1. 4 Well Casing Caps
2. 4 Inch Well Casing
3. 4 Well Casing Cap
4. 4 Inch Water Well Casing

The cap covering a well may be a small part of the overall household water well system, but it is an extremely important one.

Well Casing – Schedule 40 PVC Standard Compliances: ASTM D-1785, standard for pressure pipe (NSF®-pw-G) ASTM D-2665, standard for DWV (NSF®-dwv) ASTM F-480, standard for well casing (NSF®-wc) Material complies with ANSI / NSF® Standard 14. 2″ – 10″ are laying length 4″ – 8″ are IC-2 Rated 5″ is dual rated Sch 40 / SDR 21. 8-foot and 16-foot 2-inch by 4-inch wood studs – used to tamp native clay as it is shoveled into the well. Cutting torch – used to separate upper 3 feet of metal well casing so that it can be removed. Flashlight – helps illuminate debris and well casing condition in deep wells. Knife – used to cut open bentonite and Portland. The well cap is the cover on top of the well casing that sticks out of the ground. The well cap is vented so that the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the well casing is equalized when water is pumped from the well. The well cap serves many purposes.

A properly installed well cap separates potential pollutants from your drinking water. The cap, which should be sealed tightly at all times, keeps out everything from liquid contaminants to bugs that can crawl inside a well and wreak havoc.

Following is more information about the well cap, a small device that can make a big difference in the water quality of your household water well system.

The well cap is the cover on top of the well casing that sticks out of the ground. It serves many purposes. Most caps, which are usually aluminum or a thermoplastic, include a vented screen so that the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the well casing may be equalized when water is pumped from the well. However, the cap’s main function is to keep contaminants out of the water supply.

A properly sealed well cap protects against all types of contamination. It is the first line of protection against nonpoint source pollution, which constitutes the majority of groundwater contamination. Nonpoint source pollution includes runoff of pesticides and herbicides, soil erosion, airborne dust and debris, and elements from the street.

Well caps also keep out insects, such as earwigs, which prefer a dark, damp environment to nest, wasps and bees that frequently build nests in wells, spiders (spiders love the moist well environment), and small animals such as rodents and snakes. All of these can cause major problems in a well. Bacteria levels can rise from their droppings, and sometimes the bugs, snakes and rodents themselves can get trapped in the wells, die, and decompose in the well water.

It really helps by keeping out undesirable sources of contaminants from the surface. Surface water can encounter many types of pollutants and transport them. These are not always easily detected by taste or smell. A properly sealed well cap is a safeguard in preventing those contaminants from penetrating the household water supply.

Having your well tested is the surest way to determine that the water is safe. Even if your well cap fits tightly on your well and your water tastes fine, the water well system should be given a checkup by a contractor every year.

Check the well cap from time to time. Make sure that it is sealed tightly, that the screen or filter on the vent is intact and clean, and look for cracks and evidence of tampering. Make sure any conduit connections with the cap are also connected properly and in good condition. If your well cap has a lock, check to see if the lock has been tampered with. Also, practice safe water habits. Do not plant landscaping or pile mulch around the well cap. If you absolutely must use herbicides or pesticides in landscape maintenance, do not use these around the well cap. If you landscape your yard, make sure there is not a low area near the well where rain water could collect. Rain water can carry pollutants that can seep into a well. And when working with oil and gasoline, or mixing herbicides or pesticides, do so over concrete and use absorbent pads so spills can’t be washed off and seep into the ground.

If you don’t like the look of the exposed casing and well cap sticking out of the lawn you can camouflage it. There are companies that manufacture plastic covers designed to look like landscaping boulders. Often called “mock rocks,” the products are lightweight, hollow, and durable to the elements. The covers, which come in a variety of sizes and shapes and are growing in popularity, have been used to cover everything from well heads to septic access ports and risers, tanks, utility panels, and water garden devices.

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Well Cover & Cap Requirements & Well Cap Venting:

Water wells require a water-tight cap or cover to prevent contamination from surface runoff or flood waters. But some well caps also require an air vent. This article explains the requirements for well caps & covers & well cap or cover venting for drilled wells, well casings, dug wells & well pits.

This article series describes the properties & construction of drilled wells that use a steel well casing, modern drinking water wells. We discuss well problem diagnosis, testing, & repair procedures - advice about what to do when things go wrong with the well such as loss of water pressure, not enough water volume, contaminated wells, wells that have smelly water, wells that just run out of water or have a low recovery rate. We describe the parts of a water well and its piping and controls including the pitless adapter.

We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.

Well Caps, Covers, & Vents

Here we describe requirements & recommendations for a sanitary, sealed cap or cover on drilled wells, bored wells, and cover requirements for dug wells and well pits.

The page top photo is of a modern well casing, in good condition, extended properly above ground. The small-diameter pipe parallel to the six-inch steel well casing is an electrical conduit - so we know that for this particular water supply system a submersible water pump is used and it is installed in the well itself.

