I'm sorta the goto guy in my neighborhood.got a call from a neighbor. Well is 10 yrs old. Is 460ft deep,pump is @340 and water is @250. He is getting huge amounts of fine sand. It's plugging his spriklers and jamming his pump. Any ideas?
Water well problem
- Thread starter Chris142
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From the net:
If your well suddenly starts to pump fine sand, this may indicate that the well is filling with sand. Typically the well pump is set so it’s a minimum of ten twenty feet higher than the base of the well. When the pump is down near the base of the well, sand or grit and sediment can be drawn in. In old wells the well shaft can fill up with fine sand and silt so much that the pump may start to suck in sand from the bottom.
Other sources for sand in water may be the fact that well screen is becoming degraded and it’s allowing sand or sediment in from the gravel pack around the well screen. When the well is drilled, it is lined with a steel, iron, or PVC plastic which is called a casing. The casing is the well shaft which is installed by the well driller. The well casing has spaces that allow water to penetrate the well from the surrounding ground water and at the same time keep out sand and grit. This is called the well screen. Over time the well screen can become degraded and corroded and allow silt and sand to get into the well.
In some wells the well pump can be too big a pump for the well and pull sand in from the surrounding acquifer. Sand can be very hard on the well pump and may rapidly wear out the pump, valves as well as fill up the bottom of the well. In any case, a sudden presence of sand or grit is not a good symptom and the source or cause should be established.
If see a lot of sand in your water it is best to contact your well driller to discuss the problem and discuss possible ways to fix this problem. Sometimes the well contractor can pull up the pump 10 to 20 feet in addition to end the problem of the sand. In some situations, a new casing may be advised. There are also special screens that the well contractor can install over the pump to keep out sand, although these are not feasible for some wells if the casing is very old or the well diameter too small. If it is not feasible or possible to repair, a new well may be recommended."
If your well suddenly starts to pump fine sand, this may indicate that the well is filling with sand. Typically the well pump is set so it’s a minimum of ten twenty feet higher than the base of the well. When the pump is down near the base of the well, sand or grit and sediment can be drawn in. In old wells the well shaft can fill up with fine sand and silt so much that the pump may start to suck in sand from the bottom.
Other sources for sand in water may be the fact that well screen is becoming degraded and it’s allowing sand or sediment in from the gravel pack around the well screen. When the well is drilled, it is lined with a steel, iron, or PVC plastic which is called a casing. The casing is the well shaft which is installed by the well driller. The well casing has spaces that allow water to penetrate the well from the surrounding ground water and at the same time keep out sand and grit. This is called the well screen. Over time the well screen can become degraded and corroded and allow silt and sand to get into the well.
In some wells the well pump can be too big a pump for the well and pull sand in from the surrounding acquifer. Sand can be very hard on the well pump and may rapidly wear out the pump, valves as well as fill up the bottom of the well. In any case, a sudden presence of sand or grit is not a good symptom and the source or cause should be established.
If see a lot of sand in your water it is best to contact your well driller to discuss the problem and discuss possible ways to fix this problem. Sometimes the well contractor can pull up the pump 10 to 20 feet in addition to end the problem of the sand. In some situations, a new casing may be advised. There are also special screens that the well contractor can install over the pump to keep out sand, although these are not feasible for some wells if the casing is very old or the well diameter too small. If it is not feasible or possible to repair, a new well may be recommended."
Interesting.i doubt it's got 120 ft of sand in the bottom of it .Im thinking the pump is set in a sand layer and is sucking sand into the casing
move.. Thats the one thing around here that gives me no problems.
Seismic activity? Fracking?
Ok, so I suppose this is part of my water distribution and supply license. 
Few things that come to mind:
Your water table might have shrunk significantly.
Casing may have fractured.
Implosion of the water table.
I'll look up if there's anything else...
Few things that come to mind:
Your water table might have shrunk significantly.
Casing may have fractured.
Implosion of the water table.
I'll look up if there's anything else...
crazyoildude said:
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
Ok, so I suppose this is part of my water distribution and supply license.
Few things that come to mind:
Your water table might have shrunk significantly.
Casing may have fractured.
Implosion of the water table.
I'll look up if there's anything else...
water table has not changed significantly.or my 18 ft of available water would be gone.no quakes or tracking near by.
Ok, so I suppose this is part of my water distribution and supply license.
Few things that come to mind:
Your water table might have shrunk significantly.
Casing may have fractured.
Implosion of the water table.
I'll look up if there's anything else...
water table has not changed significantly.or my 18 ft of available water would be gone.no quakes or tracking near by.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I'm sorta the goto guy in my neighborhood.got a call from a neighbor. Well is 10 yrs old. Is 460ft deep,pump is @340 and water is @250. He is getting huge amounts of fine sand. It's plugging his spriklers and jamming his pump. Any ideas?
Simple. Your neighbor needs to have it inspected by someone qualified to see what's going on. Anything else is nothing more than speculation and guesswork by people no more qualified than the neighborhood "go to" guy.
I'm sorta the goto guy in my neighborhood.got a call from a neighbor. Well is 10 yrs old. Is 460ft deep,pump is @340 and water is @250. He is getting huge amounts of fine sand. It's plugging his spriklers and jamming his pump. Any ideas?
Simple. Your neighbor needs to have it inspected by someone qualified to see what's going on. Anything else is nothing more than speculation and guesswork by people no more qualified than the neighborhood "go to" guy.
JHZR2
Staff member
Sure seems a sediment filter at minimum would be prudent..
Drillers will only go back down a well they drilled. Hopefully that driller is around and has a good rep. Probably needs to go back down, blow out the sand and shove the casing down tight.
Obviously contact the driller. I used to be a driller helper.
Obviously contact the driller. I used to be a driller helper.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: CT8
Call the well guy.
8 months behind! I guess he is getting more sand than water now
Call the well guy.
8 months behind! I guess he is getting more sand than water now
I bought a house to rent 5 years ago and the well worked fine but i has id pulled because i had a feeling and the well pumps screen was rusted out. I live in a pretty good water area though. I learned quickly to just learned to call the guy .
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: CT8
Call the well guy.
8 months behind! I guess he is getting more sand than water now
Get a qualified pump installer. He can evaluate the well and adjust pump height/replace screen etc.
Originally Posted By: CT8
Call the well guy.
8 months behind! I guess he is getting more sand than water now
Get a qualified pump installer. He can evaluate the well and adjust pump height/replace screen etc.
Unfortunately, what ever the "professional" fix is, it's going to be expensive.
The problem with sediment filtration at the pump level is, it's hundreds of feet below ground and it's going to clog again.
It's been so dry in my area that people are having issues. BIL is trying to sell their (newer) home with a well and septic. They had to do all kinds of mods to their well to get it pass county inspection.
The problem with sediment filtration at the pump level is, it's hundreds of feet below ground and it's going to clog again.
It's been so dry in my area that people are having issues. BIL is trying to sell their (newer) home with a well and septic. They had to do all kinds of mods to their well to get it pass county inspection.
Are you in the area affected by the storm in CA right now? Either way, there could be runoff from the floods getting into his aquifer and clogging it.
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