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A fountain in the garden is the wish of many property owners. The great interest in having one's own well is mostly of a financial nature, no wonder given the rising prices for drinking water and waste water. However, some official requirements must be observed when constructing a well.
Well construction in the garden
If you want to drill a well on your own property, you first have to check whether groundwater is available at an accessible depth. In addition, some permits are required. Even if the groundwater under the property is owned by the property owner, the construction of a well is not permitted without official approval. The reason for this is that contamination of the groundwater poses a risk to the general public.
permits
For approval of the installation of a domestic well is the Lower Water Authority responsible. In most federal states, this authority can be found at the district administration. Don't worry, the approval process is not very complicated. You should consider the following steps:
- Check with your water utility for the depth of the groundwater table. For average-sized home plots, a depth of the groundwater level of 6 meters is the benchmark. With larger plots of land, having your own well pays for itself even if the groundwater level is lower.
- Check with the land registry office whether foreign water rights are affected.
- Report the well construction to the lower water authority in your district.
- Have your property checked to see if it is within a water protection zone. In this case, the application is more extensive. You need express permission from the water authorities to drill a well.
fees
In most cases, the approval process is free of charge, the fee rates are regulated by the federal states and municipalities. However, if your property is in a water conservation or flood zone, permits can become very expensive. Get advice from the authorities.
Fountain in the water protection area
If your property is in a water protection area, drilling a well is not automatically ruled out. An informal notification of the well construction to the lower water authority is not sufficient in this case and the approval process is quite complex. If you do not observe this, you may face severe penalties and fines of up to EUR 50,000.
If your property is located in a water protection area, you will need the following documents:
- Application for the construction of a well
- Precise information about the property (address, district, ownership)
- Confirmation of any legacy issues
- Your planning documents for well construction with details of the extraction point and the planned extraction quantity
- The different types of wells
Rammbrunnen are the most used fountains in your own garden. You can install them yourself with a little manual talent and muscle power.
Pit wells require more excavation than drilled wells. Concrete rings are lowered into the ground during excavation. Pit wells are built by specialist companies.
Drill a ramming well yourself
If the groundwater is no more than 8 to 10 meters below the surface of the earth, the property owners usually decide to construct a rammed well. The ramming well is inexpensive compared to other types of wells, but requires a lot of muscle power. A rammed well is basically a metal pipe with a filter that is driven into the ground.
To build a ramming well you will need:
- Well construction set (this set includes impact head, pipes, sleeves, ram filter and instructions)
- Hand or motor driven auger
- Gravel Pump (Plush)
- tripod
- handle pump
- fountain head
- purge sleeve
- sealing material, e.g. B. Hemp
- pipe wrench
- sledgehammer
- wire brush
- spade
Once all the materials are in place, construction can begin. We have put together a guide for you:
1. Pre-drilling
First, use a spade to dig a hole in the intended location. Fountains are often placed at the edge of the property. Now put on the drill and drill clockwise with the hand-operated auger. Whenever you move the drill up, soil is transported to the surface. Drill until you reach the aquifer. The drill can be extended with tubular rods. Drill individual sections of two to three meters each. After that, the drill must be pulled out and cleaned.
notice: Never hit the auger with the sledgehammer. If you encounter stones or other obstacles, it is advisable to drill another hole at a distance.
2. Casing of the borehole
When you reach the groundwater, you have already done the most strenuous part. The lower part of the borehole keeps collapsing. For this reason, the borehole must now be cased. Now connect the pipes. The threads must be carefully sealed. To do this, use fermite as a sealant and hemp. The hemp must not be pushed out when screwing together. Unscrew the impact head. Then bring the well rods into the hole in the ground. Drive the ram filter about 2 meters into the water layer. Insert the flushing sleeve and then flush the tube with water. Do not install the fountain head until you have verified that the water is draining through the filter. You continue to work with the gravel pump.
3. Plushie
At the beginning, the water level in the borehole is still low. Flood the hole with water from the garden hose. Now the gravel pump is used. You set up the tripod over the borehole and lower the gravel pump. Then run the gravel pump down and pull it back up again and again. So the pump fills with the soil. This process is called plunking. When the gravel pump is full, it will be pulled up and emptied. This process is repeated until the water is about two meters high.
4. Mount the handle pump
Now you can attach the handle pump. You also need a foundation for this. It is also possible to use an electrically operated pump. Seal the drill hole with swelling clay.
notice: Whether plastic or galvanized pipes are more suitable depends on the pH value of the water. The guideline is to use plastic pipes with a pH below 7, galvanized pipes with a pH above 7. Galvanized pipes are cheaper than plastic pipes.
5. Putting the pump into operation
Now it's time to say: "Water march", but very slowly!
Pump the first water. You should take a break after every 100 liters. The slow pumping prevents the filter from clogging. If you have an electric pump, cycle it on and off briefly to prevent clogging.
