Drillers have installed wells using PVC materials for decades. Companies make PVC casing and fittings, and even PVC screen &#; the components of the whole well system. However, advancements over time have meant that PVC in the field today outperforms the materials contractors had access to when HDPE gained widespread use in the s.
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Broadly, the &#;recipes&#; companies use to make polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC, have gone through subtle changes. Contractors may not know from just looking at the finished product, but today&#;s PVCs tend to have more corrosion resistance and durability than earlier generations. That makes it a cost-effective option for well installations, even in harsh environments.
Modern PVC pipe can also provide more flexibility. &#;Flexible&#; PVC is a type of PVC designed to install in wells located in difficult-to-access areas. Flexible PVC is also more resistant to breakage, which can help to prevent leaks in such wells.
Finally, there have been advancements in the methods used to join PVC pipe. Traditional methods of joining PVC pipe, such as solvent cementing, can prove time-consuming for contractors and difficult correctly execute. Newer methods of joining PVC pipe, such as mechanical joining, are faster and easier to do. Mechanical joining also provides a stronger and more reliable joint than traditional methods.
The advantages of using PVC materials in water well construction include:
Of course, every material can have trade-offs. PVC is no different and contractors should consider these factors in sourcing decisions. PVC is:
PVC pipe, casing and fittings have proven popular for contractors (and their customers) for many years. Their popularity only grows as companies develop advances in their products. Drillers have materials options when it comes to well installation. PVC has improved over time and contractors should give it another look if they haven&#;t in a while. It could be just the thing you need to offer your customers a trouble-free water well that lasts a lifetime.
To keep loose sand and gravel from collapsing into the borehole, it is necessary to use well casing and screen. The screen supports the borehole walls while allowing water to enter the well; unslotted casing is placed above the screen to keep the rest of the borehole open and serve as a housing for pumping equipment. Since the well screen is the most important single factor affecting the efficiency of a well, it is sometimes called the "heart of the well"!
7.1 Screen Design
7.2 Screening Wells Drilled Into Rock
7.3 Screen Centralizers
7.4 Casing and Screen Installation
7.5 Solvent Welding (Gluing PVC)
7.6 Footnotes & references
7.1 Screen Design
Well screens should have as large a percentage of non-clogging slots as possible, be resistant to corrosion, have sufficient strength to resist collapse, be easily developed and prevent sand pumping (Driscoll, ). These characteristics are best met in commercial continuous-slot (wire wrap) screens consisting of a triangular-shaped wire wrapped around an array of rods (see Footnote #1). If these screens are available, conduct a sieve analysis on samples on the water-bearing formation and select a slot size which will retain 40-60 percent of the material.
While wire wrap screen should be used whenever possible, it may be exorbitantly expensive and/or not available. Most Lifewater wells are constructed using PVC casing and screen (Footnote #2) - see (Figure 9). Grey PVC pipe, which is available in most countries, is relatively cheap, corrosion resistant, lightweight, easy to work with and chemically inert.
Slot Design: Using a hack saw, cut slots in the plastic casing which are as long and close together as possible. Slots should be spaced as close together as possible vertically and should extend about 1/5th the circumference of the pipe; there should be 3 even rows of slots extending up the pipe separated by 3 narrower rows of solid, uncut pipe (for strength).
Figure 9: PVC Cut-Slotted Screen
Screen/Casing Diameter: Three inch diameter casing and screen can be easy inserted into the 15 cm (6 in) LS-100 borehole and allows creation of an effective 3 cm (1.25 in) thick filter pack (this is especially important where the aquifer is composed of very fine materials). However, since 7.6 cm (3 in) screen is often not available and has low total open area, carefully centered and filter packed 10 cm (4 in) screen is most frequently used. Larger diameter screens make the filter pack ineffective and do NOT significantly increase well yield. For example, moving from a 10 - 12.7 cm (4 - 5 in) screen will increase yield by 3 percent or less! Besides, a good filter pack expands the effective radius of the well to the full 15 cm (6 in) diameter of the borehole.
