Now that I've got your attention, how would you do it?
My mother lives in the house which my paternal grandfather built in 1927. The water supply has always been spring fed into a 10x12 foot concrete enclosure, about 10 feet deep. 40 years ago we cleaned it out and put a foot or so of crushed stone in the bottom. The water comes up through the ledge in 3 places... for decades it supplied two houses and 1/4 acre of greenhouses without any problems.
It's covered by corrugated aluminum on a wood frame. My father always mowed around it, every year he would pump it dry, clean and bleach it. At some point they had an ultraviolet water purifier installed. Then he got sick and passed away, so for 5 years or more it's been largely neglected. She did have the water tested this spring (I think she got tired of hearing me whining about having it done) and it was OK.
Last month I pulled the cover off for the first time since last year and noticed the overflow was plugged so that the water was running over the top rather than through the pipe. I also noticed a couple of dead snakes in the bottom... I unplugged the overflow, told her about the snakes, and cut a swath around it with the weed whacker to discourage wildlife. The next time that I was down I counted 7 snakes in various states of decay. But at least the water level was down where it's supposed to be...
Since then she's been buying her drinking water
thumbsup even though the purifier should be doing it's job.
She talked to the local well drilling company and I hoped they would come out and take a look; but they are busier than a one-armed paper hanger and suggested she call a plumber. I was disappointed, as I would like to see her have a well drilled and be done with it.
I told her that I can clean it out; but first she needs to have somebody look at it who knows what they're doing, to make suggestions for the long term. I also believe that if we keep the grass mowed away from the well it will discourage wildlife; yet it still should have a better cover. As I just mentioned, the price for doing it right would go a long ways toward having a well drilled.
So- getting back to my original question; how would you go about cleaning vermin remains off the bottom of a spring lined with crushed stone, once you've pumped the well dry?
(That last part I can accomplish, with my 5 HP Honda powered semi-trash pump. :thumbsup
Cliff Notes will be available later, for those of you who don't want to read this entire post. :laughing:
My mother lives in the house which my paternal grandfather built in 1927. The water supply has always been spring fed into a 10x12 foot concrete enclosure, about 10 feet deep. 40 years ago we cleaned it out and put a foot or so of crushed stone in the bottom. The water comes up through the ledge in 3 places... for decades it supplied two houses and 1/4 acre of greenhouses without any problems.
It's covered by corrugated aluminum on a wood frame. My father always mowed around it, every year he would pump it dry, clean and bleach it. At some point they had an ultraviolet water purifier installed. Then he got sick and passed away, so for 5 years or more it's been largely neglected. She did have the water tested this spring (I think she got tired of hearing me whining about having it done) and it was OK.
Last month I pulled the cover off for the first time since last year and noticed the overflow was plugged so that the water was running over the top rather than through the pipe. I also noticed a couple of dead snakes in the bottom... I unplugged the overflow, told her about the snakes, and cut a swath around it with the weed whacker to discourage wildlife. The next time that I was down I counted 7 snakes in various states of decay. But at least the water level was down where it's supposed to be...
Since then she's been buying her drinking water
thumbsup even though the purifier should be doing it's job.She talked to the local well drilling company and I hoped they would come out and take a look; but they are busier than a one-armed paper hanger and suggested she call a plumber. I was disappointed, as I would like to see her have a well drilled and be done with it.
My siblings think she should have the cover fixed... the cost of that would go a long ways toward having a new well drilled.
I told her that I can clean it out; but first she needs to have somebody look at it who knows what they're doing, to make suggestions for the long term. I also believe that if we keep the grass mowed away from the well it will discourage wildlife; yet it still should have a better cover. As I just mentioned, the price for doing it right would go a long ways toward having a well drilled.
So- getting back to my original question; how would you go about cleaning vermin remains off the bottom of a spring lined with crushed stone, once you've pumped the well dry?
(That last part I can accomplish, with my 5 HP Honda powered semi-trash pump. :thumbsup
Cliff Notes will be available later, for those of you who don't want to read this entire post. :laughing:
