There are a number of ways to determine where water is located on your property, but when it comes time to drill a well, there are only a few methods that will actually guarantee you a successful (and clean) yield. It may seem like an expensive and time consuming extra step, but choosing a professional water finding service that can site your water supply for you is essential. Here are just a few of the reasons it’s a good idea to know where the water is before you start drilling.

  • Timmy fell down the well? …Which one?

If you don’t know where your water is before you start drilling, you could end up with an extra well—or five. The down-side is that they will be dry, and that the well you finally end up with still might not be drawing from the most efficient or even the cleanest source on your property. This is a frustrating part of skipping the prep-work of drilling your well, but more than just adding time and expense to your bill, it also creates a significant safety hazard. Timmy didn’t fall down the well in Lassie just to be dramatic; the accident made the show because it’s a very real concern—especially when you have a number of “test” wells, or dry wells, scattered about your property. One well can be concerning enough for parents of overly mischievous children, but you at least want to know which well Timmy fell into when Lassie comes running.

  • The Whack-a-mole look is a little passé—not to mention overpriced.

In addition to the safety concern, it is also more than a little unsightly to have a property that is riddled with holes—and unless you are planning to start up a game of giant golf and open up your doors for the tourist dollars, there isn’t much practical use you can gain from the added expense of your failed wells.

  • Who turned out the lights?

Part of siting your property’s water source includes a bit of surveying, too. That means checking property plans and using seismoelectrics to explore where the best locations are to drill. Without that prep work, you could end up hitting a few of the less desirable things that may be buried underground—like electric wires, for instance, which would be extremely dangerous to run into unbeknownst, not to mention the cost of having to get someone out to restore power to your home or garage.

  • Old faithful is only charming when it’s water you end up covered in.

Of course, electric wires, phone lines, and even television and internet cables aren’t the only things that might get buried underground. If you aren’t careful, you could end up hitting an old sewage line—and no one wants to be the one who has to realize that it isn’t water raining down on them.

  • This water tastes funny.

There are a lot of places you can drill a well where you might get lucky and hit a water source—but you really shouldn’t. A professional water finding company can study the water sources on your property—and the potential sources of contamination that might be nearby—to make sure the water you end up drilling into is safe, healthy, and free from the contaminants of nearby roads, gardens, septic systems, barnyard wastes, or fuel tanks.

  • Becoming master of the five-second shower isn’t as cool as it’s cracked up to be.

Finally, when you drill a well, you aren’t just looking to hit water; you are looking to hit an adequate yield of water. A professional water finding company can help you determine how much water you need to draw from your well to satisfy the needs of your home or business, and can then help you site the most efficient, high quality, and high yielding source on your property.

American Water Surveyors can help you save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by using the most advanced water finding techniques to measure groundwater depths and yields, perform surface mapping, and thus effectively source clean, fresh, high-yielding groundwater supplies before you start drilling your well. It’s the best way to get the well you need without the hassle of excess drilling. Call us today to get started.