Brown water after pump installation

We had a new well pump installed yesterday. The well is 650', Goulds 7gs15 pump at 600', static level 150'. The installers chlorinated the well and washed down the sides of the casing for 30 min. The water was clear when they left but was dirty this morning. We didn't use much water that night,(shower, toilet). I don't know if it is dirt sediment or rust. We have lived here for 8 yrs and never chlorinated the well ( didn't know we had to). I ran two faucets and a outside garden hose for 1-1.5 hrs with no change in water color. Any sugestions on what my next step is or if this is normal? Thanks.

PA TT said:

We had a new well pump installed yesterday. The well is 650', Goulds 7gs15 pump at 600', static level 150'. The installers chlorinated the well and washed down the sides of the casing for 30 min. The water was clear when they left but was dirty this morning. We didn't use much water that night,(shower, toilet). I don't know if it is dirt sediment or rust. We have lived here for 8 yrs and never chlorinated the well ( didn't know we had to). I ran two faucets and a outside garden hose for 1-1.5 hrs with no change in water color. Any sugestions on what my next step is or if this is normal? Thanks.

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I know that seems like a lot of pumping but, it if not. If you have a tap at your pressure tank, run it from there. All day, clean or not.

The outdoor hose I'm using is on the water main into the house before the pressure tank. The well only puts out 2 gpm and I don't want to run it low and cause other issues.

PA TT said:

The outdoor hose I'm using is on the water main into the house before the pressure tank. The well only puts out 2 gpm and I don't want to run it low and cause other issues.

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In that case you will have to wait for it to settle.

PA TT said:

We had a new well pump installed yesterday. The well is 650', Goulds 7gs15 pump at 600', static level 150'. The installers chlorinated the well and washed down the sides of the casing for 30 min. The water was clear when they left but was dirty this morning. We didn't use much water that night,(shower, toilet). I don't know if it is dirt sediment or rust. We have lived here for 8 yrs and never chlorinated the well ( didn't know we had to). I ran two faucets and a outside garden hose for 1-1.5 hrs with no change in water color. Any sugestions on what my next step is or if this is normal? Thanks.

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Have you had rust stains in the house or do you have a softener or iron filter? If so the discolored water is probably caused by oxidized ferrous iron particles called ferric iron, or rust.

The reason it didn't show up until the next morning is probably due to it taking some time to oxidize the iron or they didn't run chlorinated water into the house after shocking the well and/or the volume of chlorine was too little or, only now is it cleaning rust out of the plumbing.

If you don't smell chlorine in the water, then it's probably dirt being stirred up by the new pump or maybe some pressure water leak spraying the inside of the well. If you have any water treatment equipment you need to by pass it or the chlorine can damage or ruin it; especially softener resin.

BTW, shocking a well usually causes this type problem and can cause the pump, power cable and drop pipe problems; especially galvanized pipe. If you have galvanized pipe, that would take a few hours to cause it to start rusting and discoloring the water.

You don't have to shock your well but anyone you hire to work on it is usually required to shock the well. As if there is no problem in doing it; your government just wants to help you...

Be careful of running water out a hose forever. You should monitor the flow so you don't run the well 'dry' and damage the pump etc.. And running water like that can cause discolored water too.

We don't have any rust stain issues or any water treatment systems installled. The water does have a smell of chlorine. The pump installers did not run any of the chlorinated water through the house, they just flushed the line at the well. The piping is 1" skd. 80 pvc with I believe are galvanized couplings. There is a pump tec no load sensor that I would assume shuts off the pump if there is no water load on the pump thus stopping the pump from continually running or cavitating the pump. The house is a early 90's modular and is piped with grey pipe.The water is muddy or rusty looking when the fausset's or shower is first turned on, then it clears up within a minute or two. I don't want to kill any of the plumbing by letting the chlorinated water sit in the pipes. I was going to buy a chlorine test kit and try to purge the well once or twice a day until it tests clean for chlorine. With the pump at 600' and a static level at 150' I fiqure that gives me 600+ gallons I can purge at one time without running the well dry. Would this be advisable? Water useage is rather low in the household and the well should have time to recoup.

PA TT said:

We don't have any rust stain issues or any water treatment systems installled. The water does have a smell of chlorine. The pump installers did not run any of the chlorinated water through the house, they just flushed the line at the well. The piping is 1" skd. 80 pvc with I believe are galvanized couplings. There is a pump tec no load sensor that I would assume shuts off the pump if there is no water load on the pump thus stopping the pump from continually running or cavitating the pump. The house is a early 90's modular and is piped with grey pipe.The water is muddy or rusty looking when the fausset's or shower is first turned on, then it clears up within a minute or two. I don't want to kill any of the plumbing by letting the chlorinated water sit in the pipes. I was going to buy a chlorine test kit and try to purge the well once or twice a day until it tests clean for chlorine. With the pump at 600' and a static level at 150' I fiqure that gives me 600+ gallons I can purge at one time without running the well dry. Would this be advisable? Water useage is rather low in the household and the well should have time to recoup.

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I would just use my nose. LOL Municipal systems have chlorine in the water. It is just going to take time to come out.
I would pump it but, my wells pump plenty of water. You have to do what you are comfortable with. I would do what the man who worked on it said to do.

A few years ago my neighbor's pump went belly up. It was only down 125' so he decided to pull it himself. So he has the whole 125' of poly well pipe snaked across his lawn. This is the same lawn that his 2 rotweilers crap on three times a day. He spins the old pump off and the new pump on and proceeds to drag the well line though the **it field and drop it back in the hole. Naturally he does'nt bother to chlorinate because that would take too much time and cost an extra $ 2.50 for the Chlorine. Two days later him, the wife and one of the kids are in the hospital. Imagine that.

Peter Griffin said:

A few years ago my neighbor's pump went belly up. It was only down 125' so he decided to pull it himself. So he has the whole 125' of poly well pipe snaked across his lawn. This is the same lawn that his 2 rotweilers crap on three times a day. He spins the old pump off and the new pump on and proceeds to drag the well line though the **it field and drop it back in the hole. Naturally he does'nt bother to chlorinate because that would take too much time and cost an extra $ 2.50 for the Chlorine. Two days later him, the wife and one of the kids are in the hospital. Imagine that.

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Yeppers....even without the dogs it can happen. Birds flying over......we ALWAYS chlorinate. 98% chlorine. Not bleach.

Peter Griffin said:

A few years ago my neighbor's pump went belly up. It was only down 125' so he decided to pull it himself. So he has the whole 125' of poly well pipe snaked across his lawn. This is the same lawn that his 2 rotweilers crap on three times a day. He spins the old pump off and the new pump on and proceeds to drag the well line though the **it field and drop it back in the hole. Naturally he does'nt bother to chlorinate because that would take too much time and cost an extra $ 2.50 for the Chlorine. Two days later him, the wife and one of the kids are in the hospital. Imagine that.

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Yeah ya can't fix stupid. Whoever was putting the line down the well must have been blind too. Did they survive?

Oh yea, they survived. Not only can't you fix stupid, apparently you can't kill it off either.