Well Water Issues, Again.

[Raddad]

How deep is the well with the high iron content? With a spring fed stream close to your house the water table might be close to the surface. I have a 1 1/4" point I installed in my basement floor. I have installed many for friends and relatives using a Bosch electric hammer for less than $300.00. The hammer just pushes the point into the ground fast. Most drillers get paid by the foot and have a finacial reason to drill right past good water. Building codes in some areas want a minimum of 25 feet and some 50 feet. This will only work in sandy bottom land.

 

[GaryQWA]

I see you are in MD. MD is famous for iron problems. The first thing you should do is to find out why the equipment is failing. That assumes it should be capable of solving the problem with your water. I have treated a lot of problem water such as yours and surface water being spring, river or lake etc. but your well water is the better choice. It is also less expensive than equipment to treat surface water. A new well does not come with any guarantee of water quality, so that would be the worst and last choice.

UV is good but, it requires water of a certain minimum quality or it will not work. Also, to treat surface water, you have to be concerned with giardia cysts etc. and all UV lights are not able to treat for them.

Describe your equipment in order from the well and as best you can, what type it is. I.E. the iron filter... does it only backwash or does it regenerate with anything like potassium permanganate, chlorine water etc.?

How large is the tank of the iron filter? There should be a label on it and the model number is the diameter and height.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[scesnick]

GaryQWA,

I have a 275ft. well. I have a small pulse pump that pumps soda ash in order to raise my Ph level which doesn't relly raise the Ph level any. . This is before the pressure tank. I then have this Terminox filter ( after the pressure tank)Iron Water Filters, Acid Neutralizers, and Iron Removal Systems

I then have this spin on filter after the Terminox Water Filter Systems, Filtration Systems, Purification Systems

I was told when I first bought this system that I might need a holding tank to clorinate the water and to get some contact time for the chlorine and water But to try this first.

I should add that I have tried the Rainsoft system and it was a MAJOR joke, not to mention a money pit. I then went to culligan and it was gave me the same results as Rainsoft. I then called Budgetwater and it has worked BY FAR way better than the other two systems that cost three times as much.

I should also mention that I do not remember what my Iron count was but I do know that it was extremely high but for some reason it is NOT hard water??/ go figure...

By the way gary where in Pa. are you located? I am in Frostburg Md. ( western Md. ) Hopefully you are close by, Maybe I will make a road trip to get my water straightend out..

 

[thingy]

Several springs,I got a spring that runs year round,,,several ways to collect the water from a spring,this one comes out at the roots of a big oak tree in a hill side,,they,[whoever did this years ago],dug down there a little,put a ceramic piece of pipe,about 3ft dia with holes drilled[somehow] in the sides,,,looks like a big crock like you make sourkraut in,,how they got the holes in it with out breaking,its old,,,could use plastic tub of somesort for this,,,water runs over flat rocks into ceramic tub,,and soaks in through holes,,[would need gravel around the new one to keep holes unplugged,,at top of crock is a 1 inch outlet,,pipe,,water fills up tub,,runs out pipe,which is connected to plastic pipe,,this is all under ground,,tub is covered with big wash tub and big flat rocks,,,runs down to a cement watering trough,,over flow fills a little spring pond below it,
My grandpa and me made one when I was about 8-9,,,spring on hillside,,he drove preforated 2 inch pipe into where water came out hillside,after driving in another non preforated pipe in and pulling it out over and over to make a dirt free hole,,,water dripped/streamed out pipe,,he made a bigger catch funnel type thing which was just a piece of sheet metal with holes in it to catch water and keep out stuff,,this connected to plastic pipe and ran down the hill to a big cesteran we dug and cemented,,it than ran on down to house,,most pressure I have ever seen a garden hose have,all gravity,,[cesteran was up on hill 1/4 mile maybe],,,,
your springs are below your house,,,so yes you would need an electric pump,,,but everything else would be about same,,you need to get the spring water contained before it runs on ground,than you need a cestern of somekind,in the ground to hold it,,than pipe,electric line from house to cestern,,where to place pump,,don't know,,probably in cestern,,but that would be for an elecricin or water pump man,,,how far is it,,whats the difference in elavation from where cestern would be to house,,,as far as how to treat water,if you do it right,[keep spring water from running on top of ground],,you would think a little bleach maybe a couple times a year,,but don't know,,wouldn't think you would need to worry much,,IF its indeed spring water you somehow get to run into somekind of cistern,,and not mixed with surface water,,,,,,,hope I've gave you some ideas,,,,,I've thought about doing this myself with my spring,,,but its 1/4 mile or so from house,,probably 200 feet or more lower,,its good sweet water though,,no iron in it,,,and mine gets a little muddy in spring when it rans a lot and is real wet,and spring is gushing,sandy would be a better way of saying it,,but some mud too,,,so I would have to make my cestern so's you could clean it out every 3-4 years probably,,,thingy

 

[Harleymsn]

I have a well that I drilled when I built my house 5 years ago. I have an extrememley iron content, even though it is not hard water. I have tried just about all the filtering sytems made and they all seem to work for a few months and then peter out on me. Well water is not one of my strong points so I figured I would ask you guys on TBN and see what you come up with.
I have a very nice creek that originates on my property and the small town down in the valley used this water for their resevior for years until recently when they were forced to switch to the cities water line.

Would it be possible for me to use this creek for household water? The creek is about 500ft. from my house and I would run this water through my already in place filtering system and a UV system.

