Wells: Types, Operation and Troubleshooting
How drinking water wells are built, pumped, measured, protected, disinfected and fixed: aquifers, well types, construction, pumps, drawdown and specific capacity, pump tests, pressure tanks, wellhead protection, shock chlorination and troubleshooting.
CEUs not yet approved, for learning only
Who it is for
Small groundwater system operators, water and wastewater operators who also run town wells, and maintenance staff who care for wells and pumps.
Format
Online, self-paced. Take it when it suits your shift.
Length and price
3 hours, $90.
What you will learn
10 modules. Worked examples use fictional drinking water systems.
- Groundwater and AquifersWhere groundwater is stored, unconfined, confined and artesian aquifers, recharge, and groundwater under the direct influence of surface water.
- Types of WellsDug, driven, bored and drilled wells, cable tool and rotary drilling, and why public supply wells are drilled and cased.
- Well Construction and Its Protective PartsCasing, grout, screen and gravel pack, sanitary seal and cap, vent, pitless adapter, well house and pad, and what each protects against.
- Well PumpsSubmersible, vertical turbine and jet pumps, check valves, motor protection, and where each fits.
- Water Levels, Drawdown and Specific CapacityStatic and pumping levels, drawdown, cone of depression, measuring with an electric sounder or air line, and specific capacity.
- Well Yield, Pump Tests and RehabilitationConstant rate and step tests, reading a drawdown curve, recovery, well interference, and using specific capacity decline to plan rehabilitation.
- Well Controls, Pressure Tanks and StorageLevel based and pressure switch controls, alternating wells, precharged pressure tanks, tank drawdown and run time, short cycling, and interlocks with chemical feed.
- Wellhead Protection and the Ground Water RuleWellhead protection areas, setbacks and contaminant sources, sanitary surveys, and federal Ground Water Rule concepts.
- Disinfecting Wells (Shock Chlorination)When to shock chlorinate, water in a casing, chlorine needed, stand time, pumping to waste and sampling before return to service.
- Troubleshooting Wells Step by StepA troubleshooting table for sand pumping, declining yield, encrustation and biofouling, iron bacteria, short cycling, air in water, loss of prime, coliform positives and motor problems, plus a worked scenario.
What operators take away
- How to measure water levels and use specific capacity to catch a failing well early.
- How to read a pump test and a pressure tank cycle.
- How to shock chlorinate a well and figure the chlorine.
- A step by step troubleshooting guide for common well problems.
- A certification quiz for paid students, and a certificate of completion from Wastewater Academy™ when you pass it. The certificate does not carry CEU credit.
- A student manual to download (comes with the class).
Look inside
A few sample pages from the student manual. Tap a page to open it full size.
These are sample pages only. The full student manual comes with the class.
Register
3 hours, $90.
CEUs for this class are not yet approved in any state. If you need CEU credit, please wait; we'll announce approval here. Purchase is for learning only.
Need CEU credit? Ask us to tell you when CEUs are approved (tell us your state and this class), or email help@ActivatedSludge.com.
Registration is open for learning only. At checkout you confirm that you understand this class has no CEU credit yet.
After you pay, you are taken to a page where you download the student manual. The class includes a certification quiz, which opens for you after you pay, and a certificate of completion from Wastewater Academy™ when you pass it. Online access, including the manual, quiz, and certificate, lasts 90 days from purchase.
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