We want to share with you an Illinois program offering useful resources on groundwater, aquifers, and wells.
The program is The Private Well Class, which is a collaboration between the Rural Community Assistance Partnership and the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois. The mission of the program is to support and educate well owners and users. The Private Well Class website hosts a robust library of free educational resources including:
- A YouTube Channel with recordings of past webinars, training videos, and a series examining drinking water in rural America
- Articles addressing commonly asked questions
- Customized advice via assessments, chat, email, or phone calls
Above, we’ve shared a link to the program’s Groundwater and Well Construction 101 webinar. The webinar provides a good overview of a variety of topics related to groundwater, from subsoil structures and porosity to well depth and pump settings.
“The Private Well Class website is a valuable resource to gain a better understanding of how wells function,” says Ashley Kehrer, our Southern Illinois Navigator, whose family owns farmland and leases other acres. “It’s also reassuring to know that you can contact them directly for customized assessments and advice.”
We are making a point to share these resources because if your farming operation depends on irrigation, then understanding how groundwater, aquifers, and wells work is vital. This is especially true if you are considering buying or leasing new farmland. If the water available doesn’t meet your needs, your operation may not make it. It goes almost without saying, too, that you will want to be sure the water is safe to drink for your family.
However, ground water, aquifers, and wells can seem mysterious. After all, well water is drawn from aquifers hidden deep beneath layers of earth and stone. It’s easier to give our attention to what we can see happening above ground and in the first foot or so of the soil.
What’s more, private wells are not formally regulated. Thanks to grandfathering, many active wells have been exempted from significant updates to construction codes over the past 30+ years.
In light of all that, we urge you to utilize the resources from The Private Well Class and learn about groundwater, aquifer, and wells before you access new land. It will also help inform those who already own or lease land.
Understanding will empower you to make informed decisions about maintenance, testing, and long-term sustainability of your water systems.
“Stewardship doesn’t stop at the surface,” says Ashley. “It flows deep.”
Thank you, Cate Loomis, for sharing news of The Private Well Class with us!