Need Advice for Repairing Casing

[Traderfjp]

Hi,

I had a water specialist over and he is pretty sure that there is a leak in my well casing. The water has a low PH of 5.5 with Chloroform Bacteria (Fecal was good). Anyway, the well guy is coming to send down a camera and inspect the well more thoroughly. I've been reading and learning everything I can. If there is a leak the well guy said that he goes 5 feet past the leak. I think he mentioned a packer seal. The water specialist said to put the seal at the bottom and top of well. Anyway, what are my options for a repair? Is there anything I should ask for? I believe it's a 6" casing. Well is 120ft. deep, casin 52ft. and the well does 10 GPM.

 

[Reach4]

I had a water specialist over and he is pretty sure that there is a leak in my well casing.

Is that the guy who took the sample? It is easy to get coliform in your sample from a faucet or hands.

I would sanitize the well and plumbing before doing well work, but after the camera work if you are going through with that. You may not have done a good sanitizing since the last well work. Check again a month later, and use good sampling practices. If you care about the coliform test results, care needs to be taken in sampling. http://www.ugra.org/pdfs/SamplingHandout.pdf is one description of a method to avoid contaminating the sample. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/ is my sanitizing write-up.

 

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[Valveman]

The camera will show you what you need to do. Post the video and we will help if we can.

 

[Traderfjp]

Hi,

The guy who took the sample has a degree in geology, used to do drilling and is well schooled in filtration. He was pretty anal when discussing how samples get contaminated. The well has been sitting for a few months without use and the union to the well and the house was off meaning a bug or something could have crawled into it. He said he flushed it out for a good ten minutes. Not sure if that is enough. He thought the PH was too low for the area. He does a lot of houses in the area. I will post again when I get the camera work done. I may need a sleeve which I read is not always effective. I just bought the house so I thought 200 for the camera work is worth it so I know what is going on. Should I have him clean the pump too. The well is from 2012.

 

[Reach4]

The guy who took the sample has a degree in geology, used to do drilling and is well schooled in filtration. He was pretty anal when discussing how samples get contaminated. The well has been sitting for a few months without use and the union to the well and the house was off meaning a bug or something could have crawled into it. He said he flushed it out for a good ten minutes. Not sure if that is enough

That is good, and much better than most. Does the casing go above ground, and is there a pitless?

I just bought the house so I thought 200 for the camera work is worth it so I know what is going on.

That's a heck of a deal. Nice.

Should I have him clean the pump too. The well is from 2012.

I am not sure what you mean. He is not planning to pull the pump. If you mean sanitize, realize that is a long process. He could do part, and come back the next day to finish. However I think you could probably do it if you are so inclined.

What is your water pH?

If you have a pitless and your casing is above ground, I would really be thinking sanitizing rather than contracting for a bacterial treatment system.

 

[Traderfjp]

I did get another price of 400 for the camera work but this guy installed the well so maybe he is giving me a break. I don't know. I figured he had the log on the well so it makes sense for him to check it out. The PH is 5.5 that is why the filtration guy thinks it's surface runoff water. I probably should sanitize first but that will not change the PH of the water. Water tested clean for Arsnic, pesticides, lead, etc. The water was just barely on the slightly hard side. The only real issues besides the bacteria was iron which was about twice as high as what is normally allowed. 665ug/l. Hardness was 30ppm or 18500 ug/l. He has to pull the pump but I wasn't sure if it's routine to clean it too while it's out. I guess it would be stupid not to. Woudl it make any sense to change the pump at that time. The pump is 6 years old and doesn't have a lot of use.

 

[Reach4]

Does the casing extend 10 inches out of the ground?

While the pump is out, I would take photos of both labels on the pump.

Yes, 5.5 pH is surprising. That sounds more alarming than the coliform result. That pH would save on vinegar for sanitizing.

 

[Traderfjp]

I think it does extend up out of the ground. The union for the water to the house is off the ground about 10" I have a picture of the label. That is how I knew the well driller, casing and well depth and GPM. I hope there is a crack so I can get it fixed and spend less money and energy on filtration.

 

[Reach4]

I think it does extend up out of the ground. The union for the water to the house is off the ground about 10"

That would not be right for NY. Is this well in a much warmer place?

I have a picture of the label.

The labels on the pump would show the motor power, pump design gpm and makers info. It would not have depth, driller, or casing info.

 

[Traderfjp]

This is NC. I'm from NY. The filtration guy just said that 5.5 PH for my area is not common but PH on the lower side is. The tag only had the well driller, GPm, depth of casing and well. Nothing else. Should I ask the well guy to do anything else while at the house. The house is winterized so he can't check pressure tank, etc.

 

[Reach4]

This is NC. I'm from NY.

Ah, so freezing is not much of a problem, and pitless adapters are not the norm.

While you are wiping any crud off of the pump (optional), expect that device to have two labels: one on the upper part and the other on the motor part. It is not critical that you know that info, but it would be nice to have anyway. Taking photos is usually easier than copying down long alphanumeric strings.

The house is winterized so he can't check pressure tank, etc.

Does winterized mean protecting against freezing, or something else. If protecting against freezing, wouldn't you worry about the well pipes freezing?

 

[Traderfjp]

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely take pics. Winterizing means a plumber came into the house, drained all the water from the lines, etc. I also don't like how the pipe sticks out of the ground. I would rather have it under the frost line. I was thinking of a way to wrap the pipe with a heating wire and have it turn on automatically when temps get below freezing. I did have a pipe bust in the garage after it was winterized. The plumber came back and fixed it. I haven't moved into the house yet.

 

[Reach4]

To protect the well plumbing, you could insulate above, but not below. So that could be some number of straw bales. If covered, some heat will be coming up, so if you can retain that ground heat, you could avoid freezing. That would work, even if the power went out for a long period.

Of course a pitless adapter and pipe buried below the frost line takes the challenge out of it. It seems to me to have an advantage, even if it never freezes. It seems a lot easier for working on the pump than using threaded couplings above ground.