drilling / water well

[steeve]

hi every one,

my question is;
what is the procedure to fallow for drilling a well, i asked around the place where i will build, and some of them had to drill over 400ft, how can i know that the guys are not just drilling to get extra cash.it's around $17/ ft to drill, can the city tell me how deep the water is.

[bkrahmer]

Many states (I know Idaho does) have a database of the depth and rate for each well drilled. You could look into that. Typical depth may not mean anything, depending upon the geology deep beneath you. For about $50 you can probably have somebody 'witch' it.
I believe the driller knows when they've hit water, and they will typically go a few more feet to be sure they're well into the vein so seasonal fluctuations don't mess with you too much, and that you have enough flow.
If you're really concerned about them screwing you, watch them while they're doing it, and ask a lot of questions. You could also do a background check to look for lawsuits, and check your BBB.

[steeve]

thanks for the info...about witches, dont they only find surface wells...

[Dragon]

No.

Witches find your wallet.

[dhill]

Steeve,

The answer to your question is to choose a reputable well driller. Ask people around you who they used and go from there. The water can be at any depth. My experience with my driller was a good one. I will say the driller left decisions up to me. I had a very general idea of how deep I could expect to hit water. As we drilled and neared the expected depth and then went past it, he kept asking me if I wanted to go further. I'm saying, "Man, what do I know? You're the driller. You tell me." He called some other drillers who knew the area better than he did and gave me the information. His fees were set up front, too. 12 dollars a foot to drill if he hit, 1000 dollar minimum, and 5 or 6 dollars a foot if he drilled dry. If you want more info about my drilling experience, let me know. I watched the driller work through the entire drilling process. I didn't watch him case in the well though.

My driller asked me if I witched to find the location of where I wanted the well. I had a friend who had a little experience with witching do that for me, and then I did it, and the driller did it also. I'm not sure if I believe in that process or not, but let me tell you, we hit water where the rods said we would hit.

Dusty

[steeve]

thanks Dusty,
when i m ready, i ll keep in touch...

[VALENT]

Definitely try to find a reputable driller. Then stay out of their way. They know what they are doing. My driller was in and out in a day. He charged about $2000 and drilled about 160 foot. Then he set the casing and pumped the well. He made good money and I think I got a good well.

[steeve]

what is the min. to good water reserve for a well...i ve heard 125 gallons/day should be anough...how do you mesure the water flow...

[bkrahmer]

5 gallons a minute should be a minimum target. I've heard that's a requirement for mortgages by some companies for new construction.

[Dragon]

If you can't get 5 gal minimum then you can use a two pump system and a tank with a float valve in it. One well pump connected to the float valve in a 500 gallon tank. Second pump from tank to usage location.

Hey, it worked for me on a 2gpm well.

This may not work in the frozen north.

[bkrahmer]

Yeah, a storage tank is a good idea. If you get dealt with only a minimal well, you have to do with what you've got.

[steeve]

thanks guys , i love this furum...

[mjpliv]

No.

Witches find your wallet.

The jury is still out on that one! I am as skeptical as the next guy but I saw one in action up here. My customer built a new home. His neighbor on one side had drilled 350' feet for water, the neighbor on the other side was 400'. The "witch" picked a spot and we hit good water, and lots of it, at 110'.

Go figure!

[bkrahmer]

To witch or not to witch is as fundamental as OSB or plywood! :)

[mjpliv]

A good topic for Cole's TV show

[kadoka]

Just had a well drilled about a week ago. I did have a guy witch it. Either he was real good or real lucky. I will take the water either way. His charge was only equal to a few feet of drilling so it was cheap insurance or at least the feeling of insurance. ha ha.

If you are there when they are drilling, it will be obvious to you when they hit water. It starts coming out the pipe that they blow the dirt out of. The drilling company told us before hand how deep and how good all the other wells in our area were. Find a reputable driller that has been around a good long time and you shouldn't have to worry about being cheated.

Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

[bkrahmer]

The drilling company just finished my well and capped it on Friday. 340'! My neighbors are at something like 275 and 300, so I didn't fare so well in the luck department. They hit rock at 120', but ended up casing 160'.

One of the guys was telling me about a subdivision that they recently did where they drilled about 6 wells right in a row, on pretty flat ground. The first 5 were right around 150', and the last one was over 700'! Weird stuff.

[dhill]

BK,
What's your output? Just curious. My well produces about 8-10 gpm. I'm using a solar DC pump on it because it's a low flow pump. Works pretty good, and I don't have to worry about pumping my well dry and ruining a pump.
Dusty

[bkrahmer]

I don't have my pump hooked up yet. The drillers estimated 7-10. We don't use much water, so I'm not worried even if it's below that.

[kadoka]

dhill

Our well that we just had drilled a week ago in the mountains of Colorado has a flow rate of 4 gpm which is a good well around here. We went 260 ft and have right at 200 ft of water in the well hole. At 4gpm that is 240 gallons an hour or 5760 per day. Our last water bill here in town was an average of 147 gallons a day. Out here a well that will do 1.5 gpm is an acceptable well. I think people really led to believe they need a lot higher flow rate than is necessary which may lead people to drill a lot deeper than they need to.

Here we are drilling through solid granite hoping for a fissure that will allow water to flow into the wells. There is no such thing as a large aquifer full of water here at 9000ft elevation.

There are some people around that get 10 to 15 gpm but it is pretty rare.

[Rich]

Think of this - we've got a shower head in this house that's 16 gpm :shock:
Needed to put a 4" drain in the floor.

[kadoka]

Rich

You must have a lot more water pressure than we do in the Springs to make use of a 16 gpm shower head. It would just dribble out the end here. :lol:

[Rich]

LOL.. we're hooked up to city water though. We've got about 50-60psi at the top fixture in the house without PRVs.

[dhill]

If I used a shower head that delivered 16gpm, I'd be out of water pressure in less than a minute and a half. My 250 gallon pressure tank only has a draw down of 17 gallons. Now why do they call it a 250 gallon tank??? Why don't they call it what it delivers?
Most people around me use water storage tanks. I'm not planning to use one, but I may change my mind. My well is serving only a small house at this time, so a lot of stored water isn't necessary, and actually a large pressure tank isn't either. But someday, that may all change.

[bkrahmer]

The 82 gallon pressure tank I just bought (pre-charged) has a 37 gallon draw-down, IIRC.

There is no such thing as a large aquifer full of water here at 9000ft elevation.

The subdivision I lived in, in Fairplay (10k feet), was lucky enough to have a spring, right at the base of the mountain. And dammit, that was the best water ever.

We went 260 ft and have right at 200 ft of water in the well hole. ... I think people really led to believe they need a lot higher flow rate than is necessary which may lead people to drill a lot deeper than they need to.

We have about 40' of water in the hole. At least, that's what it was when they drilled it. I suppose it could end up filling to a higher level...

[kadoka]

I went up and measured the level of water about a week after they drilled. A piece of string with a block of wood on the end. I had not idea what to expect. The well company told us that some fill up just a little and some wells will fill all the way to the top. I figured that 200ft of water was about 300 gallons of storage. With just the wife and I and no lawn to take care of, we should have plenty of water. Now we just need a house.

[kadoka]

Rich

Does that shower head double as a car wash in the summer? lol

[Rich]

LOL - I could put a hose on it and dump it outside pretty easily :)