Drilling a well. Going to need alot of advice.

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Johnny Turner

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So after trying to get city water hook up I found that it`s just going to cost to much .So now I`m going to have to go with a well and I have low funds around 4k for this.Called a guy who told me 2k for 120 foot well but I have no ideal where to get him to dig so what do I do ?get someone to water witch it and hope I don`t lose 2k in funds and have nothing?Also if I did drill a well and get nothing would it be possible to just get a large storage tank and hual water to it with my truck and then put a preassure booster pump from that and then into a preasure tank then into my house for plumbing?
A lot of questions in my mind and I have no ideal what to do and am worried I will pretty much waste 2k in cash for a dry hole .So I`m hoping for some advice from anyone here.
 

VAWellDriller

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I'm a well driller, and I FIRMLY believe that ANYONE witching water or recommending you to witch water is an idiot or a con artist or BOTH....can't say it enough. One day, if I win then lottery; I'm going to buy a big piece of land where you might be apt to get dry holes, and drill 50 wells blind, and 50 with a witch; prove what a hoax it is...and that IS THE ONLY WAY to test them.....
Where are you located? You may be in an area prone to dry holes, or you might be in an area like where I am that if you have a competent driller, they will guarantee you water because it is so readily available.....you should talk to another driller and see what they say.
 

Craigpump

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What part of Ky are you in? There are a lot of areas where there was oil production back in the early 1900's and the wells were never properly plugged so the oil & gas have contaminated the fresh water.

To go along with what VA Well driller said, I have seen a lot of things used to find oil, gas and water. From welding rods with sponges dipped in oil, radio metrics, land sat maps, "closeology", willow branches....... The most reliable way to find anything under ground is to drill for it.
 

Johnny Turner

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here is a map of my area.just go here and then pick tools and enter in these longitude and latitude .lat# 36.929167 lon# 84.815278 that will show the well below my house and my area.

http://kgs.uky.edu/kgsmap/KGSwater/viewer.asp

here I have circled my house in red and right below me about 6 or 700 feet is my grandmothers house circled in blue.The well they show is actually right behind my grandmothers house .I cannot use this well as it has a lot of filth in it huge pieces of leaves from trees or something and smells really bad.Also I don't own the land and my grand parents have passed away years ago and 12 kids now own it.Also right behind my house in the woods is a spring that runs until until summer.i don't own this either.

location.jpg

here is some more info on my area.

http://www.uky.edu/KGS/water/library/gwatlas/Wayne/Foreword.htm


here I have marked all that I know about my area as far as water sources.

new 1.jpg
 

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VAWellDriller

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You should talk to 2 or 3 drillers and see what they have to say; they will have the best local knowledge; If one is proposing a 120' well, he must know something because I wouldn't think you'd ever plan on stopping that shallow if there wasn't water there.
 

Johnny Turner

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You should talk to 2 or 3 drillers and see what they have to say; they will have the best local knowledge; If one is proposing a 120' well, he must know something because I wouldn't think you'd ever plan on stopping that shallow if there wasn't water there.


Well I told the guy that the well at my grand parents old house was 120 feet deep and he said that is what I would most likely have to drill to.
 

Reach4

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You should talk to 2 or 3 drillers and see what they have to say; they will have the best local knowledge; If one is proposing a 120' well, he must know something because I wouldn't think you'd ever plan on stopping that shallow if there wasn't water there.

Do you think he should ask/compare what kind of casing etc that will be used? Is the driller going to run a pitless adapter into the casing, run wires, pipe in the pump? I wouldn't think he could get that done as part of the $2000. Would the driller be the typical person to do that stuff, or is that usually done by a different person?

With a big river nearby and springs nearby, chances of hitting water sound good-- but that's an uneducated guess.
 

Johnny Turner

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Do you think he should ask/compare what kind of casing etc that will be used? Is the driller going to run a pitless adapter into the casing, run wires, pipe in the pump? I wouldn't think he could get that done as part of the $2000. Would the driller be the typical person to do that stuff, or is that usually done by a different person?

With a big river nearby and springs nearby, chances of hitting water sound good-- but that's an uneducated guess.

I don`t really know what he will include for that price .He told me he would provide 20 foot of casing and that it was 16$ a foot to drill.what should I ask him is included?And is 2,000$ for 120 foot high or low also how deep does one usually have to go to get a good well for 1 residence ?I have been searching for water table and aquifer data maps for my area but I can`t seem to find them does anyone know of any ?
Also one thing I thought of trying is purchasing the spring that is just 75 foot off my land and maybe having them drill there ?What do you guys think could that increase the chances of getting a good well ?I know I have seen that spring run around 15 to 20 GPM that's just a guess but I would think it was running that much in a min.
 
