cleaning old pit-dug well -- Water Well Helpline Message Board

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Subject: cleaning old pit-dug well

Author:
Bernie (Thirsty)
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Date Posted: 21:22:15 06/02/09 Tue
Author Host/IP: 69-57-92-31.dsl.dynamic.nccray.com/69.57.92.31
I built a cabin overlooking the juncture of three coulees (ravines) and have discovered at the foot of the hill (80 feet below us) there is an old hand-dug brick lined pit well about 15-18 feet deep with 7-10 feet of water in it. There is electrical power nearby as well as a stock tank, so I dropped a sump pump down to 20 inches below the top surface, and turned it on - day & night - for three months at 1100 gallons per hour, and it only dropped the level 6 inches. Now the problem: The bottom of the well has 3 feet (perhaps more) of black slimy muddy muck (stinks) that I would like to clear out. Ideally, a sewar sucking truck would work perfectly, but the site is inaccessible to trucks. What if I bought a "dirty water" pump that can handle solids up to 5 mm, and pumps at 1800 gph, and just re-cycled the water in the well to "stir it all up into a soup, then pump it all out into the nearby creek,(if I can get ahead of the in-flow rate), or until it runs clear, then drop in 3 or 4 wheelbarrows of crushed inch rock onto the bottom? Would this hopefully eliminate the black stinky slim? Any suggestions? Would it be counter-productive to just drop the wheelbarrows full of crushed rock onto the existing black muck? I was told by an old well driller to NOT use pea gravel, as it can bind up and shut off any water in-flow. I don't know if the in-flow is coming from the bottom or sides. Of course I would then have it purified and tested, and also would rely on an expensive filter if I were ever inclined to drink it (which right now I'm not).

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Re: cleaning old pit-dug well Fred Dungan (Thirst no more) 15:46:19 06/03/09 Wed

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>I built a cabin overlooking the juncture of three >coulees (ravines) and have discovered at the foot of >the hill (80 feet below us) there is an old hand-dug >brick lined pit well about 15-18 feet deep with 7-10 >feet of water in it. There is electrical power nearby >as well as a stock tank, so I dropped a sump pump down >to 20 inches below the top surface, and turned it on - >day & night - for three months at 1100 gallons per >hour, and it only dropped the level 6 inches. Now the >problem: The bottom of the well has 3 feet (perhaps >more) of black slimy muddy muck (stinks) that I would >like to clear out. Ideally, a sewar sucking truck >would work perfectly, but the site is inaccessible to >trucks. What if I bought a "dirty water" pump that can >handle solids up to 5 mm, and pumps at 1800 gph, and >just re-cycled the water in the well to "stir it all >up into a soup, then pump it all out into the nearby >creek,(if I can get ahead of the in-flow rate), or >until it runs clear, then drop in 3 or 4 wheelbarrows >of crushed inch rock onto the bottom? Would this >hopefully eliminate the black stinky slim? Any >suggestions? Would it be counter-productive to just >drop the wheelbarrows full of crushed rock onto the >existing black muck? I was told by an old well driller >to NOT use pea gravel, as it can bind up and shut off >any water in-flow. I don't know if the in-flow is >coming from the bottom or sides. Of course I would >then have it purified and tested, and also would rely >on an expensive filter if I were ever inclined to >drink it (which right now I'm not).

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