| Water is an important aspect of life; for drinking, | | | | able to access the water source easier. |
| bathing, washing clothes, and maintaining proper | | | | Most shallow wells use a jet pump to draw the |
| hygiene in general. Long ago, water was hauled from | | | | water up from its source. These pumps create a sort |
| a nearby stream and carried to the house for use. | | | | of suction, similar to a straw, with the pressure in the |
| Water was sometimes carried for miles at a time, | | | | atmosphere doing most of the work. In order to get |
| just to be able to take a bath. Today people have | | | | these jet pumps ready to use, they need to have |
| the luxury of water being pumped directly into their | | | | water added to them, this will then prime the pump |
| homes. This wouldn't be possible if there weren't | | | | for use. |
| such mechanisms as well pumps. | | | | There is also a one-way valve system included on |
| In the city, the local waterworks place is in charge of | | | | these pumps, to keep the water from being pulled |
| keeping water pressure present for household use. | | | | back down into the well. A shallow well is considered |
| The only thing needed is to know how to turn the | | | | to be anything under 25 feet deep. |
| faucet on. In the country, most households get their | | | | Many pumps are located deeper than 25 feet, |
| water from individual wells. This means that if the | | | | especially in rocky areas. Jet pumps are still able to |
| pump stops working, the house that this well supplies | | | | be used for these deeper wells too. |
| water to is out of luck until it is fixed. These can quit | | | | The configuration of the pump parts is a bit different |
| working for various reasons; clogged pipe going to | | | | and more pipes are used with this setup. Another |
| the pump, the motor burned up, a power surge fried | | | | option for pumping water out of a deeper well is to |
| the control box, or no water present. | | | | use a submersible pump. This pump consists of a |
| The length of the pipe going from the water to the | | | | casing around a cylindrical shape that has a sealed |
| well depends on how high the water table is. If the | | | | motor at the bottom. The pump is then connected |
| water table is fairly low or the house is positioned on | | | | to wires located above ground. |
| a hill, drilling a well can be extremely expensive. | | | | Submersible pumps are often very reliable and don't |
| Having a low water table also means that the water | | | | usually need servicing for 20 to 25 years. The main |
| has to be taken through a lot more pipe to get it to | | | | things that will shorten the life of these well pumps is |
| the house for use. On the other hand, a high water | | | | silt, sand, and other fine ground debris. They also |
| table means that there is less filtering of the water | | | | aren't meant to run all the time, so fixing leaky |
| through the ground, which means contaminants are | | | | faucets is a must when using a well to pump water. |