Water well cleaning.

[Just Cliff]

I'd like to get some input from those that may live in a flood prone are or those with experience cleaning a water well.
I have a bore well on my property in the city that I know needs to be cleaned out. The Rocket Scientists that do plumbing around here, routed the kitchen sink waste water into the old well since the house was put on city water. I can't use a trash pump because of the depth of the well. (suction deeper than 28 ft.) I had an idea of using a submersible sewage pump to lower onto the bottom an suck it out that way. I would have to put an new longer cord on the pump. It has a 2" outlet that I could screw PVC pipe into and suck the crap off the bottom and pump it out.
Also, I saw a video story one time about how they used gypsum to weigh down contaminates in a pond and clear the water up. I thought I might be able to do that after cleaning it.

 

[Caribou]

I don't have a clue how to get the sludge out of the bottom but after several years I'd suspect that most of that had dissolved and moved on. At some point I'd put a couple gallons of bleach in and let it set for a few days before I put my pump in.

 

[phideaux]

Just curious what size casing is the well?

And how deep is the well. How deep is the water level from surface?

Jim

 

[The Lazy L]

Perhaps pumped potable and chorinated water down into the bottom of the well which would force the "sludge" up and out the top of the casing?

Direct the overflow "sludge" into concealment containment (water your bushes) to keep it out of view of the local government and snoopy neighbors.

Once the water runs clear for a long period of time, drop a normal submersible water pump down the casing. Again pump the water out for a long period of time. Dumping gray water down into a water vein was STUPID! When you think the water is safe have it tested by a private company.

 

[Spikedriver]

How long has it sat unused? If longer than a couple years, any sludge has probably congealed into solid at the bottom. If it's not more than about 55 feet a shallow/deep well convertible pump will work, otherwise just get a deep well pump, dump a s*** ton of bleach down that sucker, and pump it out the next day. I'd bet it will be good to go, unless the water itself is bad...

 

[Peanut]

I did a little research thinking on your question… If me… starting out knowing little (my case). I’d want a thorough baseline test to know exactly what was in the water before I did anything. Home kits start at $20. I’d want a complete test run by a lab, still less than $200.

After any major steps I take in trying to clean the well I could then get a much cheaper test targeting only the problems identified by the first test. In other words, “is the crap I’m doing actually helping?”.

I guessing you want a clean well as a backup? If I could get the water reasonably clean, even if not perfect… I could easily set up a cheap charcoal and sand filter system in 30-gallon plastic barrels. In the end I can get a lot of clean water in short emergencies or long-term ones if necessary. Not an answer to what you asked but it’s how I would approach the problem.

 

[phideaux]

The reason I ask the size and depths is because my well is 80 ft deep with 50 feet of water,
My sister's well is 400 ft deep.

Makes a difference how you go about the cleaning.

Mine would be easy , my sister's not so easy.

I'm thinking deep well pump like Red Jacket. Buy a used one.

Jim

 

[CountryGuy]

Do you have any idea on the shaft depth and the static height of the water? is there a pipe and submersible pump down hole currently? What's your plans for the water? irrigation or to be potable? Have you pulled a water sample and had it tested to see what if anything biologic or chemical shows?

You could try shocking it with chlorine but who knows what's been pumped down that hole over the years and has it contaminated the water table? Now ask yourself, did the wizbang plumbers do this same thing at all the neighbors places to so the contamination could be very wide spread.

Depending on the depth maybe get a cheap shallow well jet pump as it should be able to pull from a deeper depth than your trash pump. If there is a lot of crap & sludge in it you might need to pull the pipe and pump (assuming there is one) and have a service rig brought in to go down the existing casing and shaft and clean and blow out the junk and clear any potential debris. If it's cased most of the way less likely it's collapsed but that is a potential too. You might want to try to find a few respected drillers in your area and ask them to come over and give you their thoughts and possibly an estimate. It should be cheaper than drilling a new hole but there would still be a set up charge and such. It's probably not the cheap route but might be the best going long term.

Just my 2 cents... I have to say, I can't believe someone was dumb enough to run the garbage down the well into the water table.

 

[SheepDog]

The water table will clear itself in short order but the well may not.

 

[PaperPatched]

Did someone before you clean paint brushes in the sink and dump paint thinner down the drain (lots of stupid people out there) ? Please get the tests so you can be confident that what your drinking won't harm you.