Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin
Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin
Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
• In Perris, North Carol<strong>in</strong>a, October 2000, a 73-year-old<br />
woman fell down a 20-foot well when a rott<strong>in</strong>g wood<br />
cover dis<strong>in</strong>tegrated beneath her feet (Wellwise, 2007).<br />
• In Alabama, <strong>in</strong> 2004, a 22-month-old toddler was<br />
rescued 13 hours after hav<strong>in</strong>g fall<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to a 14-foot<br />
abandoned well hidden by grass (“TODDLER<br />
RESCUED,” News, 2004).<br />
• In 2006, <strong>the</strong> Indian boy known as Pr<strong>in</strong>ce was<br />
trapped 18 metres down a well <strong>in</strong> India for over 50<br />
hours (Usborne, 2006).<br />
• In Ontario, August 2006, a 41-year-old man fell<br />
<strong>in</strong>to a 25-foot abandoned well when rott<strong>in</strong>g boards<br />
cover<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g gave way (Wellwise, 2007).<br />
• In Bangalore, Karnataka, on April 26, 2007, a n<strong>in</strong>eyear-old<br />
boy was found dead <strong>in</strong> a 60-foot deep<br />
bore-well after hav<strong>in</strong>g been trapped for two days<br />
(Nerve News of India, 2007).<br />
• A tragic occurrence transpired on June 27, 2007,<br />
when a 37-year-old police constable who was<br />
chas<strong>in</strong>g a felon fell <strong>in</strong>to an open 80-foot well to his<br />
death (“Policeman falls,” 2007).<br />
• In South Carol<strong>in</strong>a, July 20, 2007, 15-year-old<br />
Jeffrey Johnson fell 80 feet <strong>in</strong>to an abandoned<br />
well. Fortunately he was rescued with only m<strong>in</strong>or<br />
<strong>in</strong>juries (“Teen survives,” 2007).<br />
• In Cayuga, Ontario, on February 18, 2008, an eightyear-old<br />
girl fell over 59 feet <strong>in</strong>to freez<strong>in</strong>g water<br />
when <strong>the</strong> cover over a well crumbled. Luckily <strong>the</strong><br />
girl was rescued (Globe and Mail, 2008).<br />
• The bodies of two young boys were found <strong>in</strong><br />
an abandoned well <strong>in</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn Italy, end<strong>in</strong>g an<br />
18-month search. The bodies were found when<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r 13-year-old child fell down <strong>the</strong> well. The<br />
13-year-old was rescued but suffered fractures to<br />
both legs (Pisa, 2008).<br />
• Canadian army capta<strong>in</strong> Jonathan Snyder died <strong>in</strong><br />
June 2008 when he fell approximately 6 stories<br />
down an abandoned well while on night patrol <strong>in</strong><br />
Afghanistan (Schmidt, 2008).<br />
Depend<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> size of <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g anyth<strong>in</strong>g from<br />
a small squirrel to a large cow may fall <strong>in</strong>to a well<br />
(Richard, 2007). For example, <strong>in</strong> Boston <strong>in</strong> 2007 a pony<br />
fell <strong>in</strong>to an abandoned well and was most fortunate<br />
as rescuers were able to secure her to a tow truck and<br />
pull her out (Kill<strong>in</strong>gworth, 2007). Many of <strong>the</strong> wild<br />
animals that fall <strong>in</strong>to wells perish as no one reports<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir disappearance. Yet, even with all of <strong>the</strong> attention<br />
<strong>the</strong>se stories brought, abandoned wells cont<strong>in</strong>ue to be<br />
left improperly closed, allow<strong>in</strong>g for horrific accidents<br />
to cont<strong>in</strong>ue. Millions of abandoned wells of all types<br />
rema<strong>in</strong> unplugged <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Great</strong> <strong>Lakes</strong> Bas<strong>in</strong> (Figures 4<br />
and 5).<br />
CONTAMINATION DANGERS<br />
Improperly decommissioned and abandoned wells<br />
provide direct routes by which contam<strong>in</strong>ants can<br />
quickly reach groundwater. They allow contam<strong>in</strong>ants<br />
to bypass natural filtration (Jeter, 2005). Wells with<br />
broken or miss<strong>in</strong>g caps or that have cas<strong>in</strong>gs cut off<br />
nearly flush with, or below, <strong>the</strong> ground surface (a<br />
common practice) often allow contam<strong>in</strong>ated runoff<br />
Figure 5.<br />
Abandoned water well <strong>in</strong> corn field; note<br />
adjacent livestock water<strong>in</strong>g trough<br />
Photo by: D.W. Alley, 2007<br />
Figure 4.<br />
Abandoned well<br />
Photo by: D.W. Alley, 2007<br />
97