In Washington State, it’s illegal to abandon a well on your property without it being properly decommissioned. There are plenty of reasons for this, but some might impact homeowners more than others. Just because you might get fined or sued for having an abandoned well on your property doesn’t mean that’s the only reason to have it properly decommissioned. There are some other reasons that we’ll get into today.
The truth is that well-decommissioning services are designed to cap the well so that it doesn’t rise to the surface or contaminate other sources of groundwater. The water in the abandoned well isn’t being drawn, used, or tested anymore, so it’s hard to monitor how it changes over time. The only way we can return it to its natural state is to decommission it and set it up so it can’t bother anyone.
Here are three good reasons to decommission a well in Olympia, WA.
Preventing Contamination
Contamination is a major reason why a decommissioned well is more advantageous than an abandoned one. Abandoned wells aren’t properly sealed off from the rest of the ground water or the atmosphere, so it can be easy for contaminants to spill into it and have those contaminants affect other water sources.
Take critters for example. A critter could dig its way into your abandoned well and die, causing the water to become contaminated. Now, any other water sources this abandoned well touches are going to be contaminated as well, leading to some pretty bad problems for your surrounding community.
When a well is decommissioned, it’s properly sealed off so this type of event can’t happen. And, even if a critter does perish inside of your decommissioned well, it’s sealed off from other water sources so it won’t contaminate anything else.
Safety Concerns on the Property
Wells are locations where water can be found in the ground. This is good for homes that are using the water, but if a well becomes abandoned, that water will remain there and can potentially erode the land around it.
If water rises to the surface after heavy rainfall, you could deal with a serious flooding event that might endanger your family or your neighbors. A decommissioned well is never going to overflow because it’s been sealed off properly.
Avoiding Legal Woes
We know that legal reasons aren’t the only reasons why you should take care of your abandoned well, but they’re some of the most compelling. It’s true that you can pay exorbitant fines for having an abandoned well on your property that’s not decommissioned. Not only that, but if the local government can prove that your abandoned well has been contaminating the water sources around it, you may be held liable for the damages.
Basically, what we’re trying to say is that investing in well-decommissioning services is almost always going to be less expensive than paying for the legal battle that comes after an abandoned well has done its damage.
Contact American Pump and Drilling for comprehensive well decommissioning in Olympia.