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VAWellDriller

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He should absolutely compare what all different drillers offer with their price. I'm sure that $2000 gets him nothing but a well.....everything else will be extra (that's certainly a fair price). There are lots of places to get info and advice on getting a good well; geologists, hydrologists, engineers, local health department, state agencies, etc....but ALL of those people get their most reliable info from the drillers......get out the yellow pages, get a few drillers to come out to you and tell you what they think. Well drillers live by their reputation, so they never like to end up with dry holes and unhappy customers, I'm sure they will tell you the best info they have and do the best they can for you not to waste money.
 

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When we drilled oil & gas wells in Ky our permits came through a state agency and I would think that there has to be an agency that does the same for water wells, here in Ct it is the Dept of Consumer Protection, they would also have well completion reports on file that could help give you an idea as to how deep you will have to drill. You could also check with your local health department and contact the Ky Water Well Association for well completion info.

I would also want to know the quality of the water in the area before I drilled, as I said earlier, there were a LOT of oil wells drilled in that part of Ky and a good many of them were not properly plugged. A call to some local water testing labs to see if there is VOC or hydrocarbon contamination in the area would be on my list of things to do. Most of the wells were drilled to salt water, so there could be salt water intrusion as well.

A Google search of Wayne County oil production might help you.
 

Johnny Turner

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When we drilled oil & gas wells in Ky our permits came through a state agency and I would think that there has to be an agency that does the same for water wells, here in Ct it is the Dept of Consumer Protection, they would also have well completion reports on file that could help give you an idea as to how deep you will have to drill. You could also check with your local health department and contact the Ky Water Well Association for well completion info.

I would also want to know the quality of the water in the area before I drilled, as I said earlier, there were a LOT of oil wells drilled in that part of Ky and a good many of them were not properly plugged. A call to some local water testing labs to see if there is VOC or hydrocarbon contamination in the area would be on my list of things to do. Most of the wells were drilled to salt water, so there could be salt water intrusion as well.

A Google search of Wayne County oil production might help you.


As far as I know there wasn`t a lot of oil wells drilled in this county .I know they are a lot just south of us about 30 or 40 miles off in Albany KY.
 

Johnny Turner

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Well if you look at the map I posted that wooded area just behind my house is a huge hill side also the wooded area to the right of my grandparents house is also a hillside.the fields to the left and right are all low laying and flat.I would think a lot of water would be coming from these 2 hills .I know the blue hole that runs just below my grandparents house runs when it rains alot.I have heard my father say that it comes from wolf springs .Also they used to be a spring about a half mile out our road call turkey springs .So I know they are a lot of water in this area but can I get to it from my land is the question.
 

Johnny Turner

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Ok guys so today I dropped a pail down that well of my grandparents well and dropped the water out in a tub as always the water looked blackish looking and had leaf particles in it and smelled bad.Now IDK where the leaf particles are coming from we kept a cender block over the 6" hole.but I couldn`t help but wonder if it might be possible to pump this water the 600 feet to a tank at my house.I really think it would be years before the kids ever do anything with that house maybe not at all.Anyway why does this water look blackish and smell bad ?My dad says that the huge water maple that is 20 foot from the well has gotten into the well.He thinks its root system has somehow grown down into it.I rember drinking from this well 20 years or so ago and it was clean water always but they seen a farmer had dumped his dead cattle in a sinkhole and was afraid to drink the water and never got it tested .Now I don't know why they didn`t turn this guy in because that is against the law .Anyway what would be a good way to pump this well out and then maybe clean the water and then have it tested and could I get this water to a tank at my house??
 

Johnny Turner

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Test pump the well. It may just need a little cleaning and disinfecting. If it makes good water there is no problem pumping it as far as you need.

So what kind of pump should I get for this and how do I set it up?I`m sorry to be such a bother but I have no exp in this at all.Also I`m thinking I will need some kind of filter system to keep the pump going right?
 
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Craigpump

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Sulphur will turn water black and make it smell bad, really bad. Of course an animal or two could have found its way past the cinder block.

If the well is 120' and you lowered a rope 120' to reach water, there isn't a lot of water there.

How much do they want to hook you up to county water?
 

Johnny Turner

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I would guess around 6 to 8 thousand to get county water maybe more I just don't know but it would be more then my 4 k will cover.also even though I lowered it 120 feet which is just a guess I noticed the rope was wet a good 15 feet or so .also there is no way an animal could have moved a 15 pound cinder block and gotten past it.
 
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Valveman

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Rig up about a 3/4 HP, 10 GPM submersible to run on a generator. Drop it down on a piece of 1" poly pipe. Then you can clean out and test the well to see what you have. Even if you have to valve it down to 1 GPM to keep it running, that is 1440 gallons per day to pump to the house.
 
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