grouting a sand point well

[jahnzee]

Hello all. I've been lurking on this site for a while now. This may be my first post. It ain't about a tractor, but Google searches for sand point wells have led me here.

I bought 11.5 vacant acres in Northern Michigan last summer on a repo deal. Recently I found a capped 1-1/4" pipe sticking out of the ground. I wondered what it could be. I stuck measuring tape down it, and the last 18" of it came back out wet. So I screwed a pitcher pump onto it and crossed my fingers. Wahoo! I could pump water, and it doesn't stink like rotten eggs or anything. It's 8 feet from the surface to the bottom of the pipe.

My question is: Should I grout it? Some sites says to grout it if it's for drinking water, other sites say to grout it regardless, and other sites don't mention it.

By grouting, I mean to put some amount of cement (a bag, perhaps) around where the pipe enters the ground, so that surface water doesn't follow the pipe down into the well and contaminate it.

Thanks.

 

[creekbend]

Go to the SEARCH section at the top of this page and type in Sand point wells. There are several threads in regards to your question. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

 

[Carl_NH]

Cant hurt to grout it but the surface water isnt going to follow the pipe unless its in a depression where the water would lay.

Then 8' of soil to go through as a filter should clean it up just fine. I would have the water tested though even if you dont plan to drink it because someone will eventually drink it.. I would also pump it into a 5 gal bucket to determine the flow rate - if you can fill 5 gal in a few minutes and do say 15 gallons in 6-7 minutes and its still pumping water you have a good point well.

If you plan to use an electric pump, make a house - small dog house set up to hide the pump and wiring (or cut a 55 gal barrel in half) as a cover.

The point over time will plug up with debris needing a new point maybe in 8-10 yrs but driving a new one 8-10' should be easy.