In most areas you're just circulating the water from the pond back to the pond.
Well, I don’t believe this to be the case in my situation, as I accounted for this when I dug my ponds. The local water conservation specialist from the DEC informed me that the water table in the spring is 18” below grade, and at the driest time of year it is usually at ~68” below grade.
When digging my pond, I clay lined the sandy loam portion of the banks, to prevent my ponds from dropping drastically as the water table fell.
This picture shows the anatomy of my pond banks:
http://www.infinity-universe.com/~dev/WhiteDwarf/Projects/Well/Pond/Bank-Profile.jpg
If what you said were true, my ponds would be at the same level as the water table, but they are not. The water table atm is about 6.5 ft from grade, the pond water level is at 3.5 ft from grade.
I lose water for many reasons:
-Evaporation
-Wicking into the banks and evaporating (pond banks are always wet, so I know this to be true)
-Water leeching through the gray silty clay lining into the sandy loam. (This gray clay is not like capping
clay, water can still pas through it slowly)
Now, I know even if I pump water into the ponds, I will still lose it due to all the above reasons, but I believe if I can attain 25 GPM, I will be able to keep the ponds near the springtime water level all year round. If not, it will still be better than letting it drop 2.5-3 ft from May until Sept. As that is about how long it takes in a very dry year like this. The ponds drop about 36” in 120 days. 25 GPM for my pond area gives me the capability to replenish 1” per day of pond level.
The local DEC office tells me shale rock is after the glacial till, between 18-20 ft deep. That is where the water veins start.
This is why I believe 2-3 shallow wells into the shale rock will work for me. Most wells in my neighborhood seem to be between 25-35 ft casings certainly not the 100’s of ft you guys seem to be implying.
The only way to obtain 25 gpm from a well in your area is to have a deep well with a submergible pump. Sorry what is, is!
This is one thing I have not found good information on. Why do you say a deep well with submersible is required for 25 GPM. Why is it that multiple shallow wells combined can not get me to 25 GPM?