I'm getting sand in my water.
Wednesday, I noticed the filter needed changed. It was a little sooner than normal, but I've been irrigating grass & probably using more than normal. I changed it & had 2 sprinklers running (less than max I usually use). 5-micron plugged up in less than an hour. I changed it to a 20 micron & shut pump off to let the sand settle. We used no water until Thursday morning. Normal usage on thursday morning (showers/dishes/laundry). At 6PM, the filter didn't look bad. After dinner, it was brown & the water was cloudy. I changed it back to a 5-micron for some peace & it cleared up.

We've never run out of water or had sand issues, but I've noticed more frequent filter changes this spring (need to change vs "hmm, I haven't change the filter in a long time).
We live on a sand hill & they hit water pretty shallow I'm told-well was new in 2004, I bought house in 2010, but knew previous owners all my life until they passed away in 2009
3 years ago, a center-pivot well went in across the road ~450yd from well.
last year, another one about 200yd from my well.
This year, another one about 2000yd away.
I think they are all on the same vein of water & at least 1 has been running daily for the last week.
I did some dirt work at the house in 2019 (dug walk-out basement, used fill to build a hill for a shop). This might have diverted some runoff away from my well & it definitely increased usage..

Well was drilled by an extended family member, but he's not answering the phone today.
Any experience/expertise/advise is appreciated.

I'm not an expert and live in a different area than you but it sounds like you have a bored well.
We have both types in my area and I've heard it depends a lot on the geology and the budget.
I would pay the extra and have a drilled well as they seem to be less trouble in the long run.
This article does a good job explaining the difference.

https://www.alexanderhealth.or...tructionExamples.pdf

It is hard to say exactly. But the new big irrigation wells nearby are certainly the culprit. You are getting sand as your supply is being disturbed and the volume of your supply is dwindling. Sorry to say.
Changing filters is a band-aid and your pump will not pump sand very long. Sand is very abrasive and will destroy the pump end impellers and bearings in short order which will lead to a failure and expensive replacement which will do the same to the new unit unit unless fixing the well problem. Which is drill it deeper most likely. Then you will need bigger more expensive pumping eq.

I would check to see if permit's were issued for the irrigation wells next door.
Other neighbors experiencing similar problems?

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
I'm getting sand in my water.

Might could be your well point is failing? Though...

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
... I'm told-well was new in 2004, ,,,

Seventeen years? Unless you have unusually harsh water, a well point should last longer than that.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
3 years ago, a center-pivot well went in across the road ~450yd from well.
last year, another one about 200yd from my well.
This year, another one about 2000yd away.
I think they are all on the same vein of water & at least 1 has been running daily for the last week.

If you're all into aquifers, they're all the same aquifer, any of them are high-capacity, and particularly if they're upstream from you: Yeah, they could be stirring things up and/or depleting the aquifer.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
I did some dirt work at the house in 2019 (dug walk-out basement, used fill to build a hill for a shop). This might have diverted some runoff away from my well & it definitely increased usage..

If you're getting ground water runoff into your well, you need a new well. Ground water is not potable in most areas outside of near-wilderness. Too many contaminants.

I find this interesting...

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
5-micron plugged up in less than an hour. I changed it to a 20 micron...

If I try to use a 5-micron filter it won't plug up in less than an hour, but I will be replacing it probably at least monthly. ISTM one would have to have an unusually clean aquifer to get away with a 5-micron filter.

We currently have a 20-micron filter. The filter holder is about in need of replacement. (It's getting nearly impossible to remove the filter for changing.) When I do that I'm thinking of changing it to a dual-filter arrangement: 20-micron, followed by a 5-micron.

Not because I necessarily feel we need to, per se--water seems just fine with only a 20-micron filter, but more because I can

Yeah it seems all the new wells in the area have dried yours up. Sounds like you need to go deeper.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
Yeah it seems all the new wells in the area have dried yours up. Sounds like you need to go deeper.

This can be determined by a competent well guy. They can do a well capacity test. Our well guy did that on ours, when we had our pump replaced with a VFD pump. He told us our well's capacity far exceeded our pump's 18 GPM capability.

You need to find someone you can trust that is in the water well business. I’m not an expert, but I’ve lived with a water well for 30 yrs and have contacts in the business that I know will give me accurate information.

