HELP!!! Getting muddy water from faucets/spigots. Pump runs about 20 seconds....

We discovered this while backwashing / filling our pool yesterday evening.

Turned on the line to fill the pool and muddy water came gushing out. Hubby called the local "well guy" this morning and he came out and said "let's start with the tank" it may be low on air pressure. They pumped up the water pressure and all seemed fine. He said it wasn't "muddy" water but "rusty".

Tonight, the same problem and we noted that when we turned on the water to the pool the water pressure was great for about 20 seconds then it dropped drastically. We shut the water off and let the pressure build up (took about 30 seconds). Repeated and the same thing happened. Also noted, toilet is full of murky water after flushing. I'm wondering what is happening to all of the ice-makers (2 refrigerators and one stand alone).

Does it sound like we need a new tank - maybe the bladder is leaking?? We now have a pool with a bottom full of silt/mud (NOT rust) - fun times will be had by all to clean that but that's another forum!

BTW - he wants to charge $600 to put in a new tank. We priced a good one at Home Depot for just over $200. Does his price seem excessive for that job? We're in rural SC.

Any advice you can give would be most appreciated!

First off, not enough air in the bladder is not cause for rust or mud. If the well guy put too much air in the bladder, it will cause the pressure to nose-dive just before or when the pump kicks in.

As for the source of mud, if there has been a lot of rain recently to raise the water table, or you are pumping out a lot more water than usual, that could stir up some mud.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees no link between mud and bladder. Not a lot of rain recently, not pumping more than usual. Tank shows rating of 38 psi, they brought it up to 35 earlier. Hubby is about to go recheck the tank pressure and is fairly certain he won't see any pressure there. if that's the case, the tank needs replaced, right??? and if so, what's up with the mud? UGH.

We're calling another well company that our daughter and son-in-law used last year.

The bladder could well be shot and the mud may have hastened its demise. When the bladder does rupture, water can react with the unprotected metal and form some rust but not so much rust that it covers the bottom of a pool.

When you draw water, the flow might be limited by how much the well/pump can produce in which case the tank is pretty much out of the equation. Depending on the size of the tank, it might provide a mere minute or so of storage, after which it's up to the pump provided there is enough water in the well. If you're not getting much flow out of the hose, blame the pump, not the tank. If you had a mud cave-in in the well, it could have partially plugged up the pump or damaged it.

It would be good to know what kind of well and pump you have and what size tank.

well is 4" with submersible pump, tank is 35 gallon. pipe to fill the pool is 1 1/2 pvc pipe not hose. there is also a 1" line coming to the house from the same well. water is murky when faucet in house is first turned on then clears somewhat, but still has a slight discoloration.

I guess we'll find out what the problem is if we can get someone to come out this holiday weekend....never fails, always on a holiday weekend!

A 35 gallon tank should give you around 8 gallons of drawdown. That means when the pump shuts off, after you draw off 8 gallons, the pump turns back on. If you cannot draw anywhere close to that much water, the bladder may be shot.

Measure how many gallons you can draw, then time how long the pump runs to refill the tank. With those two numbers, you can calculate the GPM the pump is putting out. How many GPM are you seeing at the pool filler?

How deep is the well? Is it a mud well or a rock well?