Open Well In Basement

Home constructed in 1943. Currently connected to municipal water supply. Open well with crystal clear water located in the basement! Could not accurately measure, but approximately 6’ in diameter and 12 plus feet deep. I operated the pump, water discharges to the utility sink and exterior hose bib. Plywood box with hinged top can be locked. Looking for reporting suggestions.

Since it goes to a faucet (which you say it does) I’d say something about potability if it wasn’t tested. At least a recommendation not to use it for drinking purposes unless it is tested.

My other concern for these is structural safety of the cover and it’s ability to be sealed and secured. I’ll mention that it should be kept closed and locked when not being serviced to prevent accident and to prevent entry of vermin.

I see this sort of thing from time to time. Either an external spring piped to a cistern in basement or a dug well. (Actually had one that had a drilled well inside though I never did figure out how they did it ). I treat them like any other well. Is it sealed to prevent contamination? Relationship to potential contamination sources in both distance and altitude? Is it safe to drink?

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I wish I had one in my basement to feed my sprinkler system !!

I know this is an old post, but I just encountered one of these yesterday at an inspection. It was half covered with a concrete lid, and then had some wooden blocks covering the other half. The water was crystal clear, and it was about 15-20 feet deep! My flashlight barely reached the bottom… The water level was about 3’ from the edge of the opening, so if a person fell in, there would be no way to reach the edge to pull yourself out. I immediately imagined a curious child falling in. This is how I wrote it up.

“Open well in the SouthWest corner of basement. Safety hazard, recommend adding lockable child-proof cover.
Possibly non-potable water, recommend testing prior to use.”

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