Private Water Supplies; Looking at Ground Water and Wells

When rain falls, much of it is absorbed into the ground. Water that is not used by plants moves downward through pores and spaces in the rock until it reaches a dense layer of rock. This trapped water, below the ground, is used as a private water supply, and this is the water we get when we drill wells

The diagram shows trees and plants on an uneven surface labelled as ‘Land surface’. To the right of the trees is a patch of water that is above the ground and visible, this has been labelled ‘Surface water’

Moving to the left side of the image the water moves below the land surface, which wouldn’t be visible to us. At the far left side of the image the top of the land surface isn’t saturated by the water, this has been labelled ‘Unsaturated zone’. Below this the image shows that the land surface has be saturated by the water this has been labelled ‘Saturated zone.

The bottom of the diagram shows two further images, the image on the left shows Creviced rock with water filling the gaps with between the rocks, with some air pockets.

The image on the right shows Gravel with water filling the gaps with between the rocks, with some air pockets.

Between the two images is a line that shows the approximate level of the water table.

Above the water level line the text reads - Water (not ground water) held by the molecular attraction surrounds surfaces of rock particles.

Below the water level line the text reads – All openings below the water table full of ground water.

Return to How Safe is Your Private Drinking Water Supply? (Not Mains).