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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2016 19:36
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I bought the place in 2009 I think, never put anything but bleach down it. Before that it had not been habitated since 1966 when the old house was demolished. A developer and possibly some pot growers might have done something with it. When I got it there was 6" white perforated PVC pipe inside the iron casing (top photo of this thread) that went all the way down to the bottom. I took it out because the sump pump I had at the time did not fit inside it. Maybe that's a clue to something?
I will let some dry as you suggested and try and see what it is. Thanks.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2016 18:31
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OK I have let the black stuff settle, then ran it through a coffee filter which captured most of it. Poured bleach in some, no affect. Put a pencil magnet in it and got a small wet blob but maybe no more than mud would do. Think I tried everything you guys suggested short of taking a sample in to be tested.
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2016 19:25
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could be a rust hole in the iron casing letting soil in from above
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2016 19:30
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Hmm, good thought. So normally the casing goes all the way to the bottom and the water comes up only through the bottom? You can see the casing in the first post. It's pretty thick but who knows.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2016 19:41
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Often holes are cut into the lower portion of the casing to let in water. If soil is getting through from a rust hole in the iron casing, that is one old casing, or perhaps you have corrosive water. The started drilling wells about 100 years ago, some of those original steel casings are still in use, according to my driller.
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2016 19:50
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Not quite Paul...
Typically the Casing will go 6' into Bedrock and must be at 2' above Grade, then be sealed from the outside @ bedrock with something like Bentonite.
It is possible that there is an old Bung / Pitless Adapter that may have failed or rusted out. A Pitless adapter is usually Brass as should be anything that goes through the casing, there are some plastic ones but I don't know where they would be permitted. You would likely see the hole or remnants looking down into the casing. Some regions did not use Well Seals or plugs in the older days and those would eventually fail by leakage, IF the well was drilled in the 60's, that is quite possible OR the seals failed.
It is possible that the previous people attempted to use the PVC pipe as a Well Casing Liner but that was a bit of an oops. As I understand it, most places allow for such and in a few it's required due to soil conditions. Search google for your area & look for Secondary Well Seals and Liners" to see if that is something you could use.
Lastly and most importantly, the water test determines if the well is even salvageable. They can & will identify what the black is but it is unlikely Iron or Steel and ore than likely the Manganese & possibly sediments mixed in.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2016 19:54
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Time to get it tested. Might be manganese and who knows what else with the sulfur smell. Ask some well drillers in your area for recommendations.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 28 Oct 2016 20:26
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Thanks guys. The well was probably put in in 1959 when the old former house was built. Yeah, maybe the PVC that was in there when I got it was to try and address the issue but being perforated it wouldn't do much good would it. Luckily the casing is 8-10 inches diameter so big enough to install a liner. I'll call some local well companies. I'm on the Nor Cal coast.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 10 Nov 2016 09:24
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My county does well water testing. They have a basic bacteria test for $20 and can do other tests but I need to tell them which ones. In addition to manganese is there anything else I should have it tested for?
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 10 Nov 2016 14:27
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I guess it really depends on what the possibilities are in your area. My water comes from serpentine rock, so I'm testing for asbestos. There is a copper mine not too far away, and I hear some wells there have arsenic in them, so I'm testing for that. I'd ask about the local geology to find out what is possible or likely.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2016 00:06
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This was interesting.
http://www.water-research.net/index.php/common-problems-private-drinking-water-source s-wells-springs
Might add Coliform to test.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2017 13:15
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Will this be the year I finally get my well going? Anyone's guess but I might have a plan. I suspect I have ground water leaking in through the casing. It's 8" diameter x 45ft. I have some 6" pvc pipe I can run down it but I would need to seal it at the bottom, I think. Don't know to do that.
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