Drinking Water - digging a well?

I would check for other wells in the area at http://mbmggwic.mtech.edu/. The account is just an email and password no money or anything required. Hopefully there are a few wells in the general area to give you an idea on depth to water and geology. Also be sure you file with DNR once you have the well to protect your water right. Even if your property is on the Rez you will need to file. Once the water compact is done they may grandfather the existing filings. Any new wells after that most likely will have to be approved by a committee. I am down by St Ig and my well is 140 Ft deep and yields 25 gpm. I am a professional geologist and will say that I believe dowsing by the right dowser can be helpful. Sediment geology is highly variable in glaciated areas but the reality is your water could be much deeper than the reach of an excavator.

Be jealous one and all for I come from the land of high water tables and fresh water coming out of your ears!

Okay, maybe not that dramatic, but I have been blessed with living in an area with plenty of fresh water access. Growing up, I would wander around with my grandfather as he 'water witched' with an apple branch for folks who couldn't afford to have someone find water for them.

The following video gives a decent breakdown on the process of drilling a well.



Here is another video, but by someone who was using a DIY approach.

A few resources on this:


https://drillyourownwell.com

This one is Florida oriented. Which is to say depending on your geography you get different challenges.
Those I know who have tried say the biggest problems were the sand collapsing and sticking the drill pipe. In sand you need to use bentonite clay slurry when drilling  to prevent this.


the how-to


These will not drill rock.

These folks claim theirs will drill rock..but very slowly

https://www.drillawell.com/full-catalog

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/how-to-dig-a-well-zmaz70jazgoe.aspx

http://www.fdungan.com/well.htm

Unless I missed a post regarding this topic I'm amazed that nobody seems to have brought up the simplest method of accessing a fairly high water table.
Other than the time-honored digging the hole by hand and lining it with rocks  bricks or such, the simplest well to install is a Sand point well.
A Sandpoint is a piece of I believe inch and a half pipe with a hardened point on the end and screening incorporated into the pipe. The Sand point is 2 to 3 ft in length.
The Sand point is attached to other lengths of pipe usually 5 to 10 ft long with specially hardened drive couplings. The Sand point and pipe assembly is then pounded into the ground using a special cap called a drive cap,  a good size mall or a very heavy fence post pounder can be used to drive the unit into the ground.
This type of well is good to about 25 to 30 feet depending upon your elevation above sea level, so of course is used when the aquifer is fairly near the surface. In areas near creeks or rivers or low-lying swampy areas the Sand point well is often quite successful.
I may just have good karma, however our cabin is located near a Creek with a lot of low-lying swamps in the area. We made a first attempt about 75 ft from the creek, a starter hole was dug using simply a manual post hole auger, using some three quarter inch pipe extension on the post hole auger a hole was dug to approximately 8 ft. The Sand point assembly was then pounded down to about 18 ft, though the water table was intersected at about 12 ft.
Amazingly this well has been pumping water using a pitcher type pump and has been in almost continuous service for about 44 years.
This method of accessing groundwater requires only a maul, post hole digger, the Sand point, drive couplings, drive cap and some sections of pipe.
No drilling rig,  no excavator, no well driller, no electricity. The essence of simplicity. Even if you try and fail the outlay is quite minimal.
The entire well can be installed for several hundred dollars, and at the most a half of days worth of Labor.
These types of wells are quite common in this area of Minnesota, and I'm sure quite common elsewhere also.