New well depth? yes I've read other threads

[Frog2000]

How deep of a well should I have?

I have read other threads on this but I feel this has unique issues. I recently had problems with my 300 foot well clasping due to the screen coming apart and the pump stuck in the sand. The well is over 50 years old. Two of my neighbors also have well issues within the same month. I don't know it these are pump issues or a well issue.

Looking at recent well depths, one neighbor has a 400 foot well built 2004 and they are not having any issues. (we are on a 5 acre lot but the population in the area is increasing)

I feel that due to an unusually dry summer here, this has caused a few wells at the end of there lives to go bad due to erosion. How do I make sure this next well lasts 50 years? The driller wants to do a 400 foot well and the pump paced at 360 feet. Perhaps I don't fully understand the pump placement. I'm thinking I might want a 420 foot well and a pump at 340 feet.

Should I go with 420 or does 20 feet make a difference? Why would I want the pump so far down if I don't have issues with the water level?

 

[WorthFlorida]

Usually a well (no puns intended) experienced driller knows water levels and the aquifers in his area of work. From his experience he may have found his recommendations work best. Twenty feet or more will cost more and the well driller didn't go for it to make a few bucks more. It is possible you can driller deeper and past the water source. I would go with his recommendations.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

I would like to think the new well will be built to block so much sand coming in. There is a skill to that.

How much of your well is going to have casing? Some place have casing all of the way, and some only have casing down to where rock starts?

I expect the new screen to be PVC, so it will not rust out.

So why put the well farther down? Margin. I would like to have the pump to be able to bring up at least 1 gpm from depth of the well, but that the pump would normally deliver a lot more than that. The effort the pump puts out to lift the water is primarily the effort to pump from the surface of the water, and not to lift water from where the pump is.

Why have the pump farther up? Give more space for sediment before it engulfs the pump?

It is possible to remove sediment, but if your screen is rusting out, that may not be worth pursuing.

So I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other. Is the driller saying that he does not want to waste our money by drilling deeper, or is he afraid he might drill into a stratum that would not be good to drill into? I am not a pro.

 

[Valveman]

Every area is different. But the well should be drilled to the hard pan, red bed, or whatever the bottom is. Drilling through the hard pan can be expensive. It can be too deep and cause the water to drain out from above or bad quality water can come up and mix with the good water. Most times a driller will need to pull the 400' string and change the bit to drill into hardpan, which could maybe double the drilling cost. A good driller should know how deep to go and when to stop.

If the casing it 5" or larger, you can put a shroud or flow inducer sleeve on the pump and set it within a few feet of the bottom. If the casing is not large enough for a shroud, the motor needs to be set above the screen or at least above where the water is coming into the well to keep the motor cool. The deeper you can set the pump, the more stored water you will have access to.

 

[Reach4]

Are you speculating the hardpan might start 400 ft down, and that the well would be fully cased?

 

[Valveman]

Are you speculating the hardpan might start 400 ft down, and that the well would be fully cased?

I think the driller believes hardpan is at 400'. Casing depends on what you drill through in that 400'. If it is all rock, you only need the top 20' or so cased. If drilling through just about anything else it needs to be cased to the bottom.

 

[Frog2000]

following up for the next guy, Just went with what the driller recommended. Drilled down past the aquifer into bedrock about 30 feet 380' total. Placed the pump at 340'.