Cleaning dead snakes out of a dug well

[buckeyefarmer]

My dad’s house gets his water from a dug well from the 1800s. Drinking water comes from a different drilled well. His dug well is feed from rain runoff.
The well is inside a well house. I’m sure snakes get in. But that water isn’t for drinking, although I used it for brushing teeth.

20 years ago I put a submersible pump in his drinking well, that is only plumbed to kitchen sink, so they didn’t have to hand pump their drinking water. In the country, this type of water system is common.

When the county put in a water line 40 yrs ago nobody was forced to join. I wish now he had a tap as it’s hard to maintain the old system.

covering a small spring shouldn’t be anywhere near the cost of digging a well.

 

[Oaktree]

Well - I just guess I'm in the minority here. My water supply is a 26 foot deep spring. It was originally developed and used by the homesteader in 1892. It flows at a tad over 150 gpm. In 1982 we moved down from Alaska and I had my contractor dig out and improve this spring. It's now four foot diameter precast concrete rings - stacked one atop the other. The bottom one is perforated. The top ring pinches in and has a heavy duty three foot diameter lid. The spring water comes in from one side and exits thru the opposite side. The bottom is heavy cobble and gravel. Water depth is eleven feet.

Anyhow - it's a fantastic supply of fresh, clean water. In all my years here - 39+ - I've had one snake in the spring.

I'm part of that same minority I guess, though my well isn't nearly as deep as yours (maybe 10'). Best tasting water I've ever had, way better than some neighbors who have drilled wells. It sits uphill about 20' from the house so I don't need a pump...gravity does it all. Not tons of pressure, but adequate for anything we need to do.
The only problem we have is that it silts up every 10-15 years.

covering a small spring shouldn’t be anywhere near the cost of digging a well.

I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if the OP has priced drilled wells lately.

 

[Mat4644]

Very few pristine surface water sources left. When a professional in-depth analysis is made usually not good. If correction involves water purification systems and maintenance costs a sanitary well might be less cost long term.

 

[fried1765]

Very few pristine surface water sources left. When a professional in-depth analysis is made usually not good. If correction involves water purification systems and maintenance costs a sanitary well might be less cost long term.

Yup !!!!

 

[/pine]

Our spring water consistently tests better than water from nearby wells...

 

[Doofy]

Our spring water consistently tests better than water from nearby wells...

Testing is the key. If the Spring Water tests "Safe" then it should be protected and enjoyed. Drilled wells are expensive and there is no guarantee of good water or any water at all. I know a lot of people that have spent $10-20K on dry holes.

 

[cqaigy2]

Our spring water consistently tests better than water from nearby wells...

Just curios. Better how?

 

[Jstpssng]

Wow, I've created a monster! OR is it a serpent?
As mentioned previously the water comes out of the ledge in 3 places, although I'm sure that surface water may get in at certain times. She has an ultraviolet sterilizer and had the water tested this spring. With an 8x12 foot concrete enclosure, a varmint proof cover is going to be a little work, but doable. The snakes most likely get up on the concrete to sun themselves, fall in and can't get out. I can pump it dry, get in there and clean it out; I just don't know how well I can clean up partially decomposed carcasses which have seeped into the crushed stone. I will have somebody around when I do so, as the last thing I need is to fall off the ladder when getting back out and have it fill back up with 10 feet of water again.
Then she would have to buy even more bleach… :laughing:

I've been pushing her to drill a well for several years now, but my parents were always frugal and what they have worked. Reality is that she won't be there many more years, and the property will likely be sold and subdivided when she's done with it.

 

[/pine]

Just curios. Better how?

Less or lower levels of bacteria etc. or whatever it is they commonly test for...A neighbor is a disaster relief worker (retired head of engineering dept. at a major US university) and he tests both the springs we use and his drilled well...

 

[Doofy]

I used to send my wife down to muck out the well (36" galvanized culvert) but now we use a homemade "Brumby" type air pump to blow out any crud or build-up. All it uses is an air line and the water that is already in the well. Blows out sand, small gravel and any muck.

