Bought my house last winter. Previous owners explained to me a newer well was drilled further from the house than the old one and the line was tapped into the old line. They had planned to and suggested for me to cap the old well to stop water from flowing into the basement. Which has only happened after very long periods of heavy rain. Can anyone help with what capping a well is, how to, etc.? Thanks

I am in the process of putting in a sump pump in my basement, after having occurred 2 inches of water within the past week. I have the pump, but I have a question regarding the liner for the pump. I was going to use a 5 gallon pail for the liner. I have drilled a number of holes around the pail. Then I was going to encase the pail with a fabric to prevent loose soil getting into the pump. And the bottom of the pail would serve as a firm base for the pump. People at work said this would work fine. But after doing some research, an article does not recommend a pail. It said it could cause damage to the pump. The article recommended using a liner 18 inches in diameter and 22 inches deep. The pump, to me, fits fine in the pail and there is sufficient room around the pump. So I guess my question is, "should I just go ahead and use the pail or should I purchase a liner? And if I need the liner, where do I purchase it and what will it cost? I'm on a budget, so if I need to purchase one, it has to be a reasonable price. I went to Lowe's and all they had was this huge type liner. To me it was way bigger than 18 inches in diameter. It would be over kill. I will mention also, that I do not have to dig up my cement floor. There is a rectangular cut out in my basement floor because that is where the sewer pipe goes out to the street. My water line comes up through that hole as well. It is all dirt and gravel in the cutout. And yes, I have sufficient room to dig the hole for the pump without hitting the soil pipe or water line. That I am sure. So if somebody could give me the best advice, it would be appreciated.