Today while I was clearing my land off with my tractor, I came across a hole in the ground that was covered with some steel slates. After further careful inspection I found the hole to be an old water well. The well has no pipe or casing and is around 24" wide. I dropped a rock in the hole and it took about 10-15 seconds before I heard anything. Is there anyway I could test to see if this well would be worth running a pump down and using it for irrigation? There is no telling how old it is. Is there anyway of knowing if there is actually water in it?
need help with water well
- Thread starter mrfrosty
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CurlyDave
Elite Member
10-15 seconds would put that hole at close to 1000 feet deep.
I very much doubt it is that deep.
Professional well drillers use a mirror, about the size of a rear-view mirror from a truck to reflect sunlight down a well to look into it. Be sure the mirror is flat and not slightly convex.
Depending on what you see, I would probably follow up by dropping a fishing line with a sinker, a float and a small piece of sponge down the well. This will tell you if there is water and approximately how deep.
Take care -- if the side of that shaft collapses you could end up down there yourself. I would take a helper with me who stayed at least 20 feet from the hole at all times, and lay an extension ladder across the hole. If you walk between the rungs, keeping one foot on each side of a rung, you will be able to prevent yourself from falling in if the hole collapses. Sure, it is awkward to work with that kind of obstacle between your feet, but it is easy to die in a hole...
I very much doubt it is that deep.
Professional well drillers use a mirror, about the size of a rear-view mirror from a truck to reflect sunlight down a well to look into it. Be sure the mirror is flat and not slightly convex.
Depending on what you see, I would probably follow up by dropping a fishing line with a sinker, a float and a small piece of sponge down the well. This will tell you if there is water and approximately how deep.
Take care -- if the side of that shaft collapses you could end up down there yourself. I would take a helper with me who stayed at least 20 feet from the hole at all times, and lay an extension ladder across the hole. If you walk between the rungs, keeping one foot on each side of a rung, you will be able to prevent yourself from falling in if the hole collapses. Sure, it is awkward to work with that kind of obstacle between your feet, but it is easy to die in a hole...
Egon
Epic Contributor
You could also drop a can down to retrive a sample of the water just to have a look at it.
Perhaps also think of fencing it off.
Perhaps also think of fencing it off.
Western
Super Member
I found one similar on my place, but it has a 4" pvc casing. I tied a 2" nut to a roll of 600' twine and droped it in. I hit water at around 80' and ran out of string before hitting bottom. I will either try a wind mill cause they are kewl or a small pump.
24" seems small for a hand dug well especially a hole of any depth. The hole may have a taper or possible has eroded some. I would try a string and I would definitley follow Egons advice on fencing it off too or some other good protection.
24" seems small for a hand dug well especially a hole of any depth. The hole may have a taper or possible has eroded some. I would try a string and I would definitley follow Egons advice on fencing it off too or some other good protection.
ToadHill
Elite Member
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I found one on my property way in the back, hand dug about 4' across and 25 ft deep. It actually has water flowing out the top about 8 months per year. Fearing someone would fall in, I dug a small pool downstream from the well about 20' around and 2 feet deep and filled the well with stones. The water still flows out into the pool but I don't worry about anyone falling down the well any longer.
Western
Super Member
Todhill,
That sounds like a nice place to sit and take a breather.
That sounds like a nice place to sit and take a breather.