DUG WELLS 77 



safety. The requirements, unfortunately, often conflict. Most 

 houses and barns are located on elevations for the sake of good 

 drainage, sightliness or other considerations, but wells in such 

 situations are rarely as cheap as the less convenient wells in the 

 hollows. Again, convenience often demands that the well be 

 located near the house, where slops are thrown upon the ground, 

 in the vicinity of a cesspool or privy, or near the barnyard or 

 hogpen, while safety demands its location on high ground at a 

 considerable distance from these and other sources of pollution. 



In cases of conflicting requirements it is too often the cost 

 which eventually determines the location, or rather it is the 

 initial cost, for in many instances the final cost of a proper in- 

 stallation if the cost of the resultant loss of health is con- 

 sidered is much less than that of an improper installation 

 although the latter may not produce actual disease. 



A safe well is nearly always, in the long run, the cheapest, such 

 a well being decidedly cheaper than the cost of medical attend- 

 ance. Safety should invariably be made the first consideration 

 instead of the last. A well should never be put down in a doubt- 

 ful situation, even as a temporary makeshift, for the owner 

 almost always waits until too late before replacing it. 



The safety of a well depends upon its protection from all 

 forms of pollution, both that which enters from the surface and 

 that seeping through the ground. A consideration of the sources 

 of contamination is, therefore, of paramount importance. 



Sources of Pollution. Open or dug wells may be polluted by 

 material seeping through the ground and curbing or entering from 

 the top of the well. Of the seepage materials cesspools and 

 privies are the most important source. In most localities the 

 large amount of liquid reaching such receptacles is rapidly ab- 

 sorbed by the earth and becomes a part of the water-body feeding 

 the wells. Slops thrown on the surface likewise soak into the 

 ground, and even if the liquid at first evaporates the residue is 

 later taken up by the rain which sinks into the ground, and is 

 carried downward to the ground-water body. The matter leached 