* how would I get the water from the creek to my house? I would like to put the pump in my basement to eliminate the high cost of running the electric wire to the creek

* Also, I have heard that if I continually run my well for an extended period of time that it could possibly clear up my well.

You say that you have an extreme iron content, but you have not said what type of iron you have. There are 4 types and they are treated differently. When we drilled our well,(2 yrs ago) we found that we had pretty good water, no hardness problem and no rotten egg smell. However, we have a high Ferrous Iron content. This iron is not visible to the eye, but becomes visible when it oxidizes. The common sign of this type are the stains to water appliances...toilet, sinks and on your laundry. We had a terminater 1500 system (with the Fleck 2510 controller) at a cost of about $1500. There are no chemicals involved and the system is virtually maintenance free. It uses a 2 tank aeration system and it auto back flushes the system every 3 days. Since I had this installed, I discovered an outfit in Michigan that sells the system for about $1000. Here is a link to their site and you may learn a lot about various problems and systems from it. They also sell test kits.
Water Value FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Page

 

[wjmst]

Thingy,

My problem is how do I go about doing this? My house is up on the hill and obviously the creek is lower than my house. I own my own backhoe so burying the line would not cost much. I just don't know how to go about the rest of it as far as what pump to use, where to place the pump ( in my basement or down by the dam) How to build the dam to suit my needs..... these are all questions I have been looking for answers to...

My house is entirely spring fed. The waters flows up out of the ground and into a pit, I am not sure what is at the bottom of the pit, but it feels hard. I have a 1/2hp shallow well pump with a small tank that sits next to the spring and pumps up to the house, which is about 125 feet up hill. I built an enclosure over the entire spring last summer. I ran electric cable (110v) to the pump and a spare just in case! As soon as the water enters the house I have it going to a simple water filter (purchased at wal*mart for $25). This removes the sediment and other stuff that the pump sucks up. I replace this carbon filter at the begining of every month (they cost about $5 a piece). Our water is great and have had no problems. Although, during late july and august we do conserve our water if we don't get rain.

To keep it from freezing in the winter, I have a small electric space heater that I turn on when the temp drops below 20 outside. It seems to work good.

Wes

 

[scesnick]

My house is entirely spring fed. The waters flows up out of the ground and into a pit, I am not sure what is at the bottom of the pit, but it feels hard. I have a 1/2hp shallow well pump with a small tank that sits next to the spring and pumps up to the house, which is about 125 feet up hill. I built an enclosure over the entire spring last summer. I ran electric cable (110v) to the pump and a spare just in case! As soon as the water enters the house I have it going to a simple water filter (purchased at wal*mart for $25). This removes the sediment and other stuff that the pump sucks up. I replace this carbon filter at the begining of every month (they cost about $5 a piece). Our water is great and have had no problems. Although, during late july and august we do conserve our water if we don't get rain.

To keep it from freezing in the winter, I have a small electric space heater that I turn on when the temp drops below 20 outside. It seems to work good.

Wes

Wes,

This sounds like what I need to do. Other than the creek I also have a spring coming up out of the groundbut, It is on the other side of my property and is is quite a distance away. I would like to research using the creek more but if i have to I guess I will use the spring and bite the bullet and run the lines all the way acrossed my property. better than drilling a new well I guess..

 

[GaryQWA]

GaryQWA,

I have a 275ft. well. I have a small pulse pump that pumps soda ash in order to raise my Ph level which doesn't relly raise the Ph level any. . This is before the pressure tank. I then have this Terminox filter ( after the pressure tank)

I then have this spin on filter after the Terminox

I was told when I first bought this system that I might need a holding tank to clorinate the water and to get some contact time for the chlorine and water But to try this first.

By the way gary where in Pa. are you located? I am in Frostburg Md. ( western Md. ) Hopefully you are close by, Maybe I will make a road trip to get my water straightend out..

What does Budget Water say about the problem? I suppose they will say "we told you that you may need chlorination and retention, and you do" but... I'd suggest my inline chlorine pellet chlorinator over another solution feeder OR move your present one and use it for both soda ash and chlorine and then add the properly sized retention tank (for your peak demand gpm water use) or my special mixing tank because it is equivilent to a 120 gallon retention tank and has a 22 gpm flow rate. Then... replace the mineral in your present iron filter with Centaur carbon to remove the dirt from chlorination and the chlorine.

You should get a raw water test for pH, iron and hardness at least. Then get the pH up to 7.0-7.5, and see how much iron is in the water after the iron filter. A pressure tank is not sufficient as a retention tank, so I'd suggest the solution feeder go after the pressure tank.

Actually, since 10/1 my wife I and our Schnauzer alarm dog live in our motor home and travel the country. We are presently in Oldtown FL until the end of Feb. due to the very abnormal winter everwhere but FL. But we are still in tee shirts!

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[thingy]

All depends on how much money you got to spend on this,,me,I'm poor,,so as long as my well has plenty of that iron water,,,thats ok with me,,,,,
so,,how you going to develope this spring? does it run all year?,does it already have somesort of man made outlet?,,you'll need a cestern for sure,and a big one,,and pump,,is it muddy when it is real wet?,,just cause you got a spring,still alotta ifs,,,better going this route though,[if its possible],than collecting ground water,,,,,,thingy

 

[scesnick]

Thingy,

This spring had been on the property since we owned it. It was my grandfathers primary water source for years and years. it is clear as a bell. ( i even had it tested and it is very pure) It comes straight out of the ground, nver freezes and is always clear, even in heavy rains. I see where you are coming from though and I am going to test it again if i go that route...