Ran into this issue today.

First let me set the stage.

In December, I turned off the outside water from the basement.
To get to the valves for the outside, I have to open a small door in the celling in the basement as it is a finished basement. I have to stand on a step stool and reach up and turn the valve.

Last week we had 0-5 degrees and wind chills in the -10 range. I went down and opened the small ceiling doors where the valves are located so the frigid air would not be trapped near the pipes.

Last night I went to close the the small ceiling door since the temps are rising. I checked the valve and thought it was not closed so I turned it.

When I got home today from work and walked into the kitchen, I heard what sounded like water running like it was in a bathtub. I thought it was the bathroom, so I ran upstairs and did not see any water but could still hear it. I found it was the outside faucet and water was gushing out. I must have turned the valve in the wrong direction.

It is strange that I could not hear this when I got up at 4:45 am and when I was in the kitchen as it is deadly quite. Not sure why.

I don’t know how long it was running out. My wife was up at 7 AM and did not hear it.

As a note, we have had record rain fail this past summer in Central Md and even a lot in 2017. In fact, we are now under another flood watch for Thursday.

We also had a new well pump put in 2.5 yrs ago due to the other one burning out (plumber said the well tank is too small and the pump runs more that in needs to).

The well is 125 ft deep and we are not home all day, so not a lot of water is used.

The question is, if it was running like I found it for 3-4 hours or longer, what danger is there that the well will go dry?

Thanks

 

When something freezes..... you don't hear anything as the water is frozen.
It's when it starts to thaw when the flood comes.

There really is no way to answer that question. If you've had heavy rainfalls you should be ok.
Have you noticed any discoloring in the cold water ?
Many times when a well drains down it stirs up mud from the bottom.

 

Too hard to say without knowing more about your well. How deep, what water depth is it pumping from along with how the well is supplied with water. Like Pete said, if your water is still clean there is probably nothing to worry about.

 

Thanks for the reply

The water is clear last 2 days.
We had so much rain today on top of the 5-6 inches of snow that the ground is soggy no matter where you walk

I don't have a lot of details except what the plumbing company left in comments after replacing the pump in 2017..

He said our tank was too small 202..Fills in 20 12 sec should be 1 min or more with pipe size in well..wanted to install a 251 well extroll tank and controls and redo water lines...for $1,750..

info left in comments...

125 ' deep...15 gpm
42' before 65' after
Pump setting at 115' deep

 

I thought that sounded a little high but that tank is better than $650 online.

A larger tank is very beneficial as it shortens the pump cycles which ultimately extends the pump life.

 

Thanks,,,, in our location, everything is expensive and labor rates are ridiculous.
The 1750 would be for the tank and new lines and labor.

I wanted my siding power washed on 3 sides of the house of or colonial.
Once side facing north was colored green and black from all of the rain this summer. The estimate was $1,200. I ended up buying an extension for my pwr washer and a soft brush for my 25ft tree trimmer and did it my self.

on the well, if we are stil lgetting clean water, shoudl we be ok?

I recall the even though we have our well that fills with water, wells fill based on the groundwater aquifers, so even though we used a lot when the faucet was opened, the well is still filling?

thanks

 

Correct..... your well recharges from underground aquifers. It sounds like your well is ok.

Water predictability is something that we really can't do. Many things change. Amount of rainfall, increase in draw from new wells, sediment in the bottom of your well.

Do you have neighbors ? They would know of water problems in the area. A local well driller would know too.

 

We have had record rain this past summer and now will be getting 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow.

This is an established neighborhood since 1990. About 20 homes all on wells, no new homes anyplace near or within 5-10 miles.. Not not sure how the neighbors would know of water problems.

 

If your neighbors have had any issues with their wells they'd be able to tell you what they are. If they've never had issues with their wells that also tells you something about the wells in your area. [good news]

 

thanks,,
my immediate neighbors, that are in a 100 ft radius, have not had any well problems that I know of....

have not seen any well related activity as far i recall..although I am not home all day