoned well.
  (Source: Water Well Journal, June '97, Children Fall into Wells" and article in Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads Newspaper)

The University of Missouri Outreach and Extension website gives the estimate that Missouri has 150,000 abandoned wells still needing closure.

The Department of Environmental Quality estimates that Michigan may have as many as two million abandoned wells.

While several States have cost share programs to assist landowners with the cost of plugging an old well, landowners are responsible to close abandoned wells. A common response heard when a landowner becomes aware that they can be held potentially liable by law if groundwater contamination is shown to have come from their abandoned well is "I'll just yank that ol pipe outta there and fill the pit with sand". Improperly closing a well however, can add additional expense and liability to the well owner. The cost to close a well can range from as little as $50 to $500.

It is recommended that wells with one or more of the following characteristics be plugged by Registered Well Drilling Professionals only: drilled wells; flowing wells; wells greater than 100 feet deep; wells where water is seeping from around the casing; wells which produce gas, wells where pumping equipment is difficult to remove.

A well owner with the proper materials who follows their counties procedures for closing wells may close driven wells and large dug wells with a diameter greater than 18 inches. Your local Groundwater Stewardship Program, Natural Resources Conservation District, Health Department, and County Extension are sources that can provide necessary information to you about financial assistance, which may be available to help you in closing an abandoned well.

Amy Gilhouse who is a groundwater technician for Lenawee, Monroe and Washtenaw Counties in Michigan said that her program has $5,000 in available cost share dollars to assist landowners in closing wells abandoned prior to November 22, 1993 that are in agricultural settings. You can contact Amy Gilhouse at (517) 263-7400 x 117 if you would like assistance in closing an abandoned well or in contacting a Michigan Groundwater Technician in your area.

Be aware that if you want to apply for cost share money to help in closing your well, your very first step must be to contact your groundwater technician. Cost Share money is not available for wells closed prior to contacting your Groundwater Program.

In all cases, the well needs to be cleared of all pumping equipment, valves, pipelines, casing liners, debris, and other foreign material before being sealed. Bentonite chips are the recommended fill material and water has to be added to the chips to create a seal. For large diameter wells specific layering procedures with clean fill and Bentonite can make the closure less costly. Bulletin WQ 40 available from the MSU Extension gives guidelines to proper well closure procedures. Your local NRCS Technical Guide is another source for proper procedures of well closure.

The U.S. Dept. of the Interior can now conduct a geological survey to locate abandoned wells with aeromagnetic data. You may know of an abandoned well on your property. Taking the initiative to close your well is a responsible choice. Estimates to close Grandma's well are due in the next couple of weeks, this is the year for action. Do not let delaying the closure of your abandon well result in a personal injury or an environmental disaster.