Shallow dug well is dry

[JWM]

I’m hoping that some fellow S&W forum members can point me in the right direction. I purchased a retirement fixer upper in northern New England, about three years ago. The house was built in 1965. The previous owner had to leave the house in 1999, and move into assisted living. Therefore, the house sat vacant for nearly 18 years before I purchased it. Unfortunately, the 12 foot dug well went completely dry. I pulled off the heavy concrete lid, and peered down to see nothing put gravel stones on the bottom of the well. The well is lined, about 24 inches in diameter. Had a small friend put a ladder down there, and he went down and actually stood on the gravel stones at the bottom of the well. This well is located approximately ten feet from a brook that runs thru my property. There is a pipe that comes out of the side of the well about within four feet from the bottom, takes a right angle, and then goes starlight down into the gravel. What can I do to get water again out of this well ? Start digging again by hand and hope to hit water ? Please advise.

[quaduser]

Well... you're not gonna like this answer but if you can't get water by digging down a few feet then you need a well driller. I built my house in 1987 and had a well drilled that went down 310 feet until it hit the aquifer. The water is cold, clear, and pumps 30 GPM. It cost me big $$ then but it was worth it. I can't imagine what it would cost now.

[coltle6920]

So you have a 12ft well...10ft from a brook...with a pipe in the side roughly 8ft below ground level. Seems to me that water for the well is coming from the brook. I'm betting that the pipe is clogged somehow but it would be hard to check with only a 2ft opening in the well.

Walk the bank and see if there isn't some sort of pipe with maybe a screen on top below the water line. It's a shot in the dark but a place to start.

[Muley Gil]

If you can get a snake into the pipe, from inside the well, you might be able to clear it. You may have to try and unscrew the pipe to get access though.

If you get a flow into the well, I'd definitely get the water tested before you take that first drink. :0

I'd be calling your local well drillers to get an estimate too.

[LVSteve]

If that water comes from a brook, what kind of filtration system is going to be needed?

[coltle6920]

Originally Posted by Muley Gil

If you can get a snake into the pipe, from inside the well, you might be able to clear it. You may have to try and unscrew the pipe to get access though.

I was thinking dig down to that pipe from outside the well wall. Then you could trace where and how far it goes and cut into it. You wouldn't get my butt down a 2ft hole.

Another thought was who were the sellers? Were they family? If there was a chance of contacting them they might have an answer. A neighbor might know something. There might even be an answer in the records when the house was built.

Doesn't look like there will be an easy or inexpensive solution.

[Oracle]

If you do get water and it is coming from the brook at any time the water can be contaminated. Giardiasis (beaver fever) is just one of the nasty little critters.

Giardiasis (beaver fever) Fact Sheet

[rwsmith]

....in a very small community in the NC Blue Ridge where the water supply was one spring. The guy across the road insisted that it was HIS water and pulled other's hoses out of the collector vessel. They had to call the sheriff a few times and he wasn't unreasonable but said flat out that he was related to most of the people there and he had to handle things 'delicately'. He would get it straightened out for a while then the guy would start pulling hoses again.

Oh, in regard to the OPs dilemma, A deep well is the best solution.

[BigBoy99]

Drilling wells in not cheap. Prior to selling my house in MD, I had to put in a new well. It was 325 ft. deep and cost just about $11,000.

[Jeff423]

FWIW: My brother lives in Maine and his well is about 200'. He recently told me that his well is still good but due to the drought several of his neighbors have had their shallower wells go dry.

[Muley Gil]

When I bought my house in the country, there was an adjoining lot that had been sold at auction. In my deed and theirs, I provide water to that lot for a $15 monthly fee. The folks live down in NC and very seldom ever come and spend time on their lot.

My house, my neighbor's house and that lot used to all be on a spring located in back of my land. The spring fed into a concrete reservoir and then fed by gravity down the three dwellings. About 20 years ago, that spring went dry and a deep well was drilled on what is now my land. Another well was drilled on the neighbor's property (the son of the former owner of my property).

[mick1213]

What is the diameter of the pipe in the pit? You may have a leeching pit there.

[bill2000]

Before you have a well drilled contact a well company and inquire about driving a point in your existing dug well. Chances are that the water table dropped over the years and a point could get you back into it without the expense of drilling.

[riverrat38]

If you have water in the brook, can you pump the water into an above ground storage tank?
It's a real safety hazard to go below 4 ft deep without proper shoring. Hard to do in a 2 ft diameter hole!

Best,
Rick

[mtgianni]

If you do snake the line and water fills, how fast can you get out?

Ask some neighbors how deep their wells are and ask a drilling company what their records show for water in the area. You might be 25' down or 200. A good well needs a head of water well over the pumps depth.