# Anyone have a well dug recently?



## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

I live in NE Florida. (Some say the South Georgia annex)

How deep is a safe drinkable water?
Is an urban well different than a rural one?


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

A couple years ago I was talking with a driller putting in a well near by and I ask how deep he was going and he said the county set the depth of wells , he was going 80' which was standard for our area. The health dept. then tests the water, if not good he has to go deeper. Said it varied from area to area depending on how deep the aquifer is. Not sure how deep mine is but I have an above ground pump and I understand that pump cannot pull more than 30' at max.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Water tables and conditions vary not only with urban/ rural but by geology and even neighbor to neighbor. Your water table will be closer to the surface in Florida. Too deep and you get mine water in this area unsuitable for use without heavy treatment. Too shallow and you have concerns about septic tank overflow (contamination). Get a reputable company that has been in business for a long time. They should have a good idea. Drilling can be like bidding on a pig in a poke. You know that there is a pig but nothing else. Get the water tested so you know what is there.


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## Ice Queen (Feb 16, 2014)

I live in a rural place and have a well. I have an Amish well bucket in case power goes out. My static water level is pretty shallow. My problem is nitrates (where there are nitrates, there is other stuff too). We use an RO right now. In the event of SHTF we have to distill the water we get out of our well. I bought some device to do that...The Vortex or something like that. I got it a few years ago and haven't looked at it in a while.


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## StarPD45 (Nov 13, 2012)

Ice Queen said:


> I live in a rural place and have a well. I have an Amish well bucket in case power goes out. My static water level is pretty shallow. My problem is nitrates (where there are nitrates, there is other stