frankrue
New Member
I have been reading a great deal about filtration systems, well water maintenance, shocking, the different possible contaminants in well water, and so on. I feel incredibly smart but, unfortunately, I realize that I have no idea what I'm talking about, let alone what I should be doing.
That said, I don't want to be taken in by some nefarious Water Quality Pro, either. So I want to get as much information and as many options as is possible without having a pro look at my system.
Here's what I know...
I purchased a home that was built in 1850. Somewhere in that time period, a man dug out a well about 5' in diameter and at least 25' deep. This well was about 10 feet from the back door of the kitchen, and is made from sweat, field stone, and more sweat. It is still in existence today, though I have not been to its bottom (I used a stiff tape measure and got my measurement put pushing it into the well until it hit fairly solid material).
There is still water sitting in the bottom of it, but I'm not sure how much (or how deep), as my tape stopped at material only a few inches from the visible surface of the water.
This well is now covered by the floor of the laundry room (subsequently built and attached to the home sometime in 1960-1970), with a 24" (approximately) square trapdoor over the well itself. At that time, the owner must have put in a jet pump system. To save time and money, he simply drove the casing for the jet pump pipes into the existing well (at least another 100' or more feet beyond the 25' well itself). I *only know this* because the next owner (to whom I've actually spoken) admits to pulling out the jet pipes, losing one of the sections back into the well, and subsequently installing a submersible in the 1990s. He recalls putting about 150' of pipe into the well, which left the cap at about 5' below the trap door.
All of that said, this is not a "we-hired-a-pro-well-driller" type well. In addition, the access to the well is in a room with a ceiling, so I can't even see how a drilling rig of any kind could get in there (again: my assumptions—maybe y'all know of other drilling rigs).
The house was a dilapidated rental from at least 2000 until 2009. At that time, another owner bought the home, gutted much of it and remodeled it. It's beautiful looking again, and we purchased it this year. I tell you this because the house's well and septic essentially sat dormant for the 18 months of the remodel, and have only recently seen very minor use (we're doing additional renovations and will not live there until 9/1).
We had the standard DEP water test for coliform and bacteria completed, and it came back with a clean bill of health. The water is, by state standards, potable.
However, it wreaks of rotten egg (I'm assuming H[SUB]2[/SUB]S).
My biggest questions are as follows:
1. Should I run the water for a good several hours to sort of get what's been sitting for so long out of the system? If so, how long is long enough to know I'm getting fresh groundwater again?
2. Is it even remotely safe for me to attempt to lower myself into the old well to reach the cap, open it, and attempt to shock the system with 1/2 gallon or so of bleach? I hear horror stories about H[SUB]2[/SUB]S build up in well pits, and, though this isn't a well pit, it sure sounds like a possible death trap. How would I know if it's safe or not? When opening the trap, it doesn't wreak of anything, but that could all change when the cap is taken off of the drilled well portion, right?
3. If I can't go into the well to open the cap and pour in bleach, do I have any other options for shocking the system, or should I move on to other options?
4. I have looked into drilling a new well. It's running about $6000 as far as I can understand (a totally variable amount, since the companies can't be certain how deep or how much steel casing needs to be put into the ground to hit the bedrock). Is it worth it, based on these odd conditions, to save up and do that, just to get away from the weird setup of this well?
5. Comparing new-well-drilling to filtration system cost, what is more worth it? And even if I drill a new well, is it any guarantee that I *won't* need to do filtration?
Help a newbie out—he's confused.
Thanks,
Frank
That said, I don't want to be taken in by some nefarious Water Quality Pro, either. So I want to get as much information and as many options as is possible without having a pro look at my system.
Here's what I know...
I purchased a home that was built in 1850. Somewhere in that time period, a man dug out a well about 5' in diameter and at least 25' deep. This well was about 10 feet from the back door of the kitchen, and is made from sweat, field stone, and more sweat. It is still in existence today, though I have not been to its bottom (I used a stiff tape measure and got my measurement put pushing it into the well until it hit fairly solid material).
There is still water sitting in the bottom of it, but I'm not sure how much (or how deep), as my tape stopped at material only a few inches from the visible surface of the water.
This well is now covered by the floor of the laundry room (subsequently built and attached to the home sometime in 1960-1970), with a 24" (approximately) square trapdoor over the well itself. At that time, the owner must have put in a jet pump system. To save time and money, he simply drove the casing for the jet pump pipes into the existing well (at least another 100' or more feet beyond the 25' well itself). I *only know this* because the next owner (to whom I've actually spoken) admits to pulling out the jet pipes, losing one of the sections back into the well, and subsequently installing a submersible in the 1990s. He recalls putting about 150' of pipe into the well, which left the cap at about 5' below the trap door.
All of that said, this is not a "we-hired-a-pro-well-driller" type well. In addition, the access to the well is in a room with a ceiling, so I can't even see how a drilling rig of any kind could get in there (again: my assumptions—maybe y'all know of other drilling rigs).
The house was a dilapidated rental from at least 2000 until 2009. At that time, another owner bought the home, gutted much of it and remodeled it. It's beautiful looking again, and we purchased it this year. I tell you this because the house's well and septic essentially sat dormant for the 18 months of the remodel, and have only recently seen very minor use (we're doing additional renovations and will not live there until 9/1).
We had the standard DEP water test for coliform and bacteria completed, and it came back with a clean bill of health. The water is, by state standards, potable.
However, it wreaks of rotten egg (I'm assuming H[SUB]2[/SUB]S).
My biggest questions are as follows:
1. Should I run the water for a good several hours to sort of get what's been sitting for so long out of the system? If so, how long is long enough to know I'm getting fresh groundwater again?
2. Is it even remotely safe for me to attempt to lower myself into the old well to reach the cap, open it, and attempt to shock the system with 1/2 gallon or so of bleach? I hear horror stories about H[SUB]2[/SUB]S build up in well pits, and, though this isn't a well pit, it sure sounds like a possible death trap. How would I know if it's safe or not? When opening the trap, it doesn't wreak of anything, but that could all change when the cap is taken off of the drilled well portion, right?
3. If I can't go into the well to open the cap and pour in bleach, do I have any other options for shocking the system, or should I move on to other options?
4. I have looked into drilling a new well. It's running about $6000 as far as I can understand (a totally variable amount, since the companies can't be certain how deep or how much steel casing needs to be put into the ground to hit the bedrock). Is it worth it, based on these odd conditions, to save up and do that, just to get away from the weird setup of this well?
5. Comparing new-well-drilling to filtration system cost, what is more worth it? And even if I drill a new well, is it any guarantee that I *won't* need to do filtration?
Help a newbie out—he's confused.
Thanks,
Frank