Founder Effect. The Founder Effect is defined as a type of bottleneck, a type of genetic drift describing the loss of the allelic variation that accompanies founding of a new population from a very small number of individuals (a small sample of a much larger source population).
For example, two well drilling companies -- one in Pennsylvania and one that covers New Hampshire, Vermont and central Massachusetts -- state the cost for drilling a well and outfitting it with pump equipment averages between $5,000 and $7,000, at the time of publication.
1 This brings the typical total for drilling a well and setting up a private water delivery system to $3,500-$20,000 or more, but an especially deep and difficult well with a complex water system can cost $20,000-$50,000 or more, depending on depth, water yield and system complexity. (However, if the geological conditions are especially difficult or access is extremely limited, drilling can cost $30-$50 a foot or more.) For example, the sustainable Arizona homesteaders at ByExample.com report paying $6,750 to have well drilled 280' deep, or about $24 /foot.