Signs of a possible abandoned well
Property owners checking for an unused well can look for pipes protruding from the ground, small structures that may have been well houses, depressions, concrete vaults or pits, and out-of-use windmills or wind pumps. Property maps or plans may also contain utility-history information. These signs and suggestions are included in FOX Carolina’s report, which cites the American Ground Water Trust; the outlet also says the SC Ground Water Association website lists drilling contractors for people with questions about unused wells: FOX Carolina’s report.
Falls have happened in homes and yards
In Salem, an 83-year-old woman died in November 2023 after falling nearly 50 feet through rotting floorboards into a well beneath a home. She was helping her daughter move, and the home’s owner had not known the well was there, according to KIRO 7.
A different kind of collapse led to a rescue in Gaffney in May 2022: a 14-year-old boy fell about 40 feet when the concrete lid over a well behind his home crumbled. The shaft was 24 inches wide, and the teen was recovering from non-life-threatening injuries, The Gaffney Ledger reported: The Gaffney Ledger’s report.
A recent Anderson County rescue
Maisy disappeared into overgrown bamboo behind her family’s Anderson County home on Sunday night. After the family remembered an old well in the area, it called 911. The well had been concealed by bamboo for more than a decade, according to FOX Carolina.
Anderson County and West Pelzer Fire Department crews spent roughly an hour and a half rescuing Maisy from the water-filled, 50-foot shaft. FOX Carolina reported that she had a torn toenail, a bruised hip and an infected cut, but no broken bones. She was moving around and greeting first responders after she was brought out.
The well now has a temporary cover. The family plans to find a permanent way to seal it, but says the shaft is too deep to simply fill, FOX Carolina reported. The outlet also cited experts’ estimate that South Carolina has more than 100,000 water wells, with the number abandoned without proper sealing unknown. A bill that would have required sellers to disclose known wells died in committee years ago, according to the same report.
