Hi. We have a new (to us) house in WV and this is our first with a well. The well was drilled about 25 years ago and is 550' deep. The markings on it indicate it produces 5 gpm though the specific production not been recently tested. We've had it inspected and we're told it is in good shape. The water is usually very clear (no noticeable sediment) but if we run a hose bib wide open too long (not sure of the exact time but probably 30 minutes or so) the water for the whole house can start turning pitch black with sediment. (My wife was NOT happy when her shower turned to what looked like crude oil!) I presume this is when the well has been drawn down too much and sediment begins to get drawn up. This is what a plumber I asked indicated. He said once we drew down the standing water in the well that was likely what was happened. I was thinking I should get some kind of timing device to make sure we don't run the pump for more than a certain amount of time in a certain window (basically just doing the math on when the water is drawn down) but then here found references to sensors that can tell when a pump is pumping dry. My question is, will those actually work in this situation since the well isn't dry it is just drawing a lot of sediment. Is there a sediment cutoff sensor or something like that? I also saw one thread here suggesting just opening a valve that is upstream of the house and running it to clear the sediment. Is that something that is likely to work in this situation? Thanks!