What do I do with the discharge water?

There are a number of ways to dispose of water after it has passed through the heat pump. The open discharge method is easiest and least expensive. Open discharge simply involves releasing the water into a stream, river, lake, pond, ditch, or drainage tile. Obviously, one of these alternatives must be readily available and have the capacity to accept the amount of water used by the heat pump before open discharge is feasible.

A second means of water discharge is the return well. A return well is a second well bore that returns the water to the ground aquifer. A return well must have enough capacity to dispose of the water passed through the heat pump. A new return well should be installed by a qualified well driller. Likewise, a professional should test the capacity of an existing well before it is used as a return.