Michigander91
New Member
Hello everybody.
This is my first time posting anything about my issues with a shallow well. I finally decided it was time to search for extra help.
My family owns property in Isabella County, Michigan. Two years ago we decided to take on the adventure of putting in our own shallow well. I was barely 18 back then, and wish I knew as much when we started as I do now. We got the pipe, drive point, couplings, check valve, pump, etc, and began. We did a pretty good job and reached water and were really happy. The pipe was simply driven down with a modified fence post driver rented from the local hardware store.
This was done during the summer. Eventually fall came around and we arrived for hunting season. The well was no longer drawing water. We made the assumption that the water level had dropped now that spring/summer was over, and decided to take the pipe deeper. This was two years ago, so I don't remember the specifics, but we think we hit something hard and broke the pipe half way down. We were unable to pull it up, even with a come-a-long, so it was left where it sat.
This past fall/hunting season, we decided to give it another go. We bought another well point, more pipe, and started driving it down once again. The well hole is 5' deep, and we were successfully pumping water with a pipe length of 20'. 23' if you include the point. So that is 28' below the surface of the ground [23' below the pump]. As I said, we were pumping water find. We attached a pressure tank and the pump would automatically shut off. However, if we let this sit for a good amount of time [30min to several hours], and then turned the hose on, the water in the pressure tank would discharge, the pump would kick on, and the water would stop coming. There was a check valve on the suction pipe directly before the pump. So it was as if the water was not retaining suction below the check valve, but retained pressure above the valve. We never did figure out why this was happening. I am almost sure there is no leak anywhere in the suction pipe, and the water level had to have been over the top of the point, otherwise we would have never gained suction to pump water in the first place.
We left for the winter and arrived back this past weekend. We tried pumping, but now we could not even gain a suction at all. We measured the water level with a string and discovered that the water level was now only 1' above the bottom of the point. The water level had definitely decreased since the fall, but we want this well to be sustainable all year around. So we decided to go deeper. We ended up pounding another 5' section down. We tried pumping every 1' deeper we went, all the way up to the 5' of pipe being down. Nothing at all. We left the well overnight. When we woke up [no rainfall] the groundwater level had increased and we were now measuring water at 8.5'. So that means 5.5' of water ABOVE the top of the point. That is great, correct? We tried pumping again. We still could not create a suction to pump the water up. Every time we would remove the check valve, it would release some suction, but not very much. So we new the pump was trying. We even tried letting it run for over a half hour [making sure the pump stayed filled with water]. Still nothing!! We finally had to head home, but this has left us frustrated.
The very last time that we dropped the string down the pipe, my father and uncle claimed that the water seemed to have a lot of clay dissolved into it. So now we are fearing that the entire point is in clay. Which I THINK explains why the water level is showing 8.5' from the bottom of the point, but that we simply cannot pull the water up to pump.
With 25' of pipe now, plus the 3' point, that equals 28'. I know there is supposed to be a limitation of 25' on shallow wells. Our pump says it can handle up to 32' though.
Could out point actually be clogged in clay? In which water is able to slowly drain in, and fill the pipe, but it's not enough to be able to prime all the way to the pump?
Or is the 28' from the bottom of the point to the pump simply 3 feet too much?
We just dont know what to do. With the 25' depth limit, we cannot try to push through any possible clay. But even if we set the point right on top of what we think might be clay, what if the water table drops again next fall or summer?
If anybody can offer any help at all, or advice, I appreciate it.
This is my first time posting anything about my issues with a shallow well. I finally decided it was time to search for extra help.
My family owns property in Isabella County, Michigan. Two years ago we decided to take on the adventure of putting in our own shallow well. I was barely 18 back then, and wish I knew as much when we started as I do now. We got the pipe, drive point, couplings, check valve, pump, etc, and began. We did a pretty good job and reached water and were really happy. The pipe was simply driven down with a modified fence post driver rented from the local hardware store.
This was done during the summer. Eventually fall came around and we arrived for hunting season. The well was no longer drawing water. We made the assumption that the water level had dropped now that spring/summer was over, and decided to take the pipe deeper. This was two years ago, so I don't remember the specifics, but we think we hit something hard and broke the pipe half way down. We were unable to pull it up, even with a come-a-long, so it was left where it sat.
This past fall/hunting season, we decided to give it another go. We bought another well point, more pipe, and started driving it down once again. The well hole is 5' deep, and we were successfully pumping water with a pipe length of 20'. 23' if you include the point. So that is 28' below the surface of the ground [23' below the pump]. As I said, we were pumping water find. We attached a pressure tank and the pump would automatically shut off. However, if we let this sit for a good amount of time [30min to several hours], and then turned the hose on, the water in the pressure tank would discharge, the pump would kick on, and the water would stop coming. There was a check valve on the suction pipe directly before the pump. So it was as if the water was not retaining suction below the check valve, but retained pressure above the valve. We never did figure out why this was happening. I am almost sure there is no leak anywhere in the suction pipe, and the water level had to have been over the top of the point, otherwise we would have never gained suction to pump water in the first place.
We left for the winter and arrived back this past weekend. We tried pumping, but now we could not even gain a suction at all. We measured the water level with a string and discovered that the water level was now only 1' above the bottom of the point. The water level had definitely decreased since the fall, but we want this well to be sustainable all year around. So we decided to go deeper. We ended up pounding another 5' section down. We tried pumping every 1' deeper we went, all the way up to the 5' of pipe being down. Nothing at all. We left the well overnight. When we woke up [no rainfall] the groundwater level had increased and we were now measuring water at 8.5'. So that means 5.5' of water ABOVE the top of the point. That is great, correct? We tried pumping again. We still could not create a suction to pump the water up. Every time we would remove the check valve, it would release some suction, but not very much. So we new the pump was trying. We even tried letting it run for over a half hour [making sure the pump stayed filled with water]. Still nothing!! We finally had to head home, but this has left us frustrated.
The very last time that we dropped the string down the pipe, my father and uncle claimed that the water seemed to have a lot of clay dissolved into it. So now we are fearing that the entire point is in clay. Which I THINK explains why the water level is showing 8.5' from the bottom of the point, but that we simply cannot pull the water up to pump.
With 25' of pipe now, plus the 3' point, that equals 28'. I know there is supposed to be a limitation of 25' on shallow wells. Our pump says it can handle up to 32' though.
Could out point actually be clogged in clay? In which water is able to slowly drain in, and fill the pipe, but it's not enough to be able to prime all the way to the pump?
Or is the 28' from the bottom of the point to the pump simply 3 feet too much?
We just dont know what to do. With the 25' depth limit, we cannot try to push through any possible clay. But even if we set the point right on top of what we think might be clay, what if the water table drops again next fall or summer?
If anybody can offer any help at all, or advice, I appreciate it.