Questions on recovering an old shallow well...

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russtang

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Hello all. Glad to find the forum.

I'll get right to the questions. We have a shallow well that I think was hand dug.
I don't know how long it has been out of service.

It is on the side of a hollow about 50 yards down one side. We have a creek running through the property and some springs that feed it.

The well has a cement pipe casing about 3ft ID. The water is about 5 foot from the top and about 3 foot deep. There is about 2 inches of dirt/crud in the bottom. The bottom feels hard, but I don't know what it is.

We took a portable pump that is rated at 9 gallons per minute max, and pumped water out for about 10-12 minutes. The water level did not go down any that we could tell.

First-if the well is useable, what would we need to do to get it workable?

Next-whats the max distance a shallow well pump can operate?

From the well to where the building will be located , there is about 20 yards of downhill/flat, then 50 yards of uphill at about 40-45 degree incline, then about 80-100 yards level/10 degree incline.
What type of pump setup would be required?

Also, this is in the woods and burying all of the piping will be a monumental task.
Is there some type of piping system or insulation that is available the allows for pipe to not be buried?

Sorry to bombard with so many questions on the first post. We are in a bind financially and if we can save a few thousand $$ that would be awesome.
No running water sux.
 

Gritres

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the distance is less of a concern than the elevation. sounds like you have anywhere from 100 to 150 feet of head which is up to 65 PSI lost from elevation. you'll need a decent submersible or jet pump for that, somebody here will have a recommendation im sure.
you want to keep it cheap it seems so belled end schedule 40 PVC of 1 to 1.5 inches will work. there's no need to bury it except for the fact that when it freezes if you have water in it and it's not insulated you're screwed.

your two biggest concerns are freezing pipes and getting electricity to the location. there's really no problem in pumping water up 150 feet of elevation over 600 feet. people pump water for miles.
 
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