Water line from Well Length

[Amanda_931]

Duh!

I'd been thinking of how far the pumps would pull.


They do use a lot more power the farther they have to push.

(I was just looking at the Solar Slow-Pump specification sheet, again.  I really did want one of those.  Probably never ever use the semi-local solar supplier because they didn't give me a quote)

http://www.2gosolar.com/Conergy%20Products/Conergy%20Spec%20Sheets/Slowpump/SlowpumpFeb02.pdf

[glenn-k]

One thing to keep in mind is that no matter how deep your well is, you are only pumping from the drawdown level of the well - example ---

600 foot deep well pump at 580 feet.  

Static level 100 feet - the level the well sits at when not pumping.  

Pumping level at 20 gallons per minute - 120 feet.  You provide energy only for pumping from 120 feet plus to build your desired pressure.  The water comes up to 120 willingly by itself at this pumping rate.  The pump in this case could be safely set at 130 feet and work for many years until the static level dropped.

If the pump was shut off and the water measured in 5 minutes and recovered to 110 feet, that is called the 5 minute recovery rate.  It would be considered 2 gallons per foot of drawdown and a bigger pump could be designed using that data assuming 40 gallons would pull the well down to 130'.  A bigger test would be done for a larger production well.  

If the water was hit at 300' and came up to the 100 foot level it is an artesian well.  If it flowed over the top it would be a flowing artesian well.  If it was hit at 300' and stayed there it is not an artesian well.

Depth of well does not have an effect on power requirements except it could affect how fast the water flows into the well, hence the drawdown and recovery rate.  Excess depth can also cause water to be lost or gained if it ties two aquifers together and the two have different static levels that were previously not tied together.  This can easily spread pollution under the ground without anyones knowledge above the ground as the polluted water may flow into the clean aquifer.  The main types of wells that could do this are open hole or perforated wells.

[John_C]

So, today I learned I have an artesian well.  They hit water at a little over 200 ft and drilled another 30 or so.  The water rose to about 50 feet from the ground.   19 - 1/2 years later I know what to call it.

[glenn-k]

It is not common knowledge but came from a book I studied when drilling I think --- Groundwater and
Wells by Driscoll.  

Most wells do rise quite a bit in the borehole when the aquifer is reached.  An exception  - non-artesian would be a well drilled near a lake or water bearing sands near the surface----  in an unconfined aquifer where the level is similar to the lake -

Wells can be pressurized from any nearby or even distant mountains that are the watershed and allow water into the ground at a higher level, to be tapped under pressure by your downslope well.  Water will rise in your well until it equalizes with the pressure necessary to send the rest down into the lowlands below.  If there is too much pressure where you drilled, it then becomes a flowing artesian.

[BassLakeBucki]

Any other tips/suggestions about the water line from the well to the house? Had a well drilled last summer, the tank is buried next to the wellhead and have a frostproof spigot at the wellhead. This summer's project is to trench the water line 50' to the cottage. I know I need to stay below the frost line to keep from freezing. It is a pretty flat run. Is it true the conduit for the electric to the pump must be in a seperate trench than the water line but need not be as deep?

[glenn kangiser]

Usually they can be run together - I don't recall anything specific about separation.  If frost depth is deep then probably the electric  conduit could be shallower.  Seems minimum 18" from memory but that may not be right.

[John_C]

When I did mine they were supposed to be separate.  The trench was 16" or 18" wide, as we laid the water line against one side of the trench we put the electric cable (I think it was called UF  cable, no conduit) against the other side of the trench and threw a bucket or two of dirt on them every few feet to keep them apart while the trench was filled.  Since they weren't touching they were separate.  Did the same thing for the underground electric and telephone which were supposed to be separate.  The power company and telephone company were ok with it as long as they weren't touching.