Wells

Water Well Abandonment - Sealing Report Form - MDE

Financial Resources - Wells

Drilled, driven or bored wells are best disinfected by a well or pump contractor, because it is difficult for the private owner to thoroughly disinfect these wells. If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state health department or agriculture extension agent for specific advice on disinfecting your well. The suggestions below are intended to supplement flood precautions issued by State and local health authorities.

This Guidance is intended to supplement flood precautions issued by local health and environmental departments. It is recommended that any reworking of a well terminal and well disinfection be performed by a licensed well or pump contractor because it is difficult for the private owners to adequately disinfect wells and safely work with deep set pumps.

Groundwater Protection Begins at Home - Poster

The Piedmont physiographic province in Maryland is located between the Blue Ridge and Coastal Plain provinces (figure 1). The Piedmont is underlain primarily by metamorphic and igneous crystalline rocks, with smaller amounts of sedimentary rocks. Over time the rocks have been folded, faulted, and fractured to varying degrees, and the region is commonly referred to as fractured-rock terrane (Nutter and Otton, 1969). The boundary between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain provinces is known as the Fall Line, and it separates the hard, fractured rocks of the Piedmont from the unconsolidated sediments of the Coastal Plain.

Maryland’s Coastal Plain aquifer system lies within the Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province which includes eastern and southern areas of Maryland (figure 1). A relatively thick wedge of largely unconsolidated sediments underlies Maryland's Coastal Plain. The sediments consist predominantly of sand, gravel, silt, and clay, ranging in age from Cretaceous to Quaternary, and overlie consolidated rocks of Precambrian, Lower Paleozoic, Jurassic(?), and Triassic age (Andreasen and others, 2013). The sediments dip gently to the east and southeast with thickness ranging from a few tens of feet near the Fall Line to approximately 7,200 ft at Ocean City, Maryland (figure 2).

Groundwater is the largest supply of freshwater on earth, and the biggest source of drinking water for the U.S. This unseen source, which exists under layers of soil, rock, and sediment, contains significantly more freshwater than rivers and lakes combined.

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for all living things. Nitrogen present in the soil can be converted to nitrate (NO3 - ), which is water–soluble. Once nitrate is in solution it moves easily through the soil and into groundwater. The amount or concentration of nitrate in water is typically reported as either nitrate-nitrogen or nitrate-N (NO3 - -N), or as nitrate (NO3 - ). For public water systems, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a primary drinking water standard of 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for nitrogen when reported in the nitrate-N form (NO3 - -N) and 45 mg/L when reported in the nitrate form (NO3 - ).