Anyone ever had their water well fracked?

[Finch]

Might be worth it to have a pump service company run a camera down the casing to inspect for any damaged or plugged slits. If production used to be good but they did a shitty job packing the case then the slits could get plugged up with silt. Simply having it jetted could fix the issue and restore flow.

What do you mean by slits exactly? When this well was dug, it was producing 4gpm per the well cap.

 

[isocyanate]

Might be worth it to have a pump service company run a camera down the casing to inspect for any damaged or plugged slits. If production used to be good but they did a shitty job packing the case then the slits could get plugged up with silt. Simply having it jetted could fix the issue and restore flow.

Around here, just the iron deposits will plug screens. I had the well at my plant jetted a couple years ago and got back to new flow rate. Agree with sticking a camera in it.

Screens are how the water gets from the formation to the pump. Thing casing with small slits in to. You have 63’ of pipe casing and 387’ of screen. Pump is at 425’. Bottom will fill with sediment over time, so part of the problem may simply be well volume (I.e., the bottom of the well is now 440’, not 450’. Might be expensive to do, but a trip down with a camera can tell you this too.



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[CApighunter]

What do you mean by slits exactly? When this well was dug, it was producing 4gpm per the well cap.

View attachment 297377

When you case a well, you use both perforated and solid pipe. The perf goes where the water producing alluviums are, solid where they are not. There’s tons of tiny slits all around the pipe to allow the water inside. 4 gpm isn’t much to start with. Never heard of fracking a water well, maybe he’s referring to jetting. I’d go back to the storage tank idea. Plastic or cement, your preference. Cement is popular in areas with high fire risk.

 

[wapitibob]

420' would cost 30K around here.

 

[Michael54]

We had one done in western pa and it added 10gpm back to the well output. Its worth the money.

 

[dtrkyman]

I know my cousin had his blown out with air pressure some how. I guess it clears the screen down there, major improvement for him.

 

[Finch]

We had one done in western pa and it added 10gpm back to the well output. Its worth the money.

Sent you a pm

 

[Crowmangler]

My first house had a 450' deep well with a static level of 50'. on a 6" well there's 1.5 gallons per foot of water stored in the column...therefore we had 600 gallons of storage. The well only produced around 2 gals / min but we never had any issues running out.

Can you contact the original driller to see what the production rate of the well was originally?
I may be totally wrong but that lists the capacity of the pump at 4 gals / min, not the actual water production or the well.

You should have approx 532 gals of water storage from the pump up to the water level. Even washing multiple loads wouldn't use that much water in a day would it?

Sediment will fill the bottom of the hole over the past 18 years & If the pump is being clogged with silt you could raise the pump up another 20' or so.

My personal opinion is I'd let them try the jetting & worst case you're only out $1,400, correct?

 

[Finch]

My first house had a 450' deep well with a static level of 50'. on a 6" well there's 1.5 gallons per foot of water stored in the column...therefore we had 600 gallons of storage. The well only produced around 2 gals / min but we never had any issues running out.

Can you contact the original driller to see what the production rate of the well was originally?
I may be totally wrong but that lists the capacity of the pump at 4 gals / min, not the actual water production or the well.

You should have approx 532 gals of water storage from the pump up to the water level. Even washing multiple loads wouldn't use that much water in a day would it?

Sediment will fill the bottom of the hole over the past 18 years & If the pump is being clogged with silt you could raise the pump up another 20' or so.

My personal opinion is I'd let them try the jetting & worst case you're only out $1,400, correct?

I actually contacted the drill company and he told me to look under inside of cap as the gpm that the well was producing at the time of drilling would be there. It was 4gpm.

I see how you got 532 gallons but today his sonar tool indicated a water depth of 187 feet. My static level may have changed over the years but I also used some water this morning to wash my truck (we just got back from the beach - salty air). So I should still have 357 gallons of water in there now. I asked him about that and he said the head pressure would make it harder for the pump to pump that water. I'm confused now myself.

He quoted me $2800 to hydrofrack it....it it doesn't work, he will only charge half.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

4gpm is the initial problem. Add in a host of other variables and this is what you got.

I’d get a well driller(several) out there and get their opinions. Then go from there.

 

[CCooper]

So it sounds like your dealing with a bedrock well as opposed to the cased wells we deal with out here in Western Oregon. I agree with the idea of hydro-jetting your current well prior to more expensive alternatives ($2800 is cheap to remove your pump/ column pipe and perform jetting). Although we would typically perform a downhole videography of the well to assess issues prior to offering a service. It sounds like he has performed an in situ drawdown test on your well and observed recovery to static was slow (generally is as you reach close to static water level) We generally tell clients wells do not go bad over time unless you are dealing with a sensitive aquifer and something has drastically changed (drought, someone drills a new well adjacent to yours, etc.) you apparently have 380' of water column to work with- that is positive. I would venture to guess a good cleaning/ jetting/ frac or whatever he's calling it will go a long way with production as you are probably dealing with silted in fractures in the bedrock reducing flow. Your well was likely drilled with air rotary DTHH methods which promotes the fracturing of the water producing fissures in the rock- the servicing they are proposing will likely get you back to original production or close to it. And please, replace the pump, motor, pump wire, check valve, pressure switch, etc. while they have your pump pulled- it's the cheapest time to do it. Do not let them sell you a used pump and or motor- go new from a reputable manufacturer- Goulds, Franklin, Pentair, Flint & Walling, Grundfos, etc. It will be less painful down the road. When I do stuff for family and friends, only new stuff goes back down the hole. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions

 

[jfs82]

I have a 40 gallon pressure tank inside the house. It's that what you mean?

