Parts of a Well System

How this list was compiled: Part names and every detail line were checked, for facts only and with nothing copied, against pages read on 2026-09-20. The National Ground Water Association's well owner pages: https://wellowner.org/resources/basics/well-system-components/ (casing as the tubular structure that maintains the well opening; grout; well screens; gravel or filter pack; the pitless adapter; the well cap), https://wellowner.org/resources/basics/well-system-components/well-caps/ and https://wellowner.org/resources/basics/what-is-a-drilled-well/. The United States Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/privatewells/learn-about-private-water-wells (casing, well cap, well screen, pitless adapter, jet pump and submersible pump). The Minnesota Department of Health, Well Owner's Handbook: https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/docs/wells/construction/handbook.pdf (the water table as the top of the saturated zone; an aquifer as a layer of sediment or rock that stores and transmits water; the screen as a strainer-like cylinder that lets water in and keeps sand and gravel out; the gravel pack or filter pack; grout filling the annular space between the casing and the bore hole wall; the submersible pump and motor unit placed below the water level; jet pumps, which force water through a jet (venturi), a narrow cone that creates a partial vacuum; the jet inside the pump on a shallow well; the foot valve as a check valve that closes tight when the pump shuts off; the suction pipe; the pitless adapter and the buried water service pipe below the frost line; the well cap or well seal; the pressure tank with a diaphragm or bladder that keeps the air and the water apart; the pressure switch that starts and stops the pump at preset pressures; the drop pipe). The Water Systems Council's component information sheets, under https://www.watersystemscouncil.org/download/wellcare_information_sheets/component_information_sheets/: Your-Well-Pump.pdf (the pump and its electric motor make up the pumping unit; the tank holds water under pressure until it is needed), Your-Well-Tank.pdf (diaphragm and bladder tanks), Valves.pdf (check valves, the drop pipe check valve, foot valves at the end of the suction pipe, spring-controlled pressure-relief valves, shut-off valves, the discharge pipe), Pressure-Switches.pdf (cut-in and cut-out pressure) and Your-Pitless-Adapter.pdf (a sanitary, frost-proof seal between the casing and the water line to the house; the wellhead is the pitless adapter, the casing and the cap). A well accessory maker's knowledge base, https://support.boshart.com/: what-is-the-function-of-each-well-water-pressure-system-component (check valves stop water draining back down the well when the pump stops), what-is-the-function-of-torque-arrestors-in-a-well-water-system (fitted directly above the pump on the riser pipe, keeps the pump centered, takes up start-up torque), what-is-the-function-of-safety-rope-and-rope-hangers-in-a-well-water-system (tied to the pump and secured at the well head, in case the pipe separates), what-is-the-function-of-insert-adapters-and-tank-tees-in-a-well-water-system (the tank tee is a multi-port fitting that connects a tank to a water system), what-is-the-function-of-pressure-switches-and-pressure-gauges-in-a-well-water-system, what-is-the-function-of-drain-ball-and-pressure-relief-valves-in-a-well-water-system and what-is-the-function-of-cable-guards-and-cable-ties-in-a-well-water-system (the pump wire). A second maker's catalog, https://merrillmfg.com/collections/ (categories for torque arrestors and cable guards, safety rope, tank tees, pressure relief valves, check and foot valves, pitless adapters, well caps and well seals, pressure gauges and pressure switches). Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well (casing, well screen, filter pack, the annular space sealed with bentonite or cement, well cap, aquifer, water table), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submersible_pump (a pump close-coupled to a hermetically sealed motor; the submersible pump cable), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injector (well pumps: the jet on a shallow-well pump is part of the pump; also called an ejector), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_valve (foot valve and non-return valve as names for a check valve), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief_valve, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_switch and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_tank (a diaphragm or bladder separates the water from the air). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-26: a drilled well with a submersible pump piped to a basement pressure tank, and a shallow well with a jet pump, both in section, the wells drawn shorter and wider than life. Our own geometry; nothing traced or copied; the text sources are listed in this dataset's source. Licence: own work