We unexpectedly found a well on our property after a hole opened up under a concrete slab anchoring some outdoor stairs (see photos). It turns out there’s an old well below it that was never properly sealed or decommissioned.
Next week (February 28th) excavation of the concrete slab and stairs is scheduled to begin, followed by dredging whatever crud that was previously used to (illegitimately) fill the well, then sealing the well properly (i.e. per state code), pouring more concrete, and finally building new stairs.
Update 2/28: The concrete slab and stairs that were over the well have now been removed. The below photo shows the now fully uncovered well before any dredging occurs.
How deep do you think the well is?
Here are some details about the property and what we know:
- The location is within the metro area of Portland, Oregon.
- The surface elevation is approximately 295 feet above sea level.
- Our home was built in 1920.
- When getting quotes from contractors/sub-contractors, they guessed that the total depth is 30 feet or less.
- The following images are taken from USGS: Estimated Depth to Ground Water and Configuration of the Water Table. (H/t to @shankypanky for the idea.) I've annotated the scales to indicate the colors matching my location.
- As seen in the photos, the top of the well has a ring of roughly 3-4 feet diameter made of brick masonry. The concrete sticking out at the top of some of the later photos is the bottom of the concrete from the surface. (I'm sorry for the poor quality photos! I had a headlamp in one hand and my phone in the other. I had to hold them between the top two steps and blindly snap the shots!)
I welcome any insights or informed guesses in the comments regarding the age of the well or methods used to dig it out. Our local government has no record of the well's existence, and I suppose it's also possible that it was actually intended to be a bomb shelter, rainwater cistern, or creepy body-storage space. (Who knows?!)
Market will resolve to the depth as measured by remediation workers.
I'll refrain from betting in this market.
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@traders The well was dredged this morning for about three hours. I think they're done dredging now, but I'm not positive. The workers told me the depth; however, I'm going to leave this market open for at least another day (and maybe into next week), just in case they end up dredging out any more.
I have a new photo, but I'm unsure if I should post it before market resolution. (I also suspect the appearance won't match the actual depth, so it may throw off some people as much as it could clue-in others.)
Thoughts?
@traders The concrete slab and stairs that were over the well have now been removed. The below photos show the now fully uncovered well before any dredging occurs.
Perspective from slightly downhill from the well:
Perspective from slightly uphill from the well:
