Driven Point Well Question

First the background. About two years ago I put in a 1-1/4â€, three foot driven point well at my house for a water supply to water grass. After driving the well point to a depth of 18’, I measured that the water level in the pipe was only eight feet below ground, or 10’ above the well point.

I next flushed the well point by running a water hose down into the well point, which brought up a sandy, gritty looking mixture. I then attached a hand pump, which yielded very little water. The pump handle had a lot of back pressure. So I repeated the process of trying to flush and pump, with the same result. This went on for several weeks, until I ran out of patience.

This past weekend, I decided to give it another try.

After talking with several of my neighbors who have working wells driven to the same depth, I attached a water hose and forced water down the well. I attached a gauge and when I first started the water flow, I had 25 psi of back pressure, which slowly decreased to 10 psi. I repeated the flush and pump cycle, which gave me a little more water, but I still have a lot of backpressure on the pump handle.

So, as a last resort, I jacked the well point up to 12’ and tried again, with no luck. I then jacked the well all the way out to inspect the well point, which is still in good shape. I measured the water level in the hole that was left at 8’ below ground level.

My question is could I have a well point that has an incorrect mesh size for the type of ground that I have? And if so, is it possible to modify the screen without ruining the well point?

Thanks in advance for any information you could pass on.

Yes, you very well could have too fine a screen. As for changing the screen, I doubt it. change the poing

Thanks for the reply,

I think replacing the head is what I will try next. I checked with the plumbing supplier where I bought the well head, and he said that he only keeps 80 gauze mesh well points in stock. I was thinking about trying a 60 gauze or a slotted point this time. Does this sound reasonable? Could anyone post a link where I could find one online?

There's a big difference between 80 and 60, though the substrate needs to be fairly coarse to use a 60 else you'll pump sand continuously. In my area a 60 will do 14-15 gallons per minute with a 3/4 HP jet pump, while an 80 will do 8-9 and be subject to slowing down over time. The local Home Depots and Lowes all sell just 80's. I prefer slots to screens (a 10 slot is equal to a 60 gauze) and given the work involved recommend you get something high quality like a Johnson 10 slot 3' screen (42" overall). I buy at a local well supply store, but noticed this place has them on-line - a little pricey.

http://www.us*********.com/inet/shop/item/80220/icn/20-761254/johnson_water_well/836ss6010.htm

Edit. Not sure why this web site name is getting "censored", but the site is u s a h a r d w a r e.com (don't use the extra spaces). My apologies to Terry if I shouldn't be posting web site names.