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I am unsure if this question is being asked in the correct community, but I will ask anyways.

I would like to attempt to build a well-type structure in a woodland area. This woodland is mainly inhabited with Silver Birch and Sycamores and there is a sallow stream running down off of a moorland around 80ft from where the well would be ideally placed, but this can move.

My thoughts are that due to the prevalence of water there is likely to be a body of water underneath the ground simply through the natural process of infiltration.

so my questions are the following:

1) Am I likely to come across water if I dug this well

2) How deep will I have to dig before I reach water or impermeable ground

Charles
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I would consider this a "general" landscaping question. If your stream has water in it year round, then you will encounter water below. With a stream, you should be aware that you may also have flooding at certain times of the year. Of course I have no idea about the possible situation (bedrock, roots, or rocks etc.) that may be below where you plan to dig. Also, you should obviously not dig anywhere you might encounter power lines, gas lines, or septic system etc.

Your description sounds a lot like my property which has a dug well situated on it. The brick lined, circular well (maybe 6-8 feet diameter) is about 120 feet from a creek in the back. The soil is a clay mixture with rocks/stones/gravel throughout. It is situated between two areas of good upslope on each side of the creek bed. I would say you may have to dig down to just somewhat above the level of the shallow stream that you describe. The level of water in my well is somewhat higher than the creek level, but not by much - maybe 1-2 feet higher at 120 feet away. The water level in the well is maybe 6-8 feet deep, but varies by as much as 3 feet or more in depth depending on "wet weather" vs. "dry weather".

I hope this helps.

user22542
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