We have a 1977 built home that is supplied water from a shallow well adjacent to a large pond. The pond appears (as I've been told) to be spring-fed as the water level seems steady even when it hasn't rained for weeks. The "well" is a vertical corrugated pipe, about three feet across and 15 feet deep, with a 240V submersible pump suspended near the bottom, about 80 feet from the pond. It looks like the ground from the pond to the well was dug up many years ago, as there is a slight dip in it
We bought in summer of 2021 and first ran out of water that winter. I augered a hole in the pond ice and found lots of water, so I used a pump to fill the well back up. We had to do that three times that winter and twice last winter. We didn't have a problem those first two summers. However, this year we've had it twice now that the well ran dry, despite the pond water level still being high. Last night it ran out again, and the well only recovered 5" from midnight to 8 am this morning.
I suspect over the years that either the "channel" from the pond to the well, or the bottom of the well itself has become plugged up with sediment/leaves/debris. I'm not sure how the water "enters" the pipe either.
I could maybe try filling the well right to the top and maintaining the water level there for several days to try "backflush" it, but I'm not sure how effective that would be given that normal water level in the well is usually only about 3' from the top anyway. I'm looking for any ides to improve this situation. Thanks!
We bought in summer of 2021 and first ran out of water that winter. I augered a hole in the pond ice and found lots of water, so I used a pump to fill the well back up. We had to do that three times that winter and twice last winter. We didn't have a problem those first two summers. However, this year we've had it twice now that the well ran dry, despite the pond water level still being high. Last night it ran out again, and the well only recovered 5" from midnight to 8 am this morning.
I suspect over the years that either the "channel" from the pond to the well, or the bottom of the well itself has become plugged up with sediment/leaves/debris. I'm not sure how the water "enters" the pipe either.
I could maybe try filling the well right to the top and maintaining the water level there for several days to try "backflush" it, but I'm not sure how effective that would be given that normal water level in the well is usually only about 3' from the top anyway. I'm looking for any ides to improve this situation. Thanks!