Red coloered well water suddenly

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Nofears67

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The well serving my new house was constructed in the 60's. I had it video'd about 1.5 years ago and the casing looked fine. We had the well brushed and bailed, installed a new submersible pump and motor and flushed/tested the water. Everything was A-OK.

We are getting ready to connect this source to our new home. We ran a 2" line to the home and had a break in the line which allowed the well to essentially flush to atmosphere for about 20 minutes before we noticed anything.

After I made the repairs I flushed the line and red plugs of water started to come out peridoically. This red color was very deep red at certain times and was accompanied by small flakes of rust, etc. The water also smelled very "metallic".

Normally the water from this well is crystal clear and cold and I have been drinking it regularly from a hose when working onsite. The normal demands on the well are probably in the 5-25 gpm range (std hose to irrigation usage). I estimate when the 2" line was flowing wide open that 60+ gpm was coming out.

I surmise this happened due to the flushing to atmosphere created a demand on the well and within the casing that had not happened since initial flushing which caused water to rush down the casing and well more than normal and this water was churning up sediment along the bottom of the well which ended up getting flushed out.

Should this be something I should be worried about?
Is it possible that the pump company installed the pump too close to the bottom of the well?
How far off the bottom should the pump end be from the bottom of the well?

Any feedback/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 

Valveman

Cary Austin
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Anytime you increase the flow rate more than normal, you are going stir up the well. I would try to pump out the well more. As long as the well doesn't pump dry, I would run it wide open for several hours. Then let it sit for a while and do it again. Eventually it should stop coming out dirty, even at wide open flow. I would rather try to clean out the well than to add a filter. A filter is the last resort in my opinion.
 

Nofears67

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Thanks Cary.

Would the CSV3B2T valve be adversely affected by the colored or sediment laden water that came thru the well?

Would it be prudent to take the valve apart and clean out any sediment or would it likely clear itself out once the water cleared up?

I flushed the well last night for a couple hours and the water was clear but there were still very fine sediments at the bottom of the bottle I was using to check the water.

I let it sit overnight and will flush for multiple hours again today.

Thanks again!
 

Valveman

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Over a long term sediment will sand blast out the insides of the CSV, just like it will the pump. However, the B series has been designed to work on systems that pump from ponds, lakes, streams, and other places where debris is present. The sediment will pass right through the CSV. If you continue to pump sediment, I would take the CSV apart and clean it about every 5 years. Keep flushing. If you get the color and sediment to a minimum at high flow, you probably won't see any of it when you go back to normal flow rate.
 

Nofears67

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Thanks again Cary. And BTW, the CSV has been working flawlessly so far (knock on wood :) )
 
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