DIY Shallow Well with 1-1/4" Sandpoint Installation

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ACWxRADR

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I have been installing shallow wells with sandpoints and above ground pumps for 30 years now.
Some installations were to provide simple water pumping via a pitcher pump, others with powered
centrifugal pumps.
Since I have been at this so long, I am quite familiar with the standard practice of driven well points.
Each installation is unique, of course, but the main theme was to reach the water bearing substrate
somewhere between 16 and 24 feet in depth.
Our local elevation is about 1200 feet above sea level. I have managed to pump water from as deep as
28 feet below grade, but that installation was not standard. The well point was set at that depth, but the
water table was several feet higher. It was just necessary to drive the point to that depth to access the
permeable sand and gravel layer. The natural water table filled the well pipe to an equilibrium level that
was higher than the total depth of the sand point. There is plenty of water here, we are right on the river.
In the past installations, I have used a homemade post driver style impact driver to install the well point.
I would dig a pilot hole with a spade and then auger down to the loose sand with a powered auger or with
a hand operated clam shell post hole digger. Everyone realizes that this requires a lot of work and it is
hard on even a young person's back. Well, I ain't so young anymore and I wasn't starting out as a body
builder in the first place. Therefore, I am seeking methods to work smarter, not harder.
About 18 years ago, I attempted a well installation utilizing water jetting, but the design was all my own, I did not research the practice. It worked and the well I installed is still operational today, but I made some errors which resulted in creating a void or cavity below grade that eventually collapsed in and sunk the ground above. My design and practice worked, but it was not the proper method all around.
I desire to install at least one new well to service my new cabin. I do not want to go through the back breaking work of hand driving a well point once again and I do not trust using a mechanical (pneumatic) driver. I am afraid that a mechanical driver maybe too overpowering and damage the threads of the pipes and couplings. Therefore, what I am interested in is water jetting the pipe and sand point.
Water is powerful. I have heard it stated that water always wins and that is why we have the Grand Canyon, therefore I want to make water work for me as opposed to me working for the water. Hence, I need to devise a method to "jet" drill my new well using pressurized water.
What I am seeking here and asking of you is advice and experience regarding water jetting to install a new well point.

If you have any ideas, please respond.

Thanks!
RADAR
 

Valveman

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It all depends on the material you are driving or jetting through. If the material is soft enough to jet through, it should also be easy to drive through. If the material is too hard to drive or jet, you will need to drill through it. When jetting soft material it is hard not to create voids and cavities that cause problems. It is better to just drive through it.

Maybe you can turn down the pressure on the pneumatic driver so it drives easier. It will take longer, but maybe won't mess up the threads or couplings.
 

Greenmonster123

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My brother washed down a 4" casing using a trash pump, mud pit; and bentonite. He glued an adapter on the bottom of the casing with teeth cut into it; pumped water mixed with bentonite down it while turning back and forth; the cuttings would settle in the pit and slurry would be pumped back down. He got 40' of casing down the pulled it up 5' and pushed down 5' of internal well screen; gravel packed and grouted it. Set the pump gets 20 gpm.
 

Valveman

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My brother washed down a 4" casing using a trash pump, mud pit; and bentonite. He glued an adapter on the bottom of the casing with teeth cut into it; pumped water mixed with bentonite down it while turning back and forth; the cuttings would settle in the pit and slurry would be pumped back down. He got 40' of casing down the pulled it up 5' and pushed down 5' of internal well screen; gravel packed and grouted it. Set the pump gets 20 gpm.

That is the way wells are drilled with a mud rotary machine. Except that we would normally drill a larger diameter hole, like 6 or 7" to put in 4" casing. That way there is enough annular space to have room for the gravel pack and cement seal. In most places washing down 4" casing will not leave enough room for the gravel to be thick enough to filter out the dirt.

A drive point needs to seal to the earth above the screen or depending on the water level, the pump may lose suction. So if you wash it down the hole size will be sloppy and the pipe will not be sealed to the earth. Yet it is not sloppy enough to get any gravel down, and would make it impossible to get a cement or bentonite seal.

At least that is the way I see it. I have drilled lots of wells with a mud rotary rig, but don't have much experience with drive points.
 

ACWxRADR

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I have never used a pneumatic driver. Although that would have saved my back, I never had ready access to one. I have always used an exquisite, homemade hand pile driver. It looks nearly identical to the small T-post drivers you can buy at Menards, Lowes, TSC, etc. However, it is all SS construction. A four inch tube with a leaded insert in the head and two 16 inch side handles. Not sure how much it weighs, but I guess about 75 pounds. Before this one, I used a borrowed driver from a neighbor. We nick-named it "The Man Killer". It was a huge, crude jalopy of a beast! Weighed more than 135 pounds and had two sticks of rebar welded perpendicular to the pipe like a cross. You had to watch out when it was overhead cause it could literally kill you, hence the name. I put it in the trunk of my car once and it made the shocks squat.

