How far from my well should I put the goat pen?

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I have one milking doe and three doelings, for whom I need to build a new pen. The very best place for it is rather close to our well (about 30'), and I'm not sure how safe that would be, from the standpoint of contamination of the well water. Somewhere online I've seen a chart of various sources of contamination and how far from your well they should be, but now I can't find it. Can anyone help?

-- Elizabeth in E TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), July 11, 2001

Answers

Hello Elizabeth ). I know nothing about goats but septic systems are to be 50 ft. or more from well. Thirty ft. sounds to close.

-- ed (edfrhes@aol.com), July 11, 2001.

Eliz and Ed. In Texas they have changed that distance from septics, at least in my part of the world. Regular septics need to be 100' from a well, unless it is an aerobic tank, then it can be only 50' away provided the well has been pressure grouted sufficiently. That doesn't answer your goat problem though but Im sure someone on here will help you get on the right track. Interesting question, I will check back often to see what the right answer will be. Carole

-- Carole (carle@earthlink.net), July 11, 2001.

Elizabeth... here is a link I found via google.com with lots of sites to help you. The only one I looked at said 100'. http://www.google.com/search?q=livestock+well+contamination&btnG=Googl e+Search

-- Carole (carle@earthink.net), July 11, 2001.

Our local codes require septic drain fields to be 100' min. from wells and downhill from them. What type of well do you have and how deep is it? That is important. If your well is a bored well, (24"- 30" in diameter with concrete casing) it is above the bedrock and drawing from surface water. I would keep animals at least 200' away and downhill.

If your well is a drilled well, (4"-6" in diameter with steel or PVC casing) it is probably into the bed rock and grouted to seal out surface water. Unless your bedrock is very near the surface, animals would be relatively safe at 30', and the uphill/downhill would not be important.

Animals around bored wells are dangerous and potentially life threating.

-- Jim (catchthesun@yahoo.com), July 11, 2001.


Elizabeth my dairy barn is about 50 feet maybe away from my well, which is at my back door. I walk it 2 or 3 times a day, you would think I would know how many steps! If you think about this, there is probably more manure out in my pastures than in the barn, since I clean the barn, and not the pastures, I also spread the barn cleanings on the pastures! Your water in your well is effected by all the ground water on you and your neighbors properties. Not just above your well. I worry much more about my neighbors fertilizing habits on the 150 acres behind me, and my neighbors on the road who don't have spetic systems, than goat manure! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 11, 2001.


O.K. One doe goat and three kids does not a septic tank make....

Now that said if the well is properly cased I think that 20-30 feet away would be sufficient. Actually you could probably have the well right in the pen without a problem. How deep the well is, would have some bearing too.

Got droppings (berries) tend to be rather dry on impact and I doubt that there would be runoff or leaching that would amount to much of anything.

-- Ed Copp (OH) (edcopp@yahoo.com), July 11, 2001.


Elizabeth: How deep is your well? What kind of well? (drilled or dug?) Is it fully cased to the inlet? What kind of soils do you have in the top layers? We have kept livestock right on top of our well, but it is 130 deep, fully lined all the way down to the inlet (130') and we have several feet of clay under the topsoil. Contamination from animal droppings is not going to make it down to the inlet from the surface. A shallow hand dug well would be another matter completely. I would keep livestock at least 100' feet from any point uphill of the well and fifty feet from the well in a downhill direction if it is hand dug and shallow.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), July 11, 2001.

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