Contaminated well

[LCF]

Good morning everyone.

2 years ago we needed to tap into one of our shallow wells in order to run a new water line to our greenhouse. With the help of this forum we got everything installed and it has been working great however I did make a big mistake that we are now dealing with.

The walls of the shallow well are concrete and after running the poly through the well wall I forgot to seal around the hole in the well casing. Now we have ecoli and total coliform in the water. I would like to fix this and have already taken a few steps.

I installed a UV sterilizer which is working as it should to kill everything off. I also purchased liquid pool bleach at 13% hypochlorite which I will use to treat the well.

I am going to drain the well and climb back inside on the ladder in an attempt to seal around the pipe.

What should I use to seal the pipe? Would hydraulic cement work? I can also excavate the outside of the pipe where it enters the well and seal it there as well, I just don't know what to use.

I should also say that in 2019 this well will be discontinued and used for irrigation only as we will be putting in a drilled well however I still want to address this issue so we can salvage this well as a backup in the event of drought years.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Reach4]

Hydraulic cement would need to be applied to the outside.

You might read up on
3M 05220 Marine Adhesive Sealant Fast Cure 5200,
green package theme

3M T Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 (week or so for complete cure)
blue package theme

These would probably be best outside, but if anything would work inside, maybe one of these would.

I am not a pro, and have no relevant experience.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Valveman]

Yeah hydraulic cement is probably best. Be careful going down the well. You could encounter bad gas or lack of air.

 

[LCF]

Thank you very much for the info. I ordered the 3M05220 and will try to get in there and seal it, and I will put hydraulic cement on the outside . Hopefully this solves the problem after a heavy bleaching.

 

[Reach4]

If you go into the outside, I would put some 3M05220 where pipe hits the concrete, and follow that with a big dose of hydraulic cement. That may be overkill, but I often like overkill.

Inside push the sealant into the crack. You may have to restrain it somehow.. tape? Nitrile gloves are useful.