Well water
<p >A <b>water well</b> is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundwater" title="Groundwater" >groundwater</a> in underground <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquifer" title="Aquifer" >aquifers</a>. The well water is <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/drawn" class="extiw" title="wikt:drawn" >drawn</a> by an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submersible_pump" title="Submersible pump" >electric submersible pump</a>, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handpump" title="Handpump" class="mw-redirect" >handpump</a>or a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windmill" title="Windmill" >mechanical pump</a> (e.g. from a water-pumping windmill<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well_water#cite_note-0" >[1]</a></sup>). It can also be drawn up using containers, such as buckets, that are raised mechanically or by hand.
Wells can vary greatly in depth, water volume and water quality. Well water typically contains more minerals in solution than surface water and may require treatment to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softening" title="Water softening" >soften the water</a> by removing minerals such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic" title="Arsenic" >arsenic</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron" title="Iron" >iron</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manganese" title="Manganese" >manganese</a>.</p>