Screen Length: For confined aquifers, 80-90 percent of the thickness of the water-bearing zone should be screened (Driscoll, ). Best results are obtained by centring the screen section in the aquifer. For unconfined aquifers, maximum specific capacity is obtained by using the longest screen possible but more available drawdown results from using the shortest screen possible! These factors are optimized by screening the bottom 30-50 percent of the aquifer (Driscoll, ). One 7m (20ft) length of screen is often adequate. Screening 6-7 meters beneath the water table generally assures adequate year-round yield (Brush, 198?). In many tropical areas, successful wells can be constructed by drilling 5 feet into underlying rock and placing a 10 foot screen which straddles the bedrock/overburden interface (see Appendix C-4)
Bottom Casing: Significant quantities of fine materials are often present in the extreme upper and lower parts of an aquifer. Therefore, unless the aquifer is less than 7 m thick, extend the casing at least 1-2 m into the top of the aquifer before starting the screen. Similarly, unless the aquifer is very thin, ensure that at least the bottom 1-2 meters of the aquifer is completed with a piece of solid casing pipe. This casing (known as a "sump" or "rat hole") provides a place for solids to settle as they are drawn into the well, thus minimizing screen blockage and minimizing the amount of fines drawn into the well (see Figure 9 and Section 9 - Figure 15).
Bottom Plug: A plug ("drive shoe") should always be installed to help the casing slip down the borehole and prevent unfiltered fines from entering the well. A cap or pointed wooden plug are the most common plugs. If "belled" casing (with a built-in socket on one end) is used, the non-belled end can be shaped into a point. Finally, a wash-down valve can be used or a one-way valve (allowing water to flow out of the casing) can be installed in a wooden plug which has a beveled inner surface (Figure 10). This valve allows the well to be effectively rinsed-out and ensures that the filter pack is effectively placed.
If any type of wooden plug is used, it is good practice to place a cement plug at the bottom of the well to ensure that sediment can not enter the well when the plug rots out. Put thick cement in thin plastic bags, drop them to the bottom of the well and then smash them open using drill pipe.
Figure 10: Wash-down Bottom Plugs
7.2 Screening Wells Drilled Into Rock
No casing or screen is generally required in the portion of boreholes drilled into rock. The first 2 - 3 m of the rock borehole should be 15 cm (6 in) in diameter; the borehole can then be extended using a 10 cm (4 in) bit (this maximizes the drilling speed which can be very slow in rock). The 11.4 cm (4.5 in) OD casing should be placed into the 15 cm (6 in) hole and carefully aligned with the (10 cm (4 in) hole. Fill the rock annular space with 40 cm coarse gravel followed by 60 cm coarse sand/fine gravel with 100 cm medium sand on top (this prevents fine sands and silts often found at the overburden-bedrock contact from moving into the well). Since the main water-bearing zone may be within the upper few inches of bedrock, only seal the casing into rock with cement where contamination is major concern.
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7.3 Centralizers: Whenever possible, centralizers should be used on the outside of the rising main ("drop pipe") and on the pump rods. Adding centralizers minimizes the chance of pump rods banging against the rising main during operation of the handpump. This can be a serious problem in wells over 12.19 m (40 ft) deep since it eventually leads to early wearing-out of the rods and/or holes being rubbed in the rising main... leading to pump failure! Centralizers are also very important when installing casing since slots in the well screen may become severely blocked with clay if the screen rubs hard against the borehole wall while it is being inserted into the borehole. Centralizers also ensure that there is even distribution of cement grout and filter pack. This is really important since if the screen is placed against the borehole wall, the well may always produce turbid water! Poor grout placement can result in contaminated surface water entering the well and making the water unsafe to drink!
These problems can be avoided by attaching (gluing, screwing, tying-on with wire) 3 centralizer strips to the top and bottom ends of the screen. Centralizers can be made from PVC casing, flexible green wood or 1.2 cm (0.5 in) wide iron straps (see Figure 11). Only fasten the lower end of each centralizer (so that it can "flex") and do not put any on the casing or the screen/casing may jamb during placement. Centralizers work best with 7.6 cm (3 in) casing; jamming may occur when installing 10 cm (4 in) casing in the 15 cm (6 in) borehole (the outside diameter of schedule 40 PVC pipe is 11.4 cm (4.5 in) and the diameter of couplings is 13.2 cm (5.2 in)! If this is a concern, just make the bottom plug the same diameter as the couplings.
