Sand/Mud in Well Water
#1
09-01-11, 10:22 AM
Sand/Mud in Well Water
Two days ago my water had some sand in it. We have a well about 100 ft from the house with the pump in the garage. I had parked the truck in the back yard and thought that I may have cracked the pipe underground. I dug two holes down to the pipe. One at the house and one where the water line attaches to the well. Didn't see anything obvious so I filled the holes back in. When I went back inside to take a shower, my little bit of sand turned into mud. The same mud that kept filling in my dug holes(Ground water)
Ok, the well technician came out and said we need a new well(Without even looking at anything). Question still here. Why did I get all of the mud when I filled in the holes that I dug around the pipe. Only had a little sand before this. Just digging up the water line from the well to the house (I only dug at the well and at the house not the entire length)should not have introduced mud into the system??? Am I wrong here? It did clear up after I ran it for a while.
Well technician says that if there is a crack in the water line then we would loose water to the pump and have to reprime. We are very close to sea level. Is it possible that the pipe only leaks when the pump is pulling water. love to hear what others think before we dig a new well.
Thanks
Ok, the well technician came out and said we need a new well(Without even looking at anything). Question still here. Why did I get all of the mud when I filled in the holes that I dug around the pipe. Only had a little sand before this. Just digging up the water line from the well to the house (I only dug at the well and at the house not the entire length)should not have introduced mud into the system??? Am I wrong here? It did clear up after I ran it for a while.
Well technician says that if there is a crack in the water line then we would loose water to the pump and have to reprime. We are very close to sea level. Is it possible that the pipe only leaks when the pump is pulling water. love to hear what others think before we dig a new well.
Thanks
#2
09-01-11, 10:32 AM
Super Moderator
Hi.
If there was a leak in the line from pump to well you would most likely lose pressure.
When the well pump kicks off, note the PSI on the gauge. Then let stand for some time and see if you loose any pressure.
Of course if you have a check valve at the pump a lose of pressure probably will not show.
If there is a leak in the line, you dont need a new well. Probably just the line from pump to well, or line from well down the ft valve.
What kind of pipe from the pump to well? How many pipes?
Mike NJ
If there was a leak in the line from pump to well you would most likely lose pressure.
When the well pump kicks off, note the PSI on the gauge. Then let stand for some time and see if you loose any pressure.
Of course if you have a check valve at the pump a lose of pressure probably will not show.
If there is a leak in the line, you dont need a new well. Probably just the line from pump to well, or line from well down the ft valve.
What kind of pipe from the pump to well? How many pipes?
Mike NJ
#3
09-01-11, 11:20 AM
1 and 1/4 PVC from pump to well which is about 100ft from house. There is a check valve between pump and well so that won't help. Overnight we are not loosing water to the pump so if there is a leak then it must be small. I just don't understand why the lines filled up with mud when I dug out around the pipe. If you go out and dig a hole in the yard and let it fill up with ground water, well that was what it looked like coming from my pipe. Living at sea level, how much pressure would be in the line between the well and the check valve on off cycle of pump? I have the pipe dug out around the well head and guess I'm just going to have to cover it back up to see if I get the mud again. Maybe I'll die the mud with red food coloring which will tell me for sure if it is coming from the surface.
I haven't had any sand since I dug up the connection. If if cover it back up and get mud/sand, doesn't that indeed mean that I have a leak in the connection? The connection is another story. They have the water line connected thru a 5inch PVC pipe which only goes down into the ground about 2.5ft. The well T connection is inside of this 5inch PVC pipe. So the water line goes through a coupling on the 5in pipe and into the middle were it is connected to the well line. Gosh I know that doesn't make since.
I haven't had any sand since I dug up the connection. If if cover it back up and get mud/sand, doesn't that indeed mean that I have a leak in the connection? The connection is another story. They have the water line connected thru a 5inch PVC pipe which only goes down into the ground about 2.5ft. The well T connection is inside of this 5inch PVC pipe. So the water line goes through a coupling on the 5in pipe and into the middle were it is connected to the well line. Gosh I know that doesn't make since.
#4
09-01-11, 11:34 AM
Super Moderator
There is a check valve between pump and well so that won't help.
Possible that disturbing the suction line while digging cause it to pull in sediment.
The way to test is to pressurize the line with air.
Mike NJ
#5
09-01-11, 11:47 AM
Check valve is at the pump. 100ft of pipe between there and the well. Can you explain "disturbing the suction line while digging caused it to pull in sediment". Will I have to worry about this after I refill the hole and clear the lines?
One more mention. We were rocking and rolling pretty good during the Richmond earthquake right before all of this happened. The health department put out a statement that if could cause a disturbance in private wells and should settle down after wells are flushed. I sure hope the sand was caused by this and that it will stay cleared up.
One more mention. We were rocking and rolling pretty good during the Richmond earthquake right before all of this happened. The health department put out a statement that if could cause a disturbance in private wells and should settle down after wells are flushed. I sure hope the sand was caused by this and that it will stay cleared up.
#6
09-01-11, 12:11 PM
Super Moderator
I had a leak in my suction line. I could not find it. It would kind of seal itself. Since I found out later I had no ft valve and my suction line would actually suck in air. Hence my air issue I was having.
Anyway the way I found it was by chance I put my hand on a part of the suction line way in the crawl, and low and be hold, pssssisshhhh!!!!!!!!! I found it. It was a small crack but must of been opening enough on pump start and vibration to cause my issues.
I have since fixed that line and installed a new ft valve.
If that line was under ground it would have certainly sucked in dirt. But again I had no ft valve. So as soon as the suction line was compromised the water in the line would leak back down the well.
The reason I never noticed in the yrs I lived here was because there is a check valve at the pump. When the pump shuts off its like holding your finger over a straw in a glass of water. Pull the straw out and the water stays in the straw.
I would run the well a few weeks and see if it clears up.
We had some rock and roll up here in NJ. It was pretty cool because It was my first experience. At first I thought I was having a heart attack and was getting dizzy. Seemed like I was about to pass out. equalibrium????
Anyway when I saw the light fixtures rocking and rolling I grabed the kids and boogied right on "out da house"......
Mike NJ
Anyway the way I found it was by chance I put my hand on a part of the suction line way in the crawl, and low and be hold, pssssisshhhh!!!!!!!!! I found it. It was a small crack but must of been opening enough on pump start and vibration to cause my issues.
I have since fixed that line and installed a new ft valve.
If that line was under ground it would have certainly sucked in dirt. But again I had no ft valve. So as soon as the suction line was compromised the water in the line would leak back down the well.
The reason I never noticed in the yrs I lived here was because there is a check valve at the pump. When the pump shuts off its like holding your finger over a straw in a glass of water. Pull the straw out and the water stays in the straw.
I would run the well a few weeks and see if it clears up.
We had some rock and roll up here in NJ. It was pretty cool because It was my first experience. At first I thought I was having a heart attack and was getting dizzy. Seemed like I was about to pass out. equalibrium????
Anyway when I saw the light fixtures rocking and rolling I grabed the kids and boogied right on "out da house"......
Mike NJ
#7
09-01-11, 04:44 PM
Thank you Mike for all of your help. It turns out that the 5 inch pipe reduces down to the outer well pipe. It has a rubber flange between the two which is pretty useless after 20 years. The 5 inch pipe has a large crack in it and the ground water was seeping into the outer pipe which was being sucked up by the well. We poured a glass of red water past the flange and in about 3 minutes my pump was pumping red water. Thanks again for all of your help.
