Drilling a well for water in winter: pros and cons

We wrote in detail about how to equip a well for water and about installing a pumping station. Traditionally, it is believed that the best time for this kind of work is the warmer months. However, professionals do not agree with this, because drilling a well in winter has a number of advantages:

1. The service price is lower than in summer, when orders are much higher and well drilling companies raise the cost. And you will have to wait much less for order fulfillment.
2. The drilling equipment will easily drive to the site along frozen dirt roads, which can become an insurmountable obstacle in the spring and autumn thaw outside the city..
3. If we are talking about a dacha village, where there are much fewer residents in winter, the likelihood that you will disturb your neighbors with your work is significantly lower.
4. In winter, the lowest groundwater level is recorded. Therefore, drilling is efficient and fast, even in swampy areas, where flooding occurs in spring..
5. In winter, it is less likely that a drilling rig, which can weigh about 15 tons, will damage plants and destroy your landscaping. In the coming spring, all traces of well drilling will be erased by melt water and overgrown with vegetation, you can take care of your garden.
6. Frozen ground means much less dirt, less problems after the arrival of special equipment.

Important! Despite all these advantages, it is advised to drill wells in winter at a temperature of at least -20 ° C..

Experts advise to carry out winter drilling in December and January. Until February, the earth will have time to freeze thoroughly. For modern technology, this will not be such a big problem, but still it is better not to delay.

In general, the main disadvantages of winter water drilling are:

1. Frozen ground. For example, in the Moscow region in cold winters, the earth can freeze through on average up to 1.4 meters. It is clear that drilling the upper frozen layer will be more difficult. However, we repeat, for powerful equipment this is not an obstacle, but below the freezing level, drilling takes place as usual.
2. The water coming from the well in winter can freeze, you will have to immediately take measures to insulate its supply system.

As for the insulation of the well, first of all, the pump should be protected from frost, which is placed in the casing, covered with a casing – a frame made of metal or wood with insulation. We’ll have to take care of the water pipes that go from the well to the residential buildings. Most often, special two-layer communications or covers are used for pipe insulation.

It seems that the work on the insulation of the pump and pipes is superfluous, connected precisely with winter drilling. However, even if you are arranging a well in the summer, you still have to think in advance about ensuring its normal functioning in the cold, so you will have to do insulation in any case.

We state that drilling a well in winter has a number of significant advantages. We confidently say that the worst period for such work will be spring or autumn, with their floods and prolonged rains, when the GWL rises noticeably. In summer, of course, it is also convenient to deal with well construction, but the price of the service will be higher due to the high seasonal demand for drilling services.