We also have short durations of sand being in the water. It may be prompted by too much watering of the lawn.
To exclude the sand after the water is pumped you can use a screen filter which may “blind” too often and restrict the flow or by the cyclonic action in a chamber where the sand is removed by centrifugal force as the water enters on a tangent, swirls around and passes through it on the way to a storage tank. The sand then can be expelled through a valve at the bottom of the filter chamber.
A neighbor gave up and put in a air lift system that dispensed with the submersible pump. Air is pumped down to the bottom of the well. The water is lifted up by air bubbles and over into a large tank where the sand settles out. The water is then pumped into a pressure tank for serving the house and yard.
I decided not to use either solution and the problem solved itself. My checkbook thanked me. Yours may thank you too. Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
I'm not an expert and live in a different area than you but it sounds like you have a bored well.
We have both types in my area and I've heard it depends a lot on the geology and the budget.
I would pay the extra and have a drilled well as they seem to be less trouble in the long run.
This article does a good job explaining the difference.

https://www.alexanderhealth.or...tructionExamples.pdf

No expert either , but the outfit that did it is 'XXX Drilling' & it has a PVC casing. We've always called it 'drilling a well' The other option is 'driving a point' which sounds more like what the boring in your document is (besides the concrete). There's an old point 50' from my well that supplied the 1890's house prior to 2004.
He's still not answering his damn phone. Guess I'll have to knock off early & drive by with an open cooler - that usually draws him out.

For the 5/20 micron filters - a few years ago I grabbed a 5 micron package by mistake. Didn't realize it until I had the old 20 micron out, figured I'd try the new vs putting the old back in. Never had an issue until this spring (mid-April, prior to any irrigation). I had ideas of putting a 2-stage 20/5 in, but never had the kick in the ass to do it. Same guys plumbed the tank/filter/softener in & there's no easy space for a 2nd filter.
The 20 micron I used Wed night was plugging up, but the water was coming through cloudy. 5 micron cleared that up & kept the bitching less.

I had assumed either water level dropping or something failing in the well - casing, etc. Just wanted to hear more informed opinions, thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Sportshooter:
You need to find someone you can trust that is in the water well business. I’m not an expert, but I’ve lived with a water well for 30 yrs and have contacts in the business that I know will give me accurate information.

We also have short durations of sand being in the water. It may be prompted by too much watering of the lawn.
To exclude the sand after the water is pumped you can use a screen filter which may “blind” too often and restrict the flow or by the cyclonic action in a chamber where the sand is removed by centrifugal force as the water enters on a tangent, swirls around and passes through it on the way to a storage tank. The sand then can be expelled through a valve at the bottom of the filter chamber.
A neighbor gave up and put in a air lift system that dispensed with the submersible pump. Air is pumped down to the bottom of the well. The water is lifted up by air bubbles and over into a large tank where the sand settles out. The water is then pumped into a pressure tank for serving the house and yard.
I decided not to use either solution and the problem solved itself. My checkbook thanked me. Yours may thank you too. Good luck.

My Mom's house has the house pump & an irrigation pump on the same casing - when you fire up the irrigation pump up, it stirs the sand up - they have a 2-stage filter that they will change filters once the irrigation stabilizes (~15 acres of trickle tape for watermelons, once it fills up, it's fairly low flow & runs for 18-24hr). They use 4-5 sets of filters when there's melons on that ground, which has probably been 5 times in 25 years.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
No expert either , ...

I don't think we've heard from any actual experts, yet

My "expertise," such as it is, is from being on a well for nearly thirty years, having been through and upgrade from 2 in. jet well, to 5 in. plastic, to the 2nd well having its pump upgraded, talking to my well guys at length, and studying the subject.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
... it has a PVC casing. We've always called it 'drilling a well' The other option is 'driving a point' which sounds more like what the boring in your document is ...

Those are the two methods I've seen employed around here. For plastic wells, they drill. For metal wells, they usually drive.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
My Mom's house has the house pump & an irrigation pump on the same casing ...

Knowing how our well is put together (I've watched the process carefully, each time), I'm curios how they'd accomplish that?

We have a single pump, but the irrigation system is taken off the supply before the filter, water softener, etc.

I’ve always had some sediment in our well and installed a 20 micron cartridge filter about 20 years ago and was replacing the cartridge about once a month. Over the last couple of years it seems like I’m doing it more frequently and in talking to my plumber he suggested a pre filter screen that can be back flushed to extend the cartridge replacing interval.

Works good and takes 3 seconds to back flush…
Something like this..

https://www.freshwatersystems....PNy0MAxoCQj0QAvD_BwE

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
My Mom's house has the house pump & an irrigation pump on the same casing ...

