I found a very serious problem at my home the other day, which I have owned about 5 years.
The soil around my well casing has caved in massively. At least 1.5 feet out on all sides of the casing, with maybe a 10 inches of soil as a cap over the hole. Its a massive safety risk, and with enough weight i feel like the whole thing could collapse at any second, or with any weight.
Videos of the hole, put my cell phone on a tape and lowered it down.
I measured it with a plumb bob, and its 21 feet deep, before stopping at some moist soil.
The details on the well:
Submersible pump well, 60 feet deep, through alternating 10 foot layers of sand and clay per the paperwork, drilled sometime in the 70s.
My first thought was an issue with a leaking pitless adapter eroding the soil when the pipe to the home was under pump pressure. That doesnt appear to be it, I ran the well pump manually (left a hose triggered on) and checked the pitless adapter while the pump was running to see if perhaps it was leaking, and causing erosion. A few drips, but no at-pump-pressure leak. Drips well could have been condensation.
Would a leak way down at the bottom of the well, perhaps a cracked pipe by the submersible pump, cause soil liquifaction and collapse?
My main concerns are as follows:
PVC casing for the well... that seems, not good
Pitless adapter way too shallow (I can reach down and grab it with my hand), I live in maryland, so the frost line is fairly shallow, but still.
Potential column collapse. With the well casing unsupported, thats a lot of weight. Fortunately 2/3s of the casing is still supported, the bottom 40 feet
Danger to persons: I have it cordoned off now, but its a very dangerous situation.
Solutions:
After determining what has caused the erosion:
Fill with bentonite (pricey)
Add a cement cap at the bottom of the 20 feet before i do?
Cheaper option, fill with a aggregate base. Sand? Or gravel?
The soil around my well casing has caved in massively. At least 1.5 feet out on all sides of the casing, with maybe a 10 inches of soil as a cap over the hole. Its a massive safety risk, and with enough weight i feel like the whole thing could collapse at any second, or with any weight.
Videos of the hole, put my cell phone on a tape and lowered it down.
I measured it with a plumb bob, and its 21 feet deep, before stopping at some moist soil.
The details on the well:
Submersible pump well, 60 feet deep, through alternating 10 foot layers of sand and clay per the paperwork, drilled sometime in the 70s.
My first thought was an issue with a leaking pitless adapter eroding the soil when the pipe to the home was under pump pressure. That doesnt appear to be it, I ran the well pump manually (left a hose triggered on) and checked the pitless adapter while the pump was running to see if perhaps it was leaking, and causing erosion. A few drips, but no at-pump-pressure leak. Drips well could have been condensation.
Would a leak way down at the bottom of the well, perhaps a cracked pipe by the submersible pump, cause soil liquifaction and collapse?
My main concerns are as follows:
PVC casing for the well... that seems, not good
Pitless adapter way too shallow (I can reach down and grab it with my hand), I live in maryland, so the frost line is fairly shallow, but still.
Potential column collapse. With the well casing unsupported, thats a lot of weight. Fortunately 2/3s of the casing is still supported, the bottom 40 feet
Danger to persons: I have it cordoned off now, but its a very dangerous situation.
Solutions:
After determining what has caused the erosion:
Fill with bentonite (pricey)
Add a cement cap at the bottom of the 20 feet before i do?
Cheaper option, fill with a aggregate base. Sand? Or gravel?
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