I have posted before in this forum asking for advice, much of it invaluable, so thank you. It has been a goal of mine for years to have a DIY Shallow well on my property. We have excellent city water, but part of the motivation for the well was combating the very high bill. Where I live, the water authority owns the water infratstructure, wastewater, and treatment facility. Whereas sewerage is not metered, the charge for that portion is based on water usage. Consumption of a mere 3,000 gallons per month can bill out to $150/mo. So things like irrigation are a luxury.
I know of many wells in my area, some permitted, some not. We have an extremely high water table and a very flat topography. Soil is fine sand.A post hole will often cave in at 2-3 feet.
Failed attempts:
A 15 ft jetted 2" bore with 1.25" pvc well point 0.010" slot. using city pressure to jet. Water/sand slurry to static depth of 3 feet. flushed the well pipe from end to end several times to no avail. unable to pump with multiple devices, including pitcher pump and jet pump 3/4 hp.
A hand driven well point to 17 feet. exhausting work. 80 mesh. Thinking was a finer screen will block out the fines. Same issues. very discouraging.
Successes:
a SIX FOOT jetted pvc well point. yes, only 6 feet. shocked to find it pumped clear, but odorous water. Hydrogen sulfide identified as odor. There are no septic systems or anything of that type for miles. Have not been able to run it dry with a pitcher pump or 1/10 hp transfer pump. I did not try my jet pump out of laziness.
a ten foot pvc well point at a nearby property. Odor free water, but along with it comes some sand.
an 8 foot pvc well point also nearby, somewhere between the two. some odor, some sand.
So it seems that the deeper I go, the worse the conditions get. I cannot speak to actual water QUALITY - i do not know - but the pumping experience is best at the shallower depths. I surely did not expect this. Why is this? I did not notice any change in sand granule size at any depth. could it just be that there is so much water pressure due to gravity against the screen at such depths, that the sand is forced inward a little harder?
I know of many wells in my area, some permitted, some not. We have an extremely high water table and a very flat topography. Soil is fine sand.A post hole will often cave in at 2-3 feet.
Failed attempts:
A 15 ft jetted 2" bore with 1.25" pvc well point 0.010" slot. using city pressure to jet. Water/sand slurry to static depth of 3 feet. flushed the well pipe from end to end several times to no avail. unable to pump with multiple devices, including pitcher pump and jet pump 3/4 hp.
A hand driven well point to 17 feet. exhausting work. 80 mesh. Thinking was a finer screen will block out the fines. Same issues. very discouraging.
Successes:
a SIX FOOT jetted pvc well point. yes, only 6 feet. shocked to find it pumped clear, but odorous water. Hydrogen sulfide identified as odor. There are no septic systems or anything of that type for miles. Have not been able to run it dry with a pitcher pump or 1/10 hp transfer pump. I did not try my jet pump out of laziness.
a ten foot pvc well point at a nearby property. Odor free water, but along with it comes some sand.
an 8 foot pvc well point also nearby, somewhere between the two. some odor, some sand.
So it seems that the deeper I go, the worse the conditions get. I cannot speak to actual water QUALITY - i do not know - but the pumping experience is best at the shallower depths. I surely did not expect this. Why is this? I did not notice any change in sand granule size at any depth. could it just be that there is so much water pressure due to gravity against the screen at such depths, that the sand is forced inward a little harder?
