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Driven point well driving mechanism - UN FAODriven Point Wells used for Drinking Water
Driven Point Small-Diameter Water Well Installation, Diagnosis & Repair

Driven point well construction, capacities, troubleshooting & repairs:

Here we define driven point wells & describe how a driven point water well is constructed. We discuss why water flow and pressure are ultimately lost from a driven point well and we explain how to restore water flow (sometimes) without having to construct a new well.

This article series explains installing, diagnosing, and repairing small diameter water wells including driven point wells, wash wells, and jetted wells, three types of water sources that may be used where water is close to the ground surface and a well pipe or point can be driven into the soil mechanically or by using hydrojetting.

We include an excellent UN FAO small diameter well document reference that will be helpful to those needing to construct a water well in areas where water is close to the ground surface and money or other resources are limited.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

Small Diameter Driven Point Wells, Components, Performance, Maintenance

Sand point or driven point well installation, typical use where freezing is not an issue, adapted from Wisconsin DNR cited in this article (C) InspectApedia.comThis article describes the two most common small diameter well methods, driven point wells and jetted wells.

Other small diameter well types include bored or augured wells, hydraulic percussion wells, cable tool percussion wells, bail down wells, and hydraulic rotary-drilled wells.

This article series describes various types of drinking water sources like wells, cisterns, dug wells, drilled wells, artesian wells and well and water pump equipment. We provide advice about what to do when things go wrong.

Driven point wells consist of a thick-walled metal pipe whose end is shaped into a point and drilled to permit water to enter the pipe.

The driven point is then hammered into the soil, usually to a very shallow depth, perhaps 6' to 8' in depth, and usually in sandy soil or in other soil where a lot of water flows easily to enter the end of the pipe.

Our sketch, adapted from the Wisconsin DNR cited below, shows a typical driven point well installation in an area where protection from freezing is not a concern. ©InspectApedia.com

[Click to enlarge any image]

Also see this DRIVEN POINT WELL FREEZE PROTECTION DRAWING [illustration] for a frost-protected sand point well installation, also adapted from the Wisconsin DNR .

Definition of driven point well

A driven-point well – sometimes called a “sand point” – is a small diameter well made by connecting lengths of 1-1/4” or 2” diameter steel pipe together with threaded couplings. Threaded to the bottom of the string of pipe is a drive-point well screen.

The screen is usually 2 to 3 feet long with a hardened steel tip or “drive-point” at the bottom. The purpose of the screen is to allow groundwater to flow into the well but keep the surrounding sand out. Water can then be pumped up through the pipe to the surface.

The hardened steel drive-point tip allows the well to be more easily driven into the ground. The pipe and drive-point resemble a long spear. - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources cited below.

Photograph of sketch of the componentsof a well pit.Readers of this document should also see WATER TANK TYPES and before assuming that a water problem is due to the well itself, see WATER PUMP REPAIR GUIDE an specific case which offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost.

A variety of methods are used to install small-diameter water wells in areas where an adequate water supply is sufficiently close to the surface, where cost must be minimized, where well installation speed is important, and where there may be less concern for drinking water contamination from surface runoff.

All of these small diameter well methods have the advantage of comparatively low cost, rapid installation, and simplicity. While a properly located and installed driven-point well can provide adequate and safe drinking water, the well is not without risk of both loss of water and contamination.

Watch out: all of these shallow, small-diameter wells, found usually just where soils are highly permeable and sandy, are tapping shallow groundwater where surface runoff contamination of the aquifer is likely: these wells are vulnerable to contamination from above. Well water from a driven point well or other shallow well should be regularly tested for potability.

See DRIVEN POINT SAND POINT WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES for setback distances for driven point, sand point and other well types.

The maximum depth for driven point wells is about 80 feet. If local soils are hard or rocky a driven well cannot be used.

The well point may be purchased from a manufacturer (a forged well point) or hand made by cutting and hammering the end of the first pipe section. Holes to permit water entry into the well pipe may be drilled or sawn.

The pointed end of the perforated pipe aids soil penetration and is further protected from soil entry into the pipe itself by a well screen. Additional perforations in the lower length of pipe increase the water intake of the system.

