Dirty well water

I have a well that is pumping out heavy sediment. I am in eastern NC where the soil is predominantly clay. My well is approx. 18 years old, 150' deep and the well pump sits at about 70' I have two filters in my system; a large capacity filter between the pump and the pressure tank and a smaller capacity filter after the pressure tank. Both filters will clog rather quickly with brown sediment. The larger filter was installed about 3 months ago and for about two weeks the water ran very clear. At the time I installed the larger filter, I bleached the well and raised the pump about eight feet. It has since gone back to the way it has been since we moved in. I have also flushed the pressure tank and the water heater more than once.


Any help would be greatly appreciated

You need to get a driller out there to see what is going on with the well.

Racerraja said:

I have a well that is pumping out heavy sediment. I am in eastern NC where the soil is predominantly clay. My well is approx. 18 years old, 150' deep and the well pump sits at about 70'.

I have two filters in my system; a large capacity filter between the pump and the pressure tank and a smaller capacity filter after the pressure tank.

Both filters will clog rather quickly with brown sediment. The larger filter was installed about 3 months ago and for about two weeks the water ran very clear. At the time I installed the larger filter, I bleached the well and raised the pump about eight feet. It has since gone back to the way it has been since we moved in. I have also flushed the pressure tank and the water heater more than once.

Click to expand...

IMO disposable cartridge filters are a poor choice for you water problems. A backwashed filter would be a much better choice but, there has been a change in your well and you might want to have a camera inspection to see if the problem can be identified and fixed or not. Not all drillers do camera inspections.

I spoke with a local well-driller, someone who is definitely more concerned with finding a solution than with taking a check. He advised me to "shock" the well using pool quality shock treatment. After recirculating the chlorine into the well for 12 hours and flushing the well for a couple of hours, we now have the clearest water we have ever had. What I thought was clay sediment was actually what he called "iron bacteria" a bacteria that shows a rust red color. So instead of a multi-thousand dollar well repair, I was able to solve the problem with about twenty five dollars worth of shock and pvc pipe parts for the recirculation. Thanks for your advice to contact an expert.

Pool shock chlorine should never be used in a well or for water treatment of any kind and the driller should have known that. It has inhibitors in it that are not good for potable water.

2nd's Gary's reply. Only use Chlorene specifically made for well purification.

I had the exact same problem. My problem was at 144ft down there was a hole in the casing. I have clay as well, but at 144ft was pure sand. The sand was filling the hole and then being pumped into my house. This he said was caused from a "bad" portion of the casing during manufacturing or possibly a lighting strike. But if it was lighting then the pump would have probably burned out. They can put a sleeve down there to block the hole. Good Luck!!

Liquid pool chlorine does not seem to have any additves other than chlorine. I think its a safer and stronger product than bleach. Use it all the time...