The photo shown here is of an older drilled-well casing which has been placed with its casing cap at ground level - increasing the risk of well contamination from surface runoff. We also see that this well cap is not vented.

We cannot see from just the photo how successfully this well casing cover has been sealed against water entry from surface runoff.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Well casing covers on older drilled or bored wells that used a steel casing are often buried several feet below ground. Those well casing caps must also be tightly sealed against water entry from surface runoff or groundwater.

Where the pump is offset from the well or where a submersible pump is used, the opening between the well casing and any pipes or cables which enter the well shall be closed by a watertight seal or 'well cap'. - California DWR Chapter 10, 2016 cited below

In our sketch below we show the typical construction of a drilled water well in cross section.

A typical drilled well steel casing diameter is 6' (4' in some areas), that the well depth can be considerable (from 50 ft. to 900 ft. or more). Typically the steel well casing extends down into the bedrock or to a depth at which it can be sealed against un-wanted surface water entry.

We discuss the construction of drilled wells

at DRILLED WELLS, STEEL CASINGS.

The water pipe leaving this well to carry water to the building will be buried below ground,and in freezing climates, below the frost line. A special fitting, the 'pitless adapter' is used to seal the passage cut into the round well casing. Details are at PITLESS ADAPTER

Question: What is the function of a well vent?

2016/06/10 Julian said:

What is the function of a well vent?

This question was posted originally

at WATER ODORS, CAUSE CURE

Reply:

Good question Julian; Here are some reasons that many drilled wells with a sealed casing top or sealed cover require a vent:

1. Well cap/casing vent prevents casing vacuum: On some water wells the presence of a water tight (and thus air tight ) well casing cap can mean that when the pump is running and drawing down the static head in the well it can create a vacuum that could impede pump operation; The vent lets equalizing air into the casing.
2. Well cap/casing vent allows air to vent out: The well casing top vent also allows air to exit the well as the water column rises in the well, perhaps assisting in well recovery in some well installations.
3. Well cap/casing vent allows gases to vent out: A well vent also allows the venting out of any gases that might accumulate in the well bore above the static head; that can be a concern for wells whose water supply includes absorbed methane or other gases.

Below: a closer look at the older compression-style well casing cap removed from the well shown above.

This cap achieved a water tight seal to the interior of the well casing when the cap bolts were tightened to in turn squeeze and expand the thick rubber gasket.

A small diameter hole in the well casing cap (yellow arrow) connected to an air vent elbow on the top of the casing cover (visible in the photo above).

Below: new well cap sealed to the well casing; note that the well driller determined that this well no longer needed an air vent, probably because in the well a snifter valvewas eliminated as part of installation of a new internal-bladder type pressure tank in the building served by this well in Two Harbors MN, USA.

See details at

and at

Requirements & Standards for Well Casing Cap Vents

Here's an excerpt from the California DWR well standard

4 Well Casing Caps

Air Vents. In community water supply wells to minimize the possibility of contamination caused by the creation of a partial vacuum during pumping, a casing vent shall be installed (Figure 7). In addition, to release air trapped in the pump column when the pump is not running, air release vents shall be installed (Figure 7).

Air vents are also recommended for other types of wells except those having jet pump installations requiring positive pressure (which cannot have a vent).- California DWR Chapter 10, 2016 cited below, [Emphasis by underscoring added by editor - InspectApedia.com]

Here is another excerpt from California's Chapter 10 on well construction codes:

Openings. Openings into the top of the well which are designed to provide access to the well, i.e., for measuring, chlorinating, adding gravel, etc., shall be protected against entrance of surface waters or foreign matter by installation of watertight caps or plugs. Access openings designed to permit the entrance or egress of air or gas (air or casing vents) shall terminate above the ground and above known flood levels and shall be protected against the entrance of foreign material by installation of down-turned and screened 'U' bends (see Figures 6 and 7). All other openings (holes, crevices, cracks, etc.) shall be sealed. - op. cit.

You'll see that the vent must be properly constructed so as to prevent entry of surface runoff, flood waters or other contaminants into the well bore.

• 'Water Well Standards', [PDF] California Department of Water Resources, 1416 9th Street, Sacramento CA 95814, TEl: 916-653-5791, DWR Chapter 10, retrieved 2016/06/10, original source: http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/well_info_and_other/california_well_standards/wws/wws_combined_sec10.html

Safety Requirements for Well Caps & Covers

We have explained above that the top of a water well needs to be sealed against surface runoff or flood waters as those waters are not sanitary and would contaminate the well water. Well construction also requires that all below-ground well openings such at a pitless adapter must also be sealed against the entry of outside water.

