Help! Cloudy water from new well

I'm on my second well. First well would not clear after 1 1/2 months of running on a timer off and on. It would finally clear pretty good after running for 15 minutes but who wants to run 150 gallons before you can get a drink. Driller did a new well same sand, different location, looks like same result. It will clear up some after running but very cloudy after it rests. There was no well development, just let it run. What specifically should he do/have done and at what point in the process? He did not hesitate to drill second well after fist one would not clear so I think he would be open to suggestions. I posted a thread about maybe using a Freshpoint filter but did not get much response. Driller is very accessible, returns calls, and I know he wants to make it right. I've got five kids and old well collapsed so I need potable water like pronto. Any help would be very appreciated.

Is it cloudy from air, or if you let a glass sit does something settle to the bottom?

Nothing settles at the bottom with either well. I put a 1 micron filter on the first well and it had no effect so we are sub micron. That's why I was curious about the Freshpoint. It would be a last resort. The second well runs cloudy for 15 min. before beginnig to clear but the best it gets, still has a good bit of turbidity. As I stated, the driller is very cooperative. Is there anything that we can do first other than just run it? The first well never cleared. Looks like same song second verse.

If it were me, I would have it jetted with an air compressor.

Like TW says, jetted with air, maybe surge blocks, or both. If nothing settles to the bottom it is hard to filter. Maybe a test to see what it is that needs filtering? Makes me think it is just aerated.

Thanks for the replies. I promise it's not air. It's very dirty when you turn it on after resting and partially clears after running awhile and I've let it sit for days. It does not settle. It looks like shale. What does jetting do and what is a surge block? Is that flooding the well? The sand is 16' and they put 16' of screen. They put 20' of screen in the first well with 16' of sand. It's supposed to be producing from the 16' of sand zone. He drilled with air and says you should not need to do anything but let it run to clear up. I can't afford to pay to drill another well. Again, thanks and any help is greatly appreciated.

If the water is coming from a sand formation and you have a sand screen, that should make a good filter in itself. I can’t imagine what would stay suspended without eventually settling to the bottom of a glass. Get it tested. See what it is, and it will be easier to find a solution.

It does have a screen, .020 with a gravel pack. It acts like colloidal clay. Driller thinks it's shale. I talked to him today and asked about jetting and he said he would do it if it does not clear. Says he does not like jetting because it can screw up the formation. Thanks, I'll get back with what happens. What exactly does jetting do? Does it agitat the sand and allow anything else to be dislodged? You can tell I don't know much about this.

In my 60 years of drilling all over the world I encountered only one well where the water would not clear up. Neither did the second or third. It contained no settlement and when setting in a jar for months it stayed cloudy. I called my trusted competitor and he advised me that it would never clear up. Other wells wasn't an option. I ended up giving the customers money back and just had to walk away. This was a very shallow well. We later went back and drilled the customer a 300 foot lime formation well and it was fine! It sounds as though your driller is trying but sometimes you just have to walk away. NOTE: I later found out that all the shallow wells in this area were cloudy and that's the reason drillers wouldn't drill shallow wells there.

Porky, did you ever find out what was causing the problem?

Years back a local driller went down 240' and found water. We installed the pump at 200' and walked away. A few days later the homeowner calls and says the water won't clear so we head on back and pump the well down and can't get the sediment to clear. (silt) so we put the sock on the pump and send it back down the hole. All is fine for about 5 months and then we get a no water call. We go out and try to pull the pump manually. It does not budge so we get out the upzy dazy which after a couple hours of back and forth finally brings the pump and sock up. The sock was in fairly good shape because all the silt fell off on the way up but, when we go to put it back down the hole it won't go the last 5 or 6 feet or so. Turns out that the silt had filled in under and around the pump. Driller made 3 more holes on the property, all with the same results. The homeowner finally had to make an agreement with his neighbor to share the well on his property which was less than 70' away.

Second well is 75' from neighbor(with his blessing) and his water is crystal clear. He says his well is 285' but the logs are not available. We have hit sand at 242' both times with 16' zone. I thought we were giong deeper the second try but he stopped at 275' and completed the 16' zone. He said he was more precise with the screen and gravel pack to seal off that zone. He said there wasn't anything below 275' because he hit shale again. How do you klnow if you don't go deeper? Porky, what kind of development do you do? Texas Wellman, how long should he jet and could it mess up the formation like he said? I am going to run it again this weekend to see if it clears more. Thanks for the input.