Sediment in Well water

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injen

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My wife and I have recently baught the house we are living in , in the summer. The well was dug in the summer of 2005. Our water is usually a lil sandy, but not bad with the filter we have on the main water line. Just last week our water went really sandy, with a lot of sediment that the filter will not catch. The well is 75ft deep 62 ft casting and the pump was down 8 feet from the bottom .... if all measuments were correct. I pulled the pump out and cut 10 feet of the pipe to raise the pump up , as I say in the paper work that was in the house the drillers instructions were to have the pump 40 ft down, not 60 some like it was. I put everything back together and tryed the pump to make sure I had a good connection at the pitless adapter, didnt seem to have any irratic air in the water, but the was is like a dark brown to black in color. How long will this last ? ....... How long should I leave the water off to have everything in the well settle after I disrupted it by pulling out the pump? Should this solve the problem? Should I run the water now to get rid of the dirty water or wait till everyhing settle first?
Hopefully someone can help me
Thanks
 
R

Rancher

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Run the well until it's clear.

If you got sand past your filter, then suspect your filter.

Rancher
 

injen

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Ive been running my water for about 35 mins now, and the water is still a little brown, but the sediment is now like little black sediment, not the brown grains like before ......... does this tell me anything?
 

injen

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I just took a closer look at the sediment ..... it kinda looks like rust ..... could be what got knocked of the well casing from the removal of the pump and from placeing it down the casing again .... I am assuming
 

pitless

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Keep it running. When it gets clear then set the flow so the pump will cycle. This will remove additional rust and sand. If the sand gets real bad then you may be able to shorten your drop pipe again. It is best to keep the pump above the screen if possible.

If the sand gets real bad you may have to have the well redeveloped by air lifting or other method. If the well was made correctly and not developed completely then this may be the source of the sand.

An improperly made well will always pump sand and may need to be replaced. A properly made well will pump little or no sand.
 

injen

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(morning after) The debris is slowly going away, not all yet as I only ran the water for an hour or so, as it was gettin late. The water has a slight tinge to it and a slight odour. When I get home from work later I will run it some more and hopefully gets better. The filter seems to be going slightly black in color???
is it a big job to have your well re developed?
 

pitless

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Redevelopment can be a major undertaking depending on the water level, depth, casing size.

The easiest way is to air lift the well. Sometime this is called blowing the well. The pump must be removed and a pipe is installed in the well. Air is then introduced in to the well through the pipe.

If you put enough air down the well to displace part of the water the water will come out of the top and water will run in through the screen. This is very spasmotic and agitates the sand and filter pack and will also remove accumulated sediment. The water will seldom become completely clear when using this method.

Gennerally a contractors air compressor of 85 to 185 cfm works well. Make sure you have some way to keep the pipe off of the bottom of the well. I have knocked a hole in a plastic well cap before.

There are other methods too. Gennerally they need to be done by a contractor.

Send some information on your well and I can help you decide if you want to attempt this or if it would work on your well.
 

injen

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After gettin home from work today, I ran the water again for an hour or so, and the water quality has greatly improved, still not what Id like, but much better. The color is much better, and there seems to be less rust or sediment. The smell is even less. Perhaps tommrow I will run it again after work for awhile and hopefully it keep improving ..... think it will?
 

injen

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After calling around and doing more research I was told to run my water a gallon a min everyday this week and see how it looks by the end of the week .......... so I guess I will keep trying that.
 

injen

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I pretty much got clear water now after letting the water run all weekend.
I think I may have some tannings in my water thou, no sediement anymore, well none that will pass my filter.
 

Speedbump

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I don't know where your located, but sand in a well is a bad thing. Whether it comes and goes or it's there all the time. Sand will destroy your pump among other things.

You have called this sand and sediment. They are different. Are you able to crush this stuff between your fingers or is it hard like a rock?

The black sediment you saw after pulling your pump was probably sulphur which among other things, puts a coating on pipes that is easy to break off and shows up like you described. Running the water will clear up the black water.

bob...
 

injen

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I am located in Nova Scotia.
The sediment is sand I suppose, i will have to see if it crumbles between my fingers thou when I change my filter.
My well casing is in 62 feet of sandstone, there is no bedrock in this area.Perhaps that is why?
I had a guy from the local renew water (store) test my water, and other then hard water, the water was fine. As for the sand , its not like im getting tonnes anymore, just a slight bit in the bottom of the filter cartridge.
 

Speedbump

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Well if your only getting a little bit, it may be clearing up slowly. Maybe your on the road to recovery.

bob...
 

injen

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I hope so ....... water still has what I call a slight "camp smell" with a slight ting. maybe just needs a bottle of javex when im done running the water.
 
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