We live in the sticks, & well water is our only water source for the house. Today, sand or silt started appearing in the water. This is the first place we've lived with a well. In several years of living here, the water has always been clear. Does anyone know why sand would suddenly start appearing in the water?
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Why is My Well Suddenly Pumping Sand?
- Thread starter M&P777
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Snowbandit
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Water table has dropped for some reason. You don't say where you live or how deep the well is but, I suspect, you're going to need a deeper well. Not good news. Sand is going to tear up the plastic pumps in your washing machine in a hurry and your well pump isn't going to last long either.
Wells are drying up here in the NE. Friend of mine is a well driller, and he says the dumb yuppies like their green lawns, great times for him. My lawn is like straw, and staying that way.
A common problem, especially in the south. Your well has sanded up. The water well has out lived it's useful days. I had that problem a few years ago. The solution is expensively simple.
Have a new deep well drilled. Mine cost about $5200 but that was several years ago and went down 240 feet. Water was hit severl feet before that but the deeper well allowed for the water table to drop considerable and give me years of good water.
Not too long after having it drilled, a community water system was installed and all area residents had to go to it. Now we are not allowed to use the well for anything.
Have a new deep well drilled. Mine cost about $5200 but that was several years ago and went down 240 feet. Water was hit severl feet before that but the deeper well allowed for the water table to drop considerable and give me years of good water.
Not too long after having it drilled, a community water system was installed and all area residents had to go to it. Now we are not allowed to use the well for anything.
Faulkner
Member
Same thing here in the Fayettville Shale area of north central Arkansas. The fracking is ruining the ground water and worse and by the time the EPA finishes it's "study" on the environmental impact the impact will have run it's course of distruction.
Fracking is a bad thing.
michael thornton
Member
that dont sound good, how deep is your well? is your pump in the ground ?
m1gunner
US Veteran
Where are you located?
Deep well or shallow well? How deep?
Submersible or jet pump?
Deep well or shallow well? How deep?
Submersible or jet pump?
DeathGrip
US Veteran
Maybe its not the well.Do you have filtration equipment?
DG
DG
charlie sherrill
SWCA Member
I had the same problem several years ago when I had a well. I was getting small gravel and sand in my washing machine. I also had a problem with the sulphur smell. I installed a large grain filter and knocked out the sand and gravel and then a smaller grain filter behind that and got rid of the sulphur smell. My original well was 220 ft. deep because that's the first place they found decent water. I had the roof on the well house where it could be easily removed because the first few years I lived there the well company would have to come out and pull the pipe and replace the pump. It was in the bottom the hole. It eventually cleaned up and ran fine for the last six years I lived there. The biggest problem I had was everytime we had lightening in the neighborhood my fuse would get knocked out. I kept extras. If you have a good well it's better than anything you can get from a water association. I wasn't going to pay the ten grand they wanted and then a monthly fee to run a line to my house so I had my own well drilled. The filters may not work for you but they did for me.
About a week ago the pipe between my well and my house sprung a leak and I went through the same thing. I lost a lot of water pressure and there was air in the pipes also. Both toilets and my washing machine plugged solid. Check to see if your pump is running constantly, if it is look for a wet spot between your well and house. I had water flowing right out of the ground.
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BarbC
Member
The people next door to us called several weeks ago to say their well had suddenly started pumping sediment.
Well - 7 people home all day every day, plus a pool they splashed the water out of everyday and re-topped, and they had run their 240-foot well dry.
Just yesterday, the builder's team completed a new 540 foot well with the water table at 160 feet and installed a new pump, giving them approximately 400/gallons of water. They were told we're in a drought and to stop wasting water because the next well was on them.
The people on the other side of them have a pool too and sucked their own water table low. When the builder's team fracked the dry well, the well on the other side got sand in it. It did eventually settle out and they were also told to quit wasting water.
Sometimes people with wells don't realize how fragile they are and how expensive they are to replace.
Well - 7 people home all day every day, plus a pool they splashed the water out of everyday and re-topped, and they had run their 240-foot well dry.
Just yesterday, the builder's team completed a new 540 foot well with the water table at 160 feet and installed a new pump, giving them approximately 400/gallons of water. They were told we're in a drought and to stop wasting water because the next well was on them.
The people on the other side of them have a pool too and sucked their own water table low. When the builder's team fracked the dry well, the well on the other side got sand in it. It did eventually settle out and they were also told to quit wasting water.
Sometimes people with wells don't realize how fragile they are and how expensive they are to replace.
Indiana George
US Veteran
Hey M&P777
PM me as much information pertaining to your well as you have knowledge of: Bedrock or gravel well, age of well, gpm rating of well when drilled, depth of well, static water level, submersible, shallow well or jet pump, "constant pressure system" or conventional pressure tank, switch & pump, steel or PVC casing, description of sand, horsepower & gpm rating of pump, etc.
If you can obtain a copy of the "Well Log" that might also be helpful. In Indiana, they are submitted by the driller to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and available online. I do not know your state's requirements.
I'll see if I can't come up with some answers for you.
DO NOT call to have a new well drilled yet! There are MANY possibilities as to why sand is suddenly present and some of the solutions are relatively inexpensive.
George
Indiana Licensed Well Driller
Member: Indiana Groundwater Asociation
Member: National Groundwater Association.
PM me as much information pertaining to your well as you have knowledge of: Bedrock or gravel well, age of well, gpm rating of well when drilled, depth of well, static water level, submersible, shallow well or jet pump, "constant pressure system" or conventional pressure tank, switch & pump, steel or PVC casing, description of sand, horsepower & gpm rating of pump, etc.
If you can obtain a copy of the "Well Log" that might also be helpful. In Indiana, they are submitted by the driller to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and available online. I do not know your state's requirements.
I'll see if I can't come up with some answers for you.
DO NOT call to have a new well drilled yet! There are MANY possibilities as to why sand is suddenly present and some of the solutions are relatively inexpensive.
George
Indiana Licensed Well Driller
Member: Indiana Groundwater Asociation
Member: National Groundwater Association.
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Indiana George
US Veteran
Absolutely correct, DeathGrip. Filtration, conditioning & softening equipment are one of the first things we (well drilling co.) check and eliminate as possibilities when we have this type of service call.
We always ask the customer to capture some of the "sand" so that we can examine it, to help determine the source. I've seen several situations where the "sand" was actually filter bed material from malfunctioning conditioning equipment. Not usually the case, but it CAN happen.
DeathGrip
US Veteran
Just offering another suggestion George.Sand will sure reap havoc on the filters.I suspect the well or crossover pipe is the issue.Maybe a sand filter for a quick fix to protect the filtration equipment until the issue is solved.If he's gonna have to drill he sure don't want to add the expense of a media change to the bill.I put sand filters on all of my new wells.Down here they tend to pump sand for a while until the pocked has cleared.
DG
DG