Types of driven point well screens: As the UN FAO document explains:

Well screens for driving must have sufficient strength to withstand the forces caused by the driver and the abrasion of the material through which they pass. One common type (Figure 14a above) consists of a perforated drive pipe fitted with a point.

The perforated section of the pipe is wrapped with a layer of brass screen of the desired fineness and the screen is protected from damage by wrapping it with a layer of perforated brass sheet. Both layers are soldered to the pipe.

Another type of well screen (Figure 14b) is manufactured by wrapping trapezoidal rod in a spiral around a set of round longitudinal rods placed in a circular pattern with all intersections welded.

This type of screen has the advantage of having a high percentage of open area and a slot shape which cannot become wedged full of fine sand particles.

How are driven point wells installed?

Photograph of sketch of the componentsof a well pit.The driven point is then hammered into the soil, usually to a very shallow depth, perhaps 6' to 8' in depth, and usually in sandy soil or in other soil where a lot of water flows easily to enter the end of the pipe.

The sketch shows two types of driven point well tips or screens - from a small well article provided by the United Nations, FAO, cited below.

While special heavy-walled pipe and couplings are needed for the pipe to withstand the forces of being hammered into the ground (usually by a weight that is repeatedly lifted and dropped onto the upper pipe end), driven point wells are often home made or fabricated by a local well driller

The well pipe with attached point and screen is usually driven by a slide hammer much like those used to drive steel fence posts. A larger diameter pipe that will slide over the upper end of the well pipe is raised and dropped repeatedly to drive the well point into the soil.

A screw-on pipe cap protects the upper end of the driven well pipe from damage. See the UN FAO sketch of a well driving apparatus (below left).

Alternatively the driving pipe may slide inside the well pipe as shown in our second UN FAO drawing (below-right). Two additional well point driving schemes are included in the illustrations available in the full UN document

SMALL DIAMETER WELLS - Natural Resources Management & Environment Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO Corporate Document Repository - Self-Help Wells.

That excellent resource includes other well boring and drilling methods as well as techniques for dealing with problems such as retrieving broken well pipes or tools dropped into a well. (Local copy provided).

The upper end of the driven point pipe is usually connected to a one line jet pump which "sucks" water out of the ground.

In areas of very wet sandy soil a driven point well may be able to produce a barely functional water supply quantity (by modern standards)

Driven point well driving mechanism - UN FAO Driven point well driving mechanism - UN FAO Driven point well driving mechanism - UN FAO Driven point well driving mechanism - UN FAO

Well Water Quantity - Yield of Driven Point Wells

Driven point well water quantity - well yield capacity: Compared with a modern 6" steel casing drilled well, a driven point well installed to the same depth in an aquifer of the same yield capability (the cone of depression is the same), a larger diameter well will yield 1.6 times that of a small diameter well according to United Nations documents on water wells.

Driven point wells often have rapid reduction in water flow rate, depending on the type of soil into which the driven point was inserted. For this reason multiple driven point wells may be connected together to obtain an adequate water supply.

If the water quality from a driven point small diameter well is adequate but the water quantity is not, it may be possible to improve well yield by driving the point deeper into the soil. In general, well yield increases more by increasing well depth than by increasing the well diameter.

Driven point well sanitation and water quality: Even in areas of sandy soils where these shallow wells are frequently used, water quality is questionable as surface contaminants easily enter the water supply, and water quantity is unreliable in areas where the water passage holes in the driven point become easily clogged with debris.

Our clients who have bought homes serviced by a driven point well have ultimately converted to a modern drilled well for better water quantity and for a more sanitary water supply.

Driven point wells are also used in soil de-watering applications during construction and in some locations driven point wells are used to test for water in soils before drilling or digging a higher capacity well.

Small Diameter Jetted Wells or "Wash Wells"

Well Jetting - UN FAO What is a wash well? Jetted wells are similar to driven point wells in that a pipe is forced into the soil and connected (most often) to a single line jet pump. In some communities the term "wash well" is used for this water source, as suggested by New Hampshire reader Jack Allen.