Knowing how our well is put together (I've watched the process carefully, each time), I'm curios how they'd accomplish that?

We have a single pump, but the irrigation system is taken off the supply before the filter, water softener, etc.

Could be wrong, I was 12 when it went in & never really thought about it until now. It doesn't seem to short-cycle, so maybe it's variable speed (no VFD, so probably pressure compensated) Irrigation is 250GPM I think. I didn't think that would make sense to feed the house.

Something else occurred to me. You may be dealing with a shrinking draw down rate with other wells working in the area. A test of your well should give you an idea how much and how fast you can pump your well down. I think it has something to do with the porosity of the formation that delivers the water to your pump and the stack of water available.
I know that’s not much, but your problem may be more complicated than a filtration problem. You really do need the advice of an honest and competent water well man that has experience drilling wells in your area. Good luck.

Whereabouts are you located, city?

Well casings are required to be labeled with the size, depth, flow, etc… you could maybe wander over to the center pivot and check theirs…I’m sure it’s bigger than yours…I’d almost bet it’s that well that is drawing down your wells production.

My dad was a well driller in Fla. years ago the info mentioned was not required to be on the casing…and only the driller knew….so if my dad drilled a well nearby, he also knew how far to drill yours to get you water. Other drillers in the area all talked to each other so they didn’t have to keep drilling further if water was at x amount deep.

Farm wells use far more water than homes do and this may be what’s bringing your level down and causing your issues.

You may be able to have your well drilled deeper to hit another layer further down. Or you may need a new well drilled completely.In fact your state geography department may have the info you need.

Like my well back in NC, my dad called the state and found that heavy iron is found in almost all wells east of Raleigh regardless of depth due to the strata underground. And no matter how far down I had drilled I’d still need a filter system.

Regardless, call a local well driller and find out what he suggests, I’m sure you are going to burn an impeller or seal soon if you keep pumping sand…

snidera, if you do end up needing a new well, you might wish to consider the incremental cost increase of a VFD pump. We replaced our 22-year-old pump with one a bit over a year ago and it was one of the best investments we ever made. Here are the two posts to the thread I started with the results of our upgrade: Soft-Start Controller For Well Pump? [Updates]

FWIW: I also found out, in the process, that my well guy's experience, and that of his father before him, was that the average lifetime of a well pump in this area was 15-17 years.

MikeinNC: Are you certain that's not a local or state requirement? There is no labeling wrt size, depth, flow, etc. on our well. I just happen to know what our numbers are because I like to be educated about such things. Water's kind of important

very interesting topic,

my well (~300') is a natural artesian,
we were told when we moved in (over 17 yrs ago) that we could, by code, supply up to 10 houses in the area,,,

we have had an algae bloom, that was a pita to fix , (bleach well, run water just a bit, and then let it sit a while, then run till the odor was gone)

the house I grew up in, brother and I still own it, has a well that is ~250' (IIRC)
was drilled in 1977, had one line replaced going to the house, and one pump replaced, maybe 20 yrs ago,


hard water, but not horribly so,

I did have to add an aeration tank and filter to mine, due to a bit of sulfur smell,

I run a 5 micron (big blue) with no issues , change it out once a month,


I have no idea how deep either pump is in the well,

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:


MikeinNC: Are you certain that's not a local or state requirement? There is no labeling wrt size, depth, flow, etc. on our well. I just happen to know what our numbers are because I like to be educated about such things. Water's kind of important

It is required in NC. I can’t speak for your state. But it’s only recent (since about 2005 ish). Speaking to the local well driller is the best bet.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
Whereabouts are you located, city?

I think you are in IN as well? Between Vincennes & Princeton if you know the area.

Some good news. I drove past my well guy's house with an open cooler & he came running...
He doesn't think the irrigation wells are the problem, we're not anywhere near a drought. Once I told him the story, he said the pressure tank is probably full of sand & kicking it back out. This lines up with plugging the house filter in <1hr, as well as my shop filter not showing much sand (shop feed line Ts between the well & tank). He said the same thing happens at his house.
He put the current tank in 10yrs ago when the original one from 2004 failed - it was full of sand. He remembered because of how much of a pain in the ass it was to get it out of the basement. We have a walk-out now, so shouldn't be as bad.

Yes, that's good enough.
That's way outside the service area of the person I was going to refer you too.

Sounds like you have it figured out now anyway.