Installing Submersible in Shallow Well

Short: How do I install a submersible pump in a large-diameter shallow well without losing several feet of storage in the well?


I've got a 25ft 30"id cement-cased dug well that I'm going to use for my GSHP. Water level is around 10' (leaving 15' of water) depending on time of year and yield is about 5gpm.

I want to install a submersible pump due to efficiency reasons and am trying to decide how to best install it. As the system uses 6gpm on low and 8gpm on high; the storage in the well is important.

I've read the pump should be 5 ft above the bottom of the well at minimum, but can't afford to lose that much water storage in the well.

I was planning on digging out a 4.5" hole about 8 feet deep in the bottom of the well for the pump casing, but as most of water infiltrates the well between caisons in the 18-23 ft range, resulting in the water flowing in to the well above the pump; I'm not sure this would work well.

The other idea would be to make the hole larger and then use a pump sleeve.

Anyone have any idea on how to best install the submersible while being able to take advantage of the majority of the storage ability of the well?

I appreciate everyones help in these great forums.

The lower you can install the submersible, the more storage from the well you can access. Putting the pump down this low makes it important to use the pump sleeve or flow inducer shroud. 1' off the bottom should be fine.