DIY Water Well Questions

[Texas Wellman]

Congrats! Sounds like a lot of hard work is paying off.

We actually only ever set about 10' of screen on a domestic well. Normally .080 or .060 ( 8 gauge or 6 gauge ) which is smaller than yours.

I didn't understand that the 6" was still in the hole. I thought it was removed to set the 4". Is the 4" sealed under the screen?

At only 40' depth it is possible that you are not in a good aquifer and the well may be very seasonal. I think it's referred to as an unconfined aquifer.

 

[Super_Dork]

Congrats! Sounds like a lot of hard work is paying off.

We actually only ever set about 10' of screen on a domestic well. Normally .080 or .060 ( 8 gauge or 6 gauge ) which is smaller than yours.

I didn't understand that the 6" was still in the hole. I thought it was removed to set the 4". Is the 4" sealed under the screen?

At only 40' depth it is possible that you are not in a good aquifer and the well may be very seasonal. I think it's referred to as an unconfined aquifer.

Thanks!

Yes, the 6" is still in the ground. I guess I could attempt to remove it using my engine hoist to break it free, but it's pretty stuck in there - it's been in for a few months at this point. Should I remove it? Will it cause problems? At the bottom of the 4", we installed a 4x2 bushing that was threaded. We threaded the 2" wash down pipe into it so we could wash the screen down. When done, we removed the 2" then filled the bottom of the well with 6" or so of gravel. We are hoping that will seal the bottom enough. No idea really...

My buddy 1 street over drilled the same setup as me about 18 years ago at the same depth using only 15' of screen and he said he's never seen any issues with the aquifer, even in the drought seasons. However, I do agree with your point - I'm interested to see how the droughts will affect well production.

 

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[Valveman]

Here is the way the state says water wells should be sealed. Sometimes you can't get 10' of cement down when doing rehab on and old well, but we always tried to get it as deep as possible. Then the slab over the well has to be a full 2' on all sides of the casing and sloped from the center.

(e) Annular Seal. The annular space to a minimum of ten (10) feet shall be three (3) inches larger in diameter than the casing and filled from ground level to a depth of not less than ten (10) feet below the land surface or well head with cement slurry, bentonite grout, or eight (8) feet solid column of granular sodium bentonite topped with a two (2) foot cement atmospheric barrier, except in the case of monitoring, dewatering, piezometer, and recovery wells when the water to be monitored, recovered, or dewatered is located at a more shallow depth. In that situation, the cement slurry, or bentonite column shall only extend down to the level immediately above the monitoring, recovery or dewatering level.

(f) Surface Completion

(1) In all wells where plastic casing is used, except when a steel or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sleeve or pitless adapter, as described in subsection (g) is used, a concrete slab or sealing block shall be placed above the cement slurry around the well at the ground surface.

(2) The slab or block shall extend laterally at least two (2) feet from the well in all directions and have a minimum thickness of four (4) inches and should be separated from the well casing by a plastic or mastic coating or sleeve to prevent bonding of the slab to the casing.

(3) The surface of the slab shall be sloped to drain away from the well.

(4) The top of the casing shall extend a minimum of twelve (12) inches above the land surface except in the case of monitoring wells when it is impractical or unreasonable to extend the casing above the ground.
https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/wwd/wwdrules.htm#76103