New Well

[skent]

After the drought of the summer of 1999 the hand dug well that serves the farm went dry. We started trucking in water while we tried to figure out what to do. Then we had a normal fall and the well came back. Now this year we've had a much dryer than normal fall/winter and I've been taking water level checks every two weeks or so, now it's down again. Can't/don't want to live this way. I think the well (being over 100 years old) has seen its days and needs to be put to rest.

Went to the county to apply for a permit, filled out all the paperwork. Many pretty colored multi-part forms with many questions to be answered. Had to agree to fill in the old well after new on is in service. Health dept has to be present to be sure it's done right. Had a friend who is a douser find what looks like a good area, now we need to get the health dept to come out and approve the location. Have a well driller standing by, price breakdown (for your info) is as follows:

$80.00 for permit
8.00 per foot for drilling (as deep as needed to hit water with good flow)
5.50 per foot for casing (as deep as needed to hit rock)
200.00 for flow test
175.00 to grout the casing
35.00 for well cap and seal
300.00 for pump
30.00 pitless adapter
200.00 for tank
500.00 labor for hookup to house (ditch and pipe) (plumbers estimate)
600.00 for stone/cement/topsoil to fill in old well

Most likely it will be between 3500.00 and 4000.00 when all is said and done. I've received prices from many rotary drillers, all seem to be within 5%. The one I going to use has put in several strong wells in the area and is a family friend.

I'll keep you posted as to progress.

 

[PTRich]

Why do they want you to fill the old well in. It would be nice to use for watering the lawn, washing the cars, etc.

PTRich

 

[MossRoad]

Around here, its to protect the watershed as old wells are a good place to introduce pollution down the pipe.

 

[TerryinMD]

Steve,

Doesn't seem that far off the mark. When we had our well put in 12 years ago, we paid just a $1.50 less for drilling and somewhere near $4-4.50 for the pipe.

I haven't heard any pricing lately for Washington County but I would imagine that it's not to far off from your quote.

How many feet have you questimated for your well depth? We planned on 500 feet and ended up with about 215 feet.

Terry

 

[MikePA]

Do the drillers offer fixed price contracts up to a certain depth?

 

[MarkV]

Skent,

Very close to the prices that we would pay in N. Georgia. Drilling a well is one of those things that are hard to budget for. You just never know how deep you will end up. We had to go 550 ft. to get enough water for the house and just down the road they go 200 ft and have enough for the whole community.

MarkV

 

[DVerbarg]

Prices vary on individual items but the total is right in line with what is here in northern Illinois. References are important. Talk to General Contractors to see what they think of the reputation of certain drillers. One of the local drillers here is known as "Deep Well Kneely" due to his belief in "overkill" but then he isn't getting new work from the same client 10 years later. Other locals have a booming business in drilling new wells because the old ones "dried -up".

 

[hayes]

I think I need to move. I live just north of Dallas, put in a new well over a year ago, 525', 3hp pump, and pressure tank, cost just under $10,000. The cost was a little more than usuall because of the bigger pump and heavier casing.

Our price was within a 1,000 of the 4 other estimates that we got from other drillers.

Well Horror Story:
Make sure you check out the driller, our 2 neighbors across the road used a guy that we talked too but decided not to use. Both have well problems, 1 gets sand in his water and the other gets pieces of shale.

Also make sure the well is run enough to clean it out before you hook it into the house.

Larry

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

skent,

Price seems right in line with here in Michigan. My driller quoted a price to 125 feet and then $15.00 per additional foot for 6" well. Total cost with pump, tank, hydrant, etc was $4400.00. And that's in line with most of the others I see quoted. Prices usually are within 10% of each other, and frankly, I get scared if I see one quoted too cheap.

SHF

 

[JJT]

Sound like excellent prices. 8 yrs ago I paid $12/ft uncased and $18/ft cased, (after shopping around). No extra charges for flow test, well cap or grout. I hung the pump and did the wiring/plumbing.

 

[WVBill]

My well was drilled in the summer of 1998 so it's relatively new. But with the low rain/snowfall for the last few years, I've started hearing of a number of wells going dry. Nothing drilled as recently as mine - but it sits in the back of my mind...

Is there any way for a well owner to tell in advance of when a well is about to go dry - short of that "giant sucking sound" (remember Ross Perot?)?

If one's drilled well does go dry, do they have to drill a whole new well or can the pump and casing be pulled and the driller just go deeper through the same hole?

 

[MarkV]

Bill,
When we drilled our well the driller hit water at about 250’ and felt like we were good to go. As it turned out it was a pocket of water that did not regenerate enough to do the job. I was a little upset, to say the least./w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif They came in and went down the same hole, quite an alignment feat, and we are now at 550’ and so far, so good. They did pull the pump, but left the casing in place. So yes, they can go down the same hole, but in my area they said that 500 – 600’ is as far as they will go. I don’t know if it is an equipment issue or local knowledge of aquifer depth.

MarkV

 

[TerryinMD]

WVBill,

Just as MarkV said, they can reuse the same hole. In our area near the Potomac River, wells are drilled anywhere from 150' to over 700'. Several wells in our subdivision sit around 500'. One in particular was drilled down that deep to act as a reservior during dry periods.

Terry

 

[gerard]

Guess it matters on what you mean by "going dry". We're at 480 feet and never had a problem until my wife decided to water the indoor arena during the summer dry spell. Called me up to tell me the well had run dry and the water was brown!! After a little angina, telling her "I told you so" re: running water continuously, and waiting overnight, everything filled back up and was fine. She just pumped out quicker than the water was coming in. (Prompted me to buy a 330 gal water tank for the pickup. We have a spring down the road where the pipe just runs out of the ground. I can pull up and fill the tank and that's how we water the arena now!!) I'd heard of people getting water deliveries and dumping water down into a drilled well. My plumber told me when you do that you knock rust and dirt loose which then clogs the intake screen on the pump, then you call him to replce the pump!! Makes sense and something I don't think I'll ever try!

 

[skent]

I wanted to keep it for garden use, but Health Dept here in the county is trying to do away with hand dug wells totally. In fact, I found out that the permit fee ($80) is waved if you are replacing a hand dug well. Seems the problem with surface water having a path to the aquifer and the danger to children falling in is the major drive.

 

[skent]

The well at the house was put in 7 years ago during a dry summer. Cost 2800 and went 280'. Pumps 6.8 GPM. Filled a 24' above ground pool 5 years ago (12000 gallons)

Farm well will be 900' to the east and am figuring on at least that depth.

 

[Hillbilly]

I have a well that was drilled in 1988,509 ft deep,hit water at 435',it is imperative to get a good pocket in the well when drilling for a resevoir. The water was in a 70' thick vein of white sand.

 

[skent]

Update on New Well:

It's been a long wait, With the severe drought I've had to wait and wait 10 weeks for the well driller. Tried calling three others in the area, two were not taking on any new work and the third said maybe sometime in June.

First driller showed up Friday. We had a local douser find us three sites. First site driller went 405 feet, hitting rock at 52' and nothing but dust the rest of the way down. Second site found 4 gallons per minute at 130' , but it is full of small gravel and if it ends up being usable, we may need a sediment casing (more money) put in. He is going to try flushing again this morning. Picture posted of the rig at the second site.

 

[skent]

Different view of same site

 

[skent]

View of my $3500.00 405' dry hole.