Low Yield Well - Help!

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Pipe_Creek

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Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some unbiased advice from people much more knowledgable than me on wells. My fiancé and I are in the process of purchasing our first home. We recently had the water yield test performed and learned that that yield is 1.7 GPM. The well is 306' deep, and records show that at the time of installation the yield was 2 GPM.

We really love the house but aren't at all comfortable with that low yield. So a couple of questions:

1. Does it really make sense to drill a new well or drill deeper in the existing? This makes me nervous because of the cost and the fact that it is hit or miss.

2. Shoul we install an intermediate storage system? From the research I've done this seems like the safer bet. I'd install a 400 gallon tank and that should serve peak daily use for an eventual family of 4 correct?

3. What are the disadvantages of a storage system?

Thanks in advance for all of the help.

Matt
 

Thassler

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I've been in about the same situation and went with a storage tank system. Our well was only .5 gpm. We put in a 1500 gallon tank system. You might consider that you will have to maintain another pump system and that you will need a place to house the pump and tank(s) to keep them from freezing. You might have to keep an eye on sanitation also, we chlorinate our tanks every now and then.
 

Valveman

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“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” 1.7 GPM is 2,450 gallons per day. With enough storage you could supply 6 or 8 houses with that. I would like to have water straight from the well but, it sounds like drilling another well in your area is a crap shoot.


As thassler said….
You might consider that you will have to maintain another pump system and that you will need a place to house the pump and tank(s) to keep them from freezing. You might have to keep an eye on sanitation also, we chlorinate our tanks every now and then.

Usually adding a little chlorine occasionally is the biggest problem.
 

Craigpump

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I dont know where in Maryland you are, but I would highly suggest hydrofracing your existing well. Hydrofracing water wells is a very cost effective way to increase a wells yield, it is not uncommon to see wells go from 1/4 gpm to 3 gpm or more. The advantages of a hydrofrac are, it can be done in one day, the same pump and equipment are reused unless they are defective and there is usually no mess other than some tire tracks across the lawn.

By the time you buy a large storage tank, another pump, plumb it and wire up the system to work properly, you will probably spend close to $3000.00 if not more. Then you will have a large tank that will sweat like crazy in the summer time due to the high ambient temps and the colder water in the tank, combine that with the possibility of selling the house one day and scaring off potential buyers because they think the well isn't any good and if the tank is outside, the UV rays from the sun will deteriorate the tank itself.
 
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