Filling a cistern

[bigtiller]

There could be a well at the bottom of that cistern....just like mine.

Mine was about 5.5ft wide and deep. And at the bottom it had a 12" X 70' ~ deep bored well. I filled the well with bentonite then covered the open pit partially with soil, knocked the concrete sides down a foot or so and covered it all with top soil.

 

[clewis]

Not that long ago, the standard way of doing a well in freezing climates was to dig/bore a large access hole (3' or larger) down to below frost level (4-5' in our area), and have the well casing head at this point. My GP's cottage did (chunk of corrigated galvanized pipe for the access hold), and so did our house (1984 - wooden rectangle). Sometimes they were filled with sand to make excavation easier (I used old polyester feed bags filled with sand) or left open for access. This is frowned on these days for two reasons - surface water contamination - and a lot of plumbers have gotten to the age that they can't cope with such cramped spaces... Two years ago we upgraded our well - used a pitless adapter, and extended the well casing above ground level, ripped out the wood and backfilled.

I'd double check to see if it is *your* wellhead. If it isn't, I'd knock off the top rim of the concrete, and attempt to check for voids - try driving a steel rod or pipe in to see if you have a solid bottom. If you do, I might consider removing enough of the old wood to 1' or more below ground level, then backfill with a layer of gravel, landscape cloth, then mound some topsoil.

Check your county records - they MAY have a record of what it is. Ours maintains a record of all wells, their depth, what was drilled through, water quantity and quality.

Found what I think is a cistern while mowing the other day. Luckily I saw it as I think it could have been disastrous if a tractor wheel found it first.

it's around 5ish feet in diameter and lined with some kind of mortar or clay and concrete. PO seems to have tried to fill it with tree parts but I am thinking that is not the best solution.

Right now it looks like an awesome burn pit. I will however need to fill this, it is to big of a liability. Should I remove/burn the wood that is in there? I am thinking as it rots it will settle. When filling should I use all dirt? I was thinking perhaps fill it with some kind of rock and topping it with dirt. Or should I go full bore and call the concrete truck I have no idea how deep it is at this point.

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[bdhsfz6]

Depending on it's location, the simplest solution might be to cover it with planks, mark it well and mow around it.

 

[Diggin It]

Top it with rock to a mound. Fence around it.

Fuggedaboudit.

 

[grsthegreat]

With razor wire and a guard post.