Digging Water Wells
By Eric Hammer
There are some jobs that just seem to be pretty "out
there" and digging water wells is definitely one of them.
There are a number of companies that specialize in this business
they will typically provide you with on the job training to learn
how to dig water wells. A number of web sites also provide information
on how to dig water wells all on your own at home and these can
be dug for just a few hundred dollars. However, if you are thinking
of doing this for a living, these sites are not for you.
The big difference (and you can see for yourself since we
referenced some of the sites below) between being a water well
digger who does this for a living and doing it yourself is that
the do it yourself variety is generally more of a curiosity than
a practical solution to gathering water for your home. There
are any number of kits available and you can even theoretically
simply dig a dirt well yourself by hand until you hit the water
table.
Professional water well diggers however use specialized equipment
to drill for wells in much the same way as professional oil rig
drillers will drill to find oil. If you want to make this a career,
you’ll be working with the professional equipment.
How Much Can You Make?
The average salary for a water well digger, according to StateUniversity.com
is approximately $33,000 per year. However, that doesn’t
really tell the whole story. A number of people get involved
in the business of digging the water wells and you’ll likely
start as a helper, who is paid significantly less than a driller.
Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities
| Tips
If you have a good grasp of how water wells are dug, there
are other ways that you can make extra money. For example, if
you check the resources below, you’ll find an article from
some homeowners who had a nightmare to go through while contracting
to have a water well dug on their property. One great idea is
to become a consultant, helping homeowners interested in digging
wells to navigate the often confusing world of water well digging.
Qualifications / Requirements
You’ll need a high school diploma in order to become
a water well digger, however beyond that, you’ll need a
number of years of experience in the business in order to become
a professional digger. There is quite a lot that goes into doing
this and you need to understand salinity levels and how wells
are dug so that they can be sustainable.
First Steps
Start by brushing up on your geology. If you flunked that
course in high school, either study really hard or look into
doing something other than digging water wells as you will need
that knowledge for this job. Then, look for a professional water
well drilling company that will hire you on as an apprentice.
This is very much a learn as you go job and you’ll need
to put in your time to get the experience so that you can become
a professional digger yourself.
Resources
State University.Com: Water Well Driller Job Description
– This is an excellent introduction to drilling water wells
for a living. It details what the job entails, what kind of prospects
there are and how much you can earn.
National Groundwater
Association – A great resource to learn more about digging
water wells, this organization works with homeowners to help
them drill wells on their property.
Water
Well Helpline: An Inexpensive, Do it Yourself Water Well
– This is not a professionally drilled well by any means.
This kind of well is also not designed to completely replace
your home water connection. Instead, this is merely a way to
get some kind of a water well on your property. Still, it’s
useful reading to learn more about how this is done.
United States Geological Survey: Groundwater Wells
– A nice web site with additional information on the science
of digging water wells.
Real Estate and Water Wells: Well from Hell
– Besides being a good web site for information about the
business of getting a water well dug (from the homeowner’s
perspective), this article also provides a cautionary tale for
those considering the do it yourself route and should give you
a good education on the business of water wells.
|