Figure 11: Casing Centralizers
7.4 Casing and Screen Installation
Make sure you know the distance from the ground level to the bottom of the borehole and ensure that the required lengths of well casing and screen are prepared, clean, close at hand and ready to install when the drilling is completed. Attach the casing sump with the drive shoe to the bottom of well screen. For more information on solvent welding, see section 7.5. If bell and spigot pipe is not used, pre-glue a joining coupler (collar) to one end of each length of casing (see Figure 12).
Figure 12: Preparing Pipe for Installation
Once the borehole is completed to the desired depth, continue to circulate drilling fluid through the drill pipe at the bottom of the borehole until the returning fluids are clear of cuttings, sand, and clay balls. The fluid in the mud pits may need to be replaced several times before the water exiting the borehole is clean. When it is, keep the fluid circulating and the bit rotating and slowly remove the drill pipe from the borehole.
When the drill pipe is removed, swing the engine/drive assembly to the side. Prepare to clamp the casing using 2 grip clamps formed from iron or wood: 1 clamp should be on the casing suspended in the hole and the other on the length of casing to be joined (Figure 13). Alternatively, use a casing slip clamp made from 1/2 or 3/8 inch steel plate by cutting a slot slightly larger than the casing and welding on a handle (Figure 13).
Figure 13: Casing Clamps
Keeping the borehole full of water, carefully lower the screen assembly into the borehole. Ensure that a grip clamp is attached or use a slip clamp to catch the casing should it slip while being lowered. One at a time, wipe clean, add and glue 6 metre (full 20 foot) lengths of casing (see Section 7.5). If a slip clamp is used, wrap a 1 cm thick hemp rope 3-4 times around the upper length of casing (Figure 14) and keep it tight when pulling the clamp back to ensure that the casing can not slip. After the slip clamp is back in place, lessen the tension on the rope and allow the casing to slowly slip into the well until it is again resting on the clamp. Continue to add and lower casing until the well screen reaches the bottom of the borehole. Then raise it slightly and suspend it using grip clamps or by tying a rope to the drill table (this ensures that the casing is placed straight). Work quickly to minimize the chance that the borehole may start to collapse.
Figure 14: Rope Wrap Around Casing During Installation
Keep track of the length of screen and casing that is installed to ensure that the well has not partially caved-in (see Appendix G-2) and to ensure that the casing reaches the bottom of the borehole and is not stuck part way down the borehole (see Appendix G-10. Keeping the casing suspended 10 cm above the borehole bottom, cut the top off the casing so that only about 50 cm sticks-up above ground level (see Section 9 - Figure 15 and Section 14 - Figure 17).
After the casing is securely suspended, thoroughly flush the borehole again with clean water (this greatly reduces well development time (Section 10). If a one-way valve was installed at the bottom of the casing, run drill pipe down inside the casing until it is engaged in the top of the valve. If there is no valve, place a tight fitting surge block or securely wrapped rag on the end of the drill pipe. Then set the end of the drill pipe down to the bottom of the screen and pump clean water down the drill pipe so that it is forced out through the bottom section of screen. If these flushing processes are not possible, rinse-out the casing by connecting the mud pump outlet hose to the top of the casing by means of a well cap and appropriate fittings.
Finally, bail or pump out the casing. If it can be bailed practically dry, develop the full length of the screen several times (Section 10). Continue until no further improvement in yield is noticed. If there is not enough water (Section 10.3), remove the casing and abandon the well.
7.5 Solvent Welding
Solvent weld the pipe segments using the following procedure (NWWA, ):
1 They are strong, allow maximum flow rates and the small slot size screens-out fines. In addition, the screen is unlikely to plug-up over time since sand grains cannot plug slots which are V-shaped and widen inward and sand particles can only make contact at two points (Driscoll, ). Finally, the closely pitched, continuous slot facilitates uniform well development (Schreurs, 198?).
2 The disadvantages of using a locally manufactured screen when compared with commercial continuous wrap wire screens are:
Brush, R. (197?) "Wells Construction: Hand Dug and Hand Drilled", US Peace Corps, Washington DC.
Driscoll, F. () Groundwater and Wells, St. Paul: Johnson Division
National Water Well Association and Plastics Pipe Institute () Manual on the Selection and Installation of Thermoplastic Water Well Casing, Worthington, OH, 64pp.
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