Clayton Stewart Rowland
New Member
We had a well drilled and there has been much drama.
We are in south east Missouri on our family farm dating back to 1905... These days it is a weekend place, and we had always stayed in the log cabin my grandfather built in 1932. Due to some unfortunate circumstances we found ourselves financially able to purchase a new manufactured home. The site was chosen a couple hundred feet from the old home site. The old home had a well drilled in the early to mid 1980’s, that well was shallow and always had a problem with brown iron staining in the plumbing fixtures. That water however, was clear and silt free. This is the fifth well drilled on the original 240acre farm, all within a quarter mile of each other or less. Only the shallow well has had the brown staining issue. None of our neighbors have the brown staining issue.
Naturally we wanted the same luxury in the new home, so a new well was drilled for the new home. There was a problem with the first hole some 40’ into it, gravel he claims. That hole was abandoned and a new hole started some 30 ft away. The new hole was drilled to 127’ and “gravel packed back to 115’ but its puting out 50 GPM” the depth was not impressive and because of this we had trepidation. The Driller claimed that he “watered out on the drill” and could drill no deeper. The pump was left running for a week or so. The water appeared clear and clean and had a good taste. However by the next weekend water began to appear yellowish brown in the fixtures, we were hopeful that this would flush out eventually. The new Jacuzzi tub needed a repair and was not useable on the first weekend. It had been repaired by the second weekend, however upon filling it for the first time the water turned into a dark brown mess, leaving a layer of silt in the bottom of the tub and toilets. The driller suggested opening the hydrant outside and letting it run. By the middle of the next day the hose attached to the hydrant started surging as if the well was running dry. We were told to shut the pump off at the breaker.
The driller returns to drill yet more well. He set up onto the 6” casing and drills to a pathetic 150-something feet, a mere 30 some feet deeper than it was, and then lines this hole with 5” casing for another $3600 dollars, claiming again that he “watered out on the drill”. What do we have now? Courser dirt than we had previously. The driller installed a filter that promptly clogged in about 5 minutes. We watched as the clear bowl (with element removed) filled with about an inch of fine tan/brown sand over this last weekend, while we pumped continuously from the hydrant outside. (Note: hydrant does not pass through filter)
We were perfectly willing to pay for a 300’ foot well with 150’ or 250’ of casing if that was what it took, and that was made perfectly clear and we were perfectly aware of the potential costs involved. We were specifically not looking for a crappy well with crappy water. We could have piped over from the old well for a lot less money.
I should state that the pump/ tank/ electrical hookup was done by one company, who in turn contracted with the well driller separately, though I use the term “driller” interchangeably.
So we are left with a $8400 dirt hole it would appear. (Just the hole, not the pump/ tank or installation, I think we are over $10K components and install included.)
Personally “watered out on the drill” sounds like B. S. to me. He either doesn’t have the equipment to drill a deeper well in those circumstances, or he doesn’t have the skill. My question is what do we do now? It seems like the only option is to hire someone else and start over, it sounds like going in again with the 5” casing installed is not an option any longer. Starting over is not a great option in anybody’s book. What responsibility should or does the well driller have? I know there are no guarantees that you’ll find water, or what kind of water you will get, but I feel like this guy just didn’t want to put the effort/capitol into the hole or his drill rig to get us what we wanted. Starting up again for a lousy 30 more feet and a few grand worth labor and additional casing at $15 a foot is the part that’s hard for me to swallow. If he had drilled another 400' and had this problem I would be a bit more understanding.
Thanks in advance.
We are in south east Missouri on our family farm dating back to 1905... These days it is a weekend place, and we had always stayed in the log cabin my grandfather built in 1932. Due to some unfortunate circumstances we found ourselves financially able to purchase a new manufactured home. The site was chosen a couple hundred feet from the old home site. The old home had a well drilled in the early to mid 1980’s, that well was shallow and always had a problem with brown iron staining in the plumbing fixtures. That water however, was clear and silt free. This is the fifth well drilled on the original 240acre farm, all within a quarter mile of each other or less. Only the shallow well has had the brown staining issue. None of our neighbors have the brown staining issue.
Naturally we wanted the same luxury in the new home, so a new well was drilled for the new home. There was a problem with the first hole some 40’ into it, gravel he claims. That hole was abandoned and a new hole started some 30 ft away. The new hole was drilled to 127’ and “gravel packed back to 115’ but its puting out 50 GPM” the depth was not impressive and because of this we had trepidation. The Driller claimed that he “watered out on the drill” and could drill no deeper. The pump was left running for a week or so. The water appeared clear and clean and had a good taste. However by the next weekend water began to appear yellowish brown in the fixtures, we were hopeful that this would flush out eventually. The new Jacuzzi tub needed a repair and was not useable on the first weekend. It had been repaired by the second weekend, however upon filling it for the first time the water turned into a dark brown mess, leaving a layer of silt in the bottom of the tub and toilets. The driller suggested opening the hydrant outside and letting it run. By the middle of the next day the hose attached to the hydrant started surging as if the well was running dry. We were told to shut the pump off at the breaker.
The driller returns to drill yet more well. He set up onto the 6” casing and drills to a pathetic 150-something feet, a mere 30 some feet deeper than it was, and then lines this hole with 5” casing for another $3600 dollars, claiming again that he “watered out on the drill”. What do we have now? Courser dirt than we had previously. The driller installed a filter that promptly clogged in about 5 minutes. We watched as the clear bowl (with element removed) filled with about an inch of fine tan/brown sand over this last weekend, while we pumped continuously from the hydrant outside. (Note: hydrant does not pass through filter)
We were perfectly willing to pay for a 300’ foot well with 150’ or 250’ of casing if that was what it took, and that was made perfectly clear and we were perfectly aware of the potential costs involved. We were specifically not looking for a crappy well with crappy water. We could have piped over from the old well for a lot less money.
I should state that the pump/ tank/ electrical hookup was done by one company, who in turn contracted with the well driller separately, though I use the term “driller” interchangeably.
So we are left with a $8400 dirt hole it would appear. (Just the hole, not the pump/ tank or installation, I think we are over $10K components and install included.)
Personally “watered out on the drill” sounds like B. S. to me. He either doesn’t have the equipment to drill a deeper well in those circumstances, or he doesn’t have the skill. My question is what do we do now? It seems like the only option is to hire someone else and start over, it sounds like going in again with the 5” casing installed is not an option any longer. Starting over is not a great option in anybody’s book. What responsibility should or does the well driller have? I know there are no guarantees that you’ll find water, or what kind of water you will get, but I feel like this guy just didn’t want to put the effort/capitol into the hole or his drill rig to get us what we wanted. Starting up again for a lousy 30 more feet and a few grand worth labor and additional casing at $15 a foot is the part that’s hard for me to swallow. If he had drilled another 400' and had this problem I would be a bit more understanding.
Thanks in advance.