Where my cabin is, we have very stratified subsoil layers. We are right along a river that was always meandering, even in recent history. It laid down and / or exposed and then recovered all sorts of soil formations.

Generally speaking though, there is about 1 to 2 feet of top soil, then several feet of mixed sand, fine sand and lesser materials. Somewhere between six to eight feet we start getting into damp wet sand mixed with clay. Between nine and twelve feet, it becomes watery sand, but dirty with fine silt and clay.

Between 10 feet and 20 feet there are several varying layers of sand and hard packed clay. We typically find two to four layers of the clay. Some layers are two to three inches thick, sometimes up to 10 inches. Finally, between 18 and 22 feet we break through the last clay layer and hit a nice bed of course sand and gravel that tends to go as deep as 28 or 30 feet for all we know. We don't generally set any shallow well any deeper than 28 feet total, usually the point ends up around 24 feet maximum depth at the tip.

It is the approximately ten feet containing those hard packed clay layers that I wish to counter by washing and drilling in a four inch pull-back type case. Once I have made it into or just beyond the last layer of clay, I would stop washing in the outer case and (maybe) leave the casing in the well bore hole.

Then I would drop the actual well point and pipe string into the four inch casing and drive the point the rest of the way into the water bearing sand and gravel pack below. This layer is very friendly, a person can almost just push on the pipe and it goes down. I would stop with the top of the well point screen about one foot past the bottom of the last clay layer.

Now then, this is where I start arguing and debating with myself about how to go about the whole process of washing in the case and drilling it down. Should I use sodium bentonite drilling mud? If I do, should I use QUIK-GEL or AQUAGEL? Should I leave the casing in, or pull it partially or completely out? If I pull it out completely, how should I seal the bore hole? These are just examples, but I have many more questions. Please understand, that for each problem that one solution solves, it creates a new issue and dilemma. If I get too overly complex with my overall solution, I might just as well have my friend who drills wells professionally come in and install a REAL cased well with a submersible pump, VFD and CPV. Then again, if I learn how to do this and can do it rather inexpensively and can repeat the process, I can save lots of other friends money by installing their wells and more of my own.

If I can do it at least once, I would LOVE to, just for the sake of the experience and the knowledge. It's an adventure in DIY and research for me, but I don't want to go beyond my limits. So that is why I am looking for support and advice on this project.

Thanks!

RADAR
 

Boycedrilling

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You need to be aware of the Nebraska state regulations regarding water well drilling. You need to be able to construct s well to those standards, to keep from harming the resource.

A land owner can drill a well on his own property. It still has to meet the state regulations. They cannot drill a well for someone else or on property they do not own unless they are a licensed driller by the state.

Driven standpoint wells are no longer legal in Nebraska for water used for human consumption, so this thread is moot.

http://www.sos.ne.gov/rules-and-reg...uman_Services_System/Title-178/Chapter-12.pdf
 
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ACWxRADR

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Boycedrilling,

Hi, yes we were already aware of the legalities involved and have researched this statute (and previous statutes throughout the years). Thank you for taking the time to research this or for simply knowing this information.

RADAR
 

Boycedrilling

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I assume Nebraska made this change because of issues with contamination and sealing problems. Nebraska is one of the leading states in research into effective grouting and sealing methods. The Nebraska studies on grouting are being followed by the entire drilling community. One of the problems that Nebraska has is the Ogalalla aquifer is very shallow and is a sole source aquifer for a very large area.

Incidentally, driven and jetted wells are allowed here in my home state of Washington. A normal water well is required to have a surface seal at least 18 feet deep. Because most standpoint wells are very shallow, they are only required to have a six foot deep seal. Last week at one of our continuing education seminars, we had a presentation by someone from the state of Idaho. They have changed their minimum surface seal to 38 feet. Some states require 50 feet or more.

I am currently drilling a replacement community well. Their water permit required them to pressure grout casing to at least 350 ft. We are installing 500 ft of 12" steel casing Monday and then pressure grouting it back to the surface.
 

ACWxRADR

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Nebraska has been very proactive with our water resources over the years, something that I am proud to share and be a part of. I have had some involvement with the states NRDs, attorneys and others in regards to water conservation here since the late 70's and early 80's. Of all the states involved with the Ogallala Aquifer, Nebraska is the only state where the actual water level has been maintained or actually rose (in certain areas). In all other states concerned, the level has been dropping and in some cases, severely.

Nebraska really does have a great status in water conservation. Our practices have allowed us to use our water wisely and conserve it for future generations. But, it is always a staunch fight.

RADAR
 

Boycedrilling

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I serve on the Technical Advisory Group that writes the Washington state regulations. I expect that we will modify some of our regulations on grouting and sealing as a direct result of the Nebraska Grouting studies. Some of the materials that have been historically used have been proven by the study to not be as effective as assumed. They have found other grouting mixtures that remain much more effective under all environmental conditions.
 
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