How are jetted wells or wash wells installed? In either case, the pipe that is to be used to obtain water is forced into the soil using water at high pressure (40 psi for sandy soils, up to 150 psi for clay or gravel) from an existing water source.

The illustration (left) is from UN document SMALL DIAMETER WELLS [PDF]

Unlike a driven point well, however, the pipe used in combination with water to force an opening into the ground (the jetting tube) may be a temporary one (the jetting casing is removed from the ground after the jetting process is complete, followed by the insertion of a new casing and casing end screen) or it may be permanent (left in the ground at the end of the jetting process, jacked up just enough to accommodate a well screen lowered inside the casing to its bottom end).

An alternative jetted well process permits soil material to actually be removed from the well opening during the jetting process (soil flows up from the bottom of the jetting casing around its outside surface.

Water flowing from the tip of the jet dislocates soil sufficiently to permit the well pipe to be pushed into the ground. Using this process a jetted well (or wash well) may be driven deeper into the soil than a driven point well, and a jetted well may be driven through soils harder than those penetrated by a driven point well.

Check valves or foot valves in jetted wells: To avoid losing prime in a jetted well a check valve may be used at the lower end of the casing, above the well screen. This detail is important for a homeowner to know, because if a jetted well or wash well stops working the problem could be a failed check valve (or foot valve) rather than a loss of water in the aquifer.

Jetted well water capacity or well yield: In soils that contain large amounts of water, particularly in areas of gravel or sand, a jetted well or wash well may deliver good water flow or quantity.

Jetted well water sanitation: However the water quality questions that apply to a driven point well might need to be considered for a jetted well too: a well of this design has little protection from unsanitary groundwater compared with a steel-casing drilled-well that is cut into water bearing rock and that is sealed against surface water entry.

We suspect that a jetted well installed using the alternative process that actually removes material from the well opening by flowing soil to the surface along the outside of the well casing may be more prone to surface water leaking into the well and its aquifer.

Mr. Allen points out that when well repair or service is required for a jetted well, the homeowner will need to contact a company who is familiar with this particular well type.

Driven Point Well Construction References

Driven point well or sand point well construction illustration adapted from Wisconsin DNR cited in detail in this article (C) InspectApedia.com

Restoring the Yield of a Driven Point Well - how can I get my water back?

This topic has moved to DRIVEN POINT WELL RESTORATION.

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2020-09-27 by (mod) - is my well id dug or driven.

Anon

Certainly if yours is a driven point well, you have to check that type. A dug well would be entirely different.

If there are other questions that only pertain to multiple-users on a single well, I'd leave those blank.

Check with your building department to ask what they expect.

On 2020-09-27 by Anonymous

on my Building Permit it asks if my well id dug or driven. The driven well questions that follow are indicative of a multiple useage-we just have the one home. What should I put down?

On 2020-06-24 - by (mod) -

LC I think that means that

The volume of water you're pouring into the driven point pipe is less than the volume over the length of the pipe,
or
there is a serious leak underground somewhere in the pipe into which you are pouring water
or
the well is dry and just taking all the water back that it can get.

On 2020-06-24 - by (mod) -

LC I think that means that either the volume of water you're pouring into the driven point pipe is less than the volume over the length of the pipe, or the well is dry and just taking all the water back that it can get.

On 2020-06-24 by LC

After washing a sand point to 20 feet, we filled the pipe with water and the water goes down like a drain. What does that mean?

On 2020-05-25 - by (mod) -

See


https://inspectapedia.com/water/Driven_Point_Well_Restoration.php

On 2020-05-25 by don

I have drive my 1 1/4 point down 23' having 6' of water . my point upon flushing filled with water . I was told to try flushing longer while trying to turn the pipe . the pipe would not turn . it did drain , but will fill . I hooked up my pump and I'm only receiving approximately 2 gal of water / minute . I've run for an hour shot it off for an hour restarted and it has kept its prime . I'm running again now hoping it improves . what is my next step ?

On 2018-01-20 - by (mod) -

With water turned off into the building and the pump turned off you will see system pressure continue to fall if there is a leak

On 2018-01-19 by Jay.

How do I check for a leaking pipe connection. ?

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