water well
Also known as well, Well, borewell, village pump, water wells
thumb|A dug well in a village in Faryab Province, [[Afghanistan]] thumb|The difference between a well and a cistern is in the source of the water: a cistern collects [[rainwater whereas a well draws from groundwater.]]
AI overview
A water well is a hole dug into the ground to access groundwater for drinking and other uses, which distinguishes it from a cistern that collects rainwater instead. Wells matter because they provide a reliable source of fresh water by tapping into underground water supplies, making them essential for communities that need consistent access to water.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Research
223,873 papers- Private Well Water Safety: Practical Counseling Strategies for Primary Care.ReviewJournal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM · 2025Jegen DA, Bernard ME, Jannetto PJDOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2025.250243R1
- Well Water Arsenic Mitigation in Bangladesh: Benefits Outweighing Risks of Sharing Private Environmental Data.ReviewEnvironmental science & technology · 2025Khan M, Ahmed KM, Dey B et al.DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c06441
- Arsenic Exposure in Well Water From the Perspective of Patients and Providers.Journal of primary care & community health · 2024Jegen D, Maxson J, Fischer K et al.DOI: 10.1177/21501319241247984
- Strategies to Improve Private-Well Water Quality: A North Carolina Perspective.Review
~33 min read
Article
24 sectionsContents
- History
- Types
- Dug wells
- Driven wells
- Drilled wells
- Classification
- Siting
- Contamination
- Pathogens
- Chemical contamination
- Prevention
- Mitigation
- Environmental problems
- Soil salination
- Methane
- PFAS/PFOS Fire fighting foam
- Water security
- Society and culture
- A simple model for water well recovery
- Similar and related water structures
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
thumb|A dug well in a village in Faryab Province, [[Afghanistan]] thumb|The difference between a well and a cistern is in the source of the water: a cistern collects [[rainwater whereas a well draws from groundwater.]]
A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn up by a pump, or using containers, such as buckets that are raised mechanically or by hand. Water can also be injected back into the aquifer through the well. Wells were first constructed at least eight thousand years ago and historically vary in construction from a sediment of a dry watercourse to the qanats of Iran, and the stepwells and sakiehs of India. Placing a lining in the well shaft helps create stability, and linings of wood or wickerwork date back at least as far as the Iron Age.