 

[LouNY]

Wow, I've created a monster! OR is it a serpent?
As mentioned previously the water comes out of the ledge in 3 places, although I'm sure that surface water may get in at certain times. She has an ultraviolet sterilizer and had the water tested this spring. With an 8x12 foot concrete enclosure, a varmint proof cover is going to be a little work, but doable. The snakes most likely get up on the concrete to sun themselves, fall in and can't get out. I can pump it dry, get in there and clean it out; I just don't know how well I can clean up partially decomposed carcasses which have seeped into the crushed stone. I will have somebody around when I do so, as the last thing I need is to fall off the ladder when getting back out and have it fill back up with 10 feet of water again.
Then she would have to buy even more bleach… :laughing:

I've been pushing her to drill a well for several years now, but my parents were always frugal and what they have worked. Reality is that she won't be there many more years, and the property will likely be sold and subdivided when she's done with it.

When you are pumping the water out use the outlet of your pump to churn up the sediment then suck it out to discharge, as it refills churn it some more and using your pump suck it out repeat till clean.
As far as keeping the snakes and other critters out cut and clear any vegetation for a 3-4 swath and spray it to keep it from regrowing.
And this will get a lot of people going, but just a bit of diesel fuel misted around will stop most snakes from entering.
Get a good tight cover on and tar up all the seams.
As far as drilled wells being better then dug because dug wells draw from shallow water, all water comes from the surface one place or another.
My drilled well that is below bedrock artesians most years how much and how fast depends on the weather from 3-5 years ago.

 

[Mat4644]

Maybe your UV system is already on a maintenance schedule. Typically the unit needs cleaned once a year and bulbs replaced. Quartz sleeve replace every 2 years. If the water hasn't killed her by now it probably won't. Plus they're only effective at controlled flow rates. If anyone visits treat it like Mexico - Don't drink the water.

Whole house 5 micron filter is also inexpensive. Maybe there's a market for bottled snake water?:shocked:

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Very few pristine surface water sources left. When a professional in-depth analysis is made usually not good. If correction involves water purification systems and maintenance costs a sanitary well might be less cost long term.

Op said it was a spring, not surface water

 

[Mat4644]

Op said it was a spring, not surface water

Most natural springs are typically shallow sources susceptible to contamination from surface conditions. This is why 100% of bottled spring water is filtered and purified by some means. All bottled spring water is pumped because natural springs can't deliver the gallons needed. All also has a sanitary well at the spring to eliminate surface water infiltration at the pump site.

Oh! But what about the picture of the beautiful mountain spring on the bottle? Ha Ha! Would anyone buy it if it said bottled well water with some minerals that's been filtered and purified ?

 

[/pine]

Springs are referred to as "surface water"...as compared to drilled or dug wells etc...

 

[Industrial Toys]

Sell it and pay for the drilled well. Snake River Springs.

Many years ago, I once read how many kidneys your clear glass of water has likely gone through in a place like New York.

I always hated working in old houses with cisterns. All seemed to have the same weird smell.

 

[MossRoad]

... All bottled spring water is pumped because natural springs can't deliver the gallons needed....

That's kind of an odd statement.

All bottled spring water is probably pumped because how else would you get it into the bottles? There are plenty of springs in the U.S. with huge flow. Here's a list of some huge springs just in the Ozarks.

List of Ozark springs - Wikipedia

 

[MossRoad]

Sell it and pay for the drilled well. Snake River Springs.

Many years ago, I once read how many kidneys your clear glass of water has likely gone through in a place like New York.

I always hated working in old houses with cisterns. All seemed to have the same weird smell.

More than 90 percent of the city’s water supply comes from the Catskill/Delaware watershed, about 125 miles north of NYC; the other 10 percent comes from the Croton watershed. The watershed sits on over a million acres, both publicly and privately owned, but highly regulated to make sure contaminants stay out of the water.

From here:
What’s So Great About New York City Water? | 6sqft

 

[Industrial Toys]

What about all the estrogen and other medications supposedly in much drinking water?

Did New York finish that other masive tunnel? Maybe the one in the Die Hard Movie.

 

[MossRoad]

What about all the estrogen and other medications supposedly in much drinking water?

Don't blame the pill for estrogen in drinking water -- ScienceDaily