We've got 3 5000 gallon tanks on my dad's land.

 

[Opah]

From the well to the storage tank (Big 10' round and 10 foot tall) to the pressure tank to the house, is what we have for the Ranch I frequent.

 

[Billy Goat]

You are SW correct?


I'm north east of you. I don't know of any drillers around here who actually measure the well output, it's just a general guess. I'd I ly trust the 4gpm so much. I do know of several older wells that were refreshed by putting a load of water back down the well. It's cheap and easy. With the karst topography the seams in the rock fill in and the recharging capability is diminished.

How far is your well heading up currently? I have several that are 450+- but head to within 20' of surface, that gives me a pretty good reservoir.

 

[Billy Goat]

You are SW correct?


I'm north east of you. I don't know of any drillers around here who actually measure the well output, it's just a general guess. I'd I ly trust the 4gpm so much. I do know of several older wells that were refreshed by putting a load of water back down the well. It's cheap and easy. With the karst topography the seams in the rock fill in and the recharging capability is diminished.

How far is your well heading up currently? I have several that are 450+- but head to within 20' of surface, that gives me a pretty good reservoir.

Edit: if you are roanoke still I'd bet your driller came from the arcadia area, I might know them.

I'd start by paying someone to bring you 1k gallons that you dump right in the well.

 

[Finch]

Edit: if you are roanoke still I'd bet your driller came from the arcadia area, I might know them.

I'd start by paying someone to bring you 1k gallons that you dump right in the well.

Simmons drilled this initially so you are probably guessing correctly. The guy today actually suggested that as an option that MIGHT work. He said getting in a water tank and dumping the water into the well sometimes is enough to fix the issue.

One of the guys from Simmons drilling actually recommended this guy to me. I've heard good things so I don't feel that he is giving me the run around.

 

[Finch]

So it sounds like your dealing with a bedrock well as opposed to the cased wells we deal with out here in Western Oregon. I agree with the idea of hydro-jetting your current well prior to more expensive alternatives ($2800 is cheap to remove your pump/ column pipe and perform jetting). Although we would typically perform a downhole videography of the well to assess issues prior to offering a service. It sounds like he has performed an in situ drawdown test on your well and observed recovery to static was slow (generally is as you reach close to static water level) We generally tell clients wells do not go bad over time unless you are dealing with a sensitive aquifer and something has drastically changed (drought, someone drills a new well adjacent to yours, etc.) you apparently have 380' of water column to work with- that is positive. I would venture to guess a good cleaning/ jetting/ frac or whatever he's calling it will go a long way with production as you are probably dealing with silted in fractures in the bedrock reducing flow. Your well was likely drilled with air rotary DTHH methods which promotes the fracturing of the water producing fissures in the rock- the servicing they are proposing will likely get you back to original production or close to it. And please, replace the pump, motor, pump wire, check valve, pressure switch, etc. while they have your pump pulled- it's the cheapest time to do it. Do not let them sell you a used pump and or motor- go new from a reputable manufacturer- Goulds, Franklin, Pentair, Flint & Walling, Grundfos, etc. It will be less painful down the road. When I do stuff for family and friends, only new stuff goes back down the hole. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions

Appreciate the reply. I was going to go ahead and have the pump replaced with a like model Goulds.

I guess I should YouTube "jetting" as fracking didn't bring back much for water wells at least. Thanks!

 

[Billy Goat]

Simmons drilled this initially so you are probably guessing correctly. The guy today actually suggested that as an option that MIGHT work. He said getting in a water tank and dumping the water into the well sometimes is enough to fix the issue.

One of the guys from Simmons drilling actually recommended this guy to me. I've heard good things so I don't feel that he is giving me the run around.

It's generally cheap enough to do, I've seen it work. Might be something you need to do every few years. We are also in a decent drought, while water tables are still decent as we have actually had a few wet years, if you have a well that's actually fed from surface water, things might get difficult this summer.

 

[Rokbar]

I'm south of you in NC. I would absolutely love to have 4gpm. I only have a 1/2gpm. The 1/2gpmcame at around 350ft. They drilled on to 705Ft and set the pump at 680.The driller mentioned fracking with high pressure air. My well is on a hill. He mentioned they couldn't start fracking until they got below the hill. He said it could possibly blow out the side of the hill because the pressure is so extreme. We have pumped the well dry 3-4 times. 2X is was a leaking commode. We barely manage the water usage and get by.When we first moved in the static level was 50 ft down. I did install a low flow 60/40 cutoff switch to help protect the pump. If it ever got worse I would look at fracking before drilling a new well.

 

[Finch]

I'm south of you in NC. I would absolutely love to have 4gpm. I only have a 1/2gpm. The 1/2gpmcame at around 350ft. They drilled on to 705Ft and set the pump at 680.The driller mentioned fracking with high pressure air. My well is on a hill. He mentioned they couldn't start fracking until they got below the hill. He said it could possibly blow out the side of the hill because the pressure is so extreme. We have pumped the well dry 3-4 times. 2X is was a leaking commode. We barely manage the water usage and get by.When we first moved in the static level was 50 ft down. I did install a low flow 60/40 cutoff switch to help protect the pump. If it ever got worse I would look at fracking before drilling a new well.

Wow, your situation makes me feel a little better. Sorry to hear.