But well caps and covers must also be secured to prevent other safety hazards such as the following:

• The well cap must be secured against casual removal that would permit tossing of debris, disposal of varoius chemicals or liquids, or dropping of objects into the well as accidental, criminal, mischevious acts. In most situations that simply means that the cap can't be lifted off by hand but has fasteners that must be removed: that's enough to prevent a child from opening the well.
• Community wells require additional protection:
  Enclosure of Well and Appurtenances. In community water supply wells, the well and pump shall be located in a locked enclosure to exclude access by unauthorized persons. -California DWR Chapter 10 op. cit.
• Dug wells should have a child-proof cover to prevent a child from climbing into or falling into the well.
  See DUG WELLS, by HAND
  and
  See WELL SAFETY WALL & COVER
• Well pits should have a child-proof cover also to prevent a child from falling or climbing into the well pit. Because the cover of a well pit is often at or close to ground level, the cover should also be strong enough to prevent collapse and injury to someone walking over or standing on it.
  Also see WELL PITS

Reader Comments & Q&A

On 2019-03-04 by Anonymous

10-4 thx

On 2019-03-03 by (mod) - shower drain gurgles after toilet is flushed.

That might work provided your vent piping is of sufficient diameter, slope, is routed with pitch so that it doesn't clog and is protected so that it doesn't get smashed by inadequate protection from vehicle passage.
However keep in mind that it sounds as if you're driving right over the well casing top- the well casing top needs both protection from damage AND ease of future access for maintenance or repair. Don't just pave over it.

On 2019-03-03 by vic kelly

My vented sebmersible well pump well ended up where I need to drive over it. I would like to lower the sealed/vented lid, cover/seal and run a vent to a more convenient above grade location vented and screened. That OK ??? .

On 2019-01-17 by john

my brother has a 3' diameter dug well that has a concrete top/lid. He's at an age where he can no longer remove the top to chlorinate the well. Is there an approved top/lid he can get to replace his concrete top/lid

On 2018-12-20 by Lyle

If I place a wooden wishing well over my well cap, does this create any problems for cpas vent?

On 2017-10-02 by Scooby

I just moved into a new house and the water was tested to be potable drinking water.

However, when I run the water inside the house, (shower, toilet, or kitchen sink) I can visibly see water sprinkling from different areas from underneath the cap on the well casing outside.

I spoke to the person that drilled with well, and he was trying to tell me that this was normal because we have a lot of pressure in the well. My concern is that there is a lot of water running out and I have quite the puddle around it which is a concern for the winter time as it will turn to ice and build up.

On 2017-06-26 by Barbara Carroll

I have been turning my water pump off at the elect. box for several weeks at a time. (i was out of town) I had no trouble with it coming back on when I needed it to. last time, my son had to prime it, using a gallon of water. The next time however, when I primed it, it would come on, hold the prime for a minute. pressure went to 38 then quickly lose its prime. what could be causing this. would turning it off so much, and for extended times cause it to quit priming? I

On 2016-11-13 by (mod) - I have to walk all the way down to the well head turn on the deepwell pump just to fill five gal buckets of from the spicket

Pete, please use the search box above to find and check out the diagnostics in this article WELL WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS. http://inspectapedia.com/water/Private_Well_Pressure_Diagnosis.php

On 2016-11-13 by Pete E

Question:
deepwell pump pressure problem. Water output has degraded & now water barely makes it to ground level. NOTE: I think well is aprox 5yrs old w no pressure tank, but still use to pump the water from the well aprox 200yds & aprox and another+100' higher in elevation to the 2000gal tank on the hill.

Water from tank (elev aprox 40' higher than house elev). Then the grunlove house pump (w pressure external tank located at the house) would draw out & receive a little help in pressure from gravity.

Now I have to walk all the way down to the well head turn on the deepwell pump just to fill five gal buckets of from the spicket thats connected to the well head. any ideas to the problem?

Can I hook up a craftsman 390.2519 to help it? *The craftsman pump has 1 1/4 ' suction line and 1' drive line, and a port for pressure tank or injected air option.

The shallow or deep pump head option is sold seperately & I don't have either one.
Thanks Pete

On 2016-08-27 by (mod) -

Diane if your well casing included a top vent, and if the equipment hasn't been modified to make that vent unnecessary, I'd keep the vent working; that might mean that you need to extend it around your decorative rock. Also be sure that you don't change the ground height so as to increase the risk of sending surface runoff into the well around the casing cap. On an older well that cap may not be water-fight.

On 2016-08-24 by Diane A

I just installed an artificial rock to cover my well pipe. My pipe looks exactly like the first photo on the page. Does this artificial rock need to be vented?

...

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Technical Reviewers & References

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• NSF InternationalP.O. Box 130140789 N. Dixboro RoadAnn Arbor, MI 48105, USAe info@nsf.orgp +1 734 769 8010f +1 734 769 0109Toll Free USA+1800 NSF MARK(800 673 6275) Website: http://www.nsf.org/
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• Grove Electric, Typical Shallow Well One Line Jet Pump Installation [PDF], Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
• Grove Electric, Typical Deep Well Two Line Jet Pump Installation [PDF], Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
• Penn State, Water Fact Sheet #3, USING LOW-YIELD WELLS [PDF], Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Cooperative Extension, School of Forest Resources, web search 07/24/2010, original source: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/XH0002.pdf

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4 Inch Water Well Casing