The Best Well Drillers in Grand Rapids MI Are the Ones Proven Safe To Hire

The state of Michigan requires water well drillers in Grand Rapids MI to be registered by the Michigan DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) in order to perform water well drilling, pump installing, or constructing dewatering wells. The state registration requires passing an exam.

But the state registration for water well contractors is no guarantee that any particular well drilling company is doing business ethically, providing real value, and satisfying customers.

This makes it all the more significant that all well drilling contractors in Grand Rapids MI who bear The Prime Buyer's Report-TOP 10 symbol have been cleared by our research staff as passing all the requirements for Prime Buyer's Report-TOP 10 status such as survey phone calls to previous customers to verify high satisfaction, good complaint record, verified state registration for water wells , liability insurance, only employees legal to work in the U.S., and more.

Costs of Hiring Well Drilling Services in Grand Rapids MI
Before preparing a bid, well drilling companies should be learning as much as possible about your property, other wells in the region, local regulations, and your intended use of the water well. A well drilling contractor who prepares a bid without this assessment is unlikely to determine the right cost and equipment necessary to do your project correctly and on time.  Many other things will determine final cost such as the type of well, the well drilling method used, choices in materials such as steel well casing versus plastic, etc.  Those variables can mean that a bid that seems cheaper really isn't because it's not bidding on the exact same things as another.

The following information explains some of the differences in well drilling methods, materials, and the process that affect cost, allowing you to understand bids from well drilling contractors in Grand Rapids and ask the right questions of them.

BEFORE DRILLING A WELL
Well drilling contractors should start with a survey of your property and the surrounding area. The well driller can't always determine in advance how deep he must drill to reach an adequate water supply but neighboring wells can be an indication.  Surveys of existing wells may be available from your city or from Grand Rapids as well as regional groundwater assessment results indicating the local groundwater quality.

Choosing the exact well site may include considering potential future plans for your property but the well drilling contractor will have something to say regarding proper site selection to prevent well contamination from run-off and other sources.  Well drilling contractors must be experts in water tables and hydrology, local soil conditions, and know the regulations that dictate the minimum distance the well must be from other structures, power lines, sewer lines and septic systems.

The well drilling contractor will drill a test hole. After drilling the test hole choices must be made regarding the well depth, type of well, casing material size and thickness, intake design, formation seal, and provisions for future monitoring and maintenance.

During drilling of the test hole, the well drilling contractor should take soil and rock samples at various depths and record it. This allows them to indentify water aquifers with the best potential for your water well.  Usually a well is drilled to the bottom of the available aquifer to get the highest possible water yield from the well.

WELL DRILLING PROCESS & METHODS
The well drilling contractors create a well shaft, or borehole which is lined with a pipe (steel or plastic) called the well casing. The top of the well that you can see is called the wellhead and this includes the part of the well casing that extends above the soil line which is surrounded by a concrete slab. Older wells may have casings that don't rise above ground level but new wells are not installed that way for safety reasons.

Well drilling contractors provide two types of wells; bored wells and drilled wells.

Bored Wells:  When groundwater is relatively close to the surface, usually under 100ft, a bored well is an option. Well drilling companies create bored wells using a rotary bucket auger and they have a larger diameter compared to drilled wells. This larger diameter can serve as a water storage reservoir for use during periods of high demand. The disadvantages of relying on a shallow water source closer to the surface are that it requires rainwater to recharge, meaning water shortages may happen during long dry spells, and freezing during winter in cold climates.

Drilled Wells: Smaller in diameter than bored wells, they can go to greater depths, such as 1,000ft compared to the 100ft or less of a bored well.  An aquifer at this greater depth is usually less vulnerable to pollution and contamination than ones closer to the surface and the water supply tends to be more reliable as it's less affected by weather.    Well drilling contractors create drilled wells by either the rotary method or the percussion method (also called "cable tool drilled")

Rotary Drilling for a Drilled Well-Uses a drill bit on the end of a rotating drillstem (rotary drilling)

Percussion Drilling (or cable tool drilled for a Drilled Well - Repeated dropping of a heavy drill bit into the earth.  Well drilling companies inject fluid or mud to mix with the resulting loose material and the mixture is removed using a bailer or sand pump.   Percussion drilling can take longer to drill a water well compared to rotary drilling but when aquifers are low-yielding they may be more easily identified.

AFTER THE WELL DRILLING
After the well contractor has drilled the well and the equipment is installed, three more steps must be done before the water well can be used: 1) Well Development 2) Yield Test 3) Disinfecting

The well drilling contractor should remove fine sediment and drilling fluid from the well bottom to maximize the amount of water it produces, in a process called well development.  Larger particles are left behind to form a natural filter. If there are not enough naturally occurring, the well contractor may need to install an artificial filter pack.

A yield test or pump test allows the well drilling contractor to determine the rate at which to pump the well and how deep to place the well pump.

The well drilling contractor will disinfect the well and different regions can have different regulations on how long well disinfecting must be done and using what substances.

Some Well Drillers in Grand Rapids Are A Better Value Than Others
The Prime Buyer's Report lists these well drillers in Grand Rapids MI: . Other contractors for well drilling in Grand Rapids MI who might still be in business include: .

Questions to Ask Well Drilling Contractors in Grand Rapids MI

When it comes to water well drilling contractors in Grand Rapids MI, ask these questions about their abilities, experience, and credentials:

• How long have the well drillers been servicing Grand Rapids MI?

• How many other wells have they drilled specifically in Grand Rapids, indicating how familiar or not they are with your local agencies, water table, soil conditions, and weather.

• Can the well drilling companies give you names and numbers you can call as references? (All well drilling  contractors in Grand Rapids MI bearing the Prime Buyer's Report-TOP 10 symbol have already had their customer references called by our research staff so you don't have to.)

• Do the well drillers have experience in the same kind of well as yours, such as drilled well versus bored well, steel casting versus plastic casing, residential versus agricultural, etc?

• How does the well drilling company determine pricing?

•  Can the well drilling contractors vouch that all their employees sent to your property are legal to work in the U.S.? (All well drillers in Grand Rapids MI bearing The Prime Buyer's Report-TOP 10 symbol have already signed an agreement to only hire documented workers.)

• Does the well drilling contractor have active workers' compensation and liability insurance? (All well drilling companies in Grand Rapids MI bearing the Prime Buyer's Report-TOP 10 symbol have already had proof of insurance verified by our research staff so you don't have to.)

• In preparation for a written bid for your evaluation, what process will the drilling contractor undertake to do a thorough assessment of the site, including soil conditions, local agencies, water quality, and more?

• Does the well drilling company provide a written guarantee for their labor beyond any manufacturer warranties of the products used, and if so, for how long?

• What happens if the well driller encounters toxic substances in the soil? Are they licensed and qualified to do remediation, or will you have to hire an outside company?

• How will they handle cost overruns due to inadequate planning? Do they guarantee to absorb any such costs or will they expect you to?

• Do they own all the equipment that will be used, or will they rent any of it?  Rentals may not always be consistently available to the contractor and can cause time delays.

• How well do the well drilling contractors know their crews? Do they personally hire and train their crews, or do they bring them in from the outside on a project-by-project basis?

When you've chosen the most suitable well drillers in Grand Rapids MI for your specific needs, make sure they are registered with the Michigan DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) since it's required by law in order to do water well drilling, pump installing, or constructing dewatering wells. (All well drilling companies in Grand Rapids MI bearing the Prime Buyer's Report-TOP 10 symbol have already had their Michigan state registration verified by our research staff so you don't have to.)

Resources About Well Drilling in Grand Rapids MI

The following is a list of trade associations and publications relevant to well drilling.

Regulatory Bodies & Trade Associations for Well Drillers in Grand Rapids MI

NDA (National Drilling Association)
www.nda4u.com

IADC (International Association of Drilling Contractors)
www.iadc.org

NGWA (National Ground Water Association)
www.ngwa.org

American Ground Water Trust
www.agwt.org

Michigan Ground Water Association
migroundwater.com

Michigan DEQ
www.michigan.gov/deq

Michigan Water Well Construction and Pump Installation Code
www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3675_3694---,00.html

Publications Relevant to Well Drilling in Grand Rapids MI

Drill Bits Magazine
www.nda4u.com/drillbits/

National Driller Magazine
www.nationaldriller.com

Worldwide Drilling Resource
www.worldwidedrillingresource.com

The Prime Buyer's Report provides information for the TOP 10 Contractors for Well Drilling in Grand Rapids MI within the following zip codes:

49504, 49510, 49341, 49519, 49503, 49548, 49509, 49331, 49518, 49502, 49546, 49508, 49330, 49516, 49501, 49544, 49507, 49326, 49515, 49468, 49534, 49506, 49514, 49418, 49525, 49505, 49512, 49345, 49523, 49318, 48418, 49316, 49315, 49306, 49302, 49321, 49301, 49319 and 48436

The Prime Buyer's Report provides information for the TOP 10 Well Drillers in Grand Rapids MI within the following cities:

Caledonia, Cedar Springs, Comstock Park, East Grand Rapids, Forest Hills, Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kent City, Kentwood, Northview, Rockford, Walker, Wyoming, Ada, Algoma, Alpine, Bowne, Byron, Cannon, Cascade, Courtland, Gaines, Grattan, Lowell, Nelson, Oakfield, Plainfield, Solon, Sparta, Spencer, Tyrone, Vergennes and Cutlerville MI