Three Ways You Can Repurpose Cuttings From Water Well Drilling

Drilling for a well means that your contractor has to drill and dig a great way down through the soil and rock to get to water. If you do not want all of that debris in your water, there are ways to remove the soil and rock bits that spin off of the drilling blade. There are also a few ways that you can repurpose the cuttings rather than leave them lying around.

Suctioning the Debris out of the Well

As a drill drives down through the soil and rock, another tool can be added to suction the debris out of the hole. Extra water is used to cool the bit as it drills downward, and this in itself can create quite a mess. Ergo, the tool that will manage all of the well drilling mess is a suction pump. The pump sucks and pulls the extra cooling water from around the bit as well as the rock and soil that the bit spits out. Quite often, these "cuttings" are pumped to the surface to flow out on the ground nearby, but you can repurpose the cuttings in other ways.

A Mud Pit

When your contractor offers you the option of creating a mud pit for the opposite end of the pump hose, you may want to accept. The mud can be used to fill potholes in your gravel driveway, or you can create a pig's wallow and have some very happy pigs whilst the new well is dug. Most of the mud in the mud pit will eventually resolidify, filling in the hole created for it, but you can use excess for other projects about your home or farm instead.

Landscape Filler

Believe it or not, "cuttings" make excellent landscape filler. The mud is rich from the all of the nutrients brought up with the soil from deep within the earth, while the rocks and stone are free substitutes for landscape pebbles and rock. If you invite a landscaper out at the same time as your water well drilling, he or she can go to work using the cuttings to create elevated gardens or raised landscapes.

Well Top Marker and Weed Deterrent

The "cuttings" can also be used to mark where your well is. The slurry of soil, rock and water can be spread around the escape pipe of your well. When this slurry dries, it will harden up like concrete (only not as hard) and mark the top opening of your well. This is most effective when you have fast-growing weeds and grasses that might otherwise bury and disguise your well from sight.

Contact a company like Field Drilling Contractors Ltd to learn more.

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