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WELL
ABANDONMENT
Introduction
Improperly abandoned water wells are a serious
liability. Once ground water is contaminated, it is
difficult, if not impossible, to clean up, and the
process is always expensive. The logical course of
action is to remove the liability by properly plugging,
and sealing, or decommissioning all abandoned
wells.
The purpose of this course is to refresh the
awareness of the course completer as to the reasons
for proper water well abandonment. Several real life
examples are given which clearly point out the
damage than has been done, is being done, and can
be done by water wells that are unused and yet not
properly abandoned. The course content is limited to
water well abandonment only as distinct from issues
related to petroleum or natural gas wells.
Many states are active in the regulation of and the
promotion of proper well abandonment methods. As
well, many of these same states offer financial
incentive programs for well owners to properly
abandon unused well on their land with the aid of
state licensed water well contractors (see example of
one state’s abandonment approach within the
following text).
The text below reviews the 3 main dangers of
improperly abandoned wells. It briefly describes a
common approach to well abandonment common to
most states. The text ends with a review of methods
of finding improperly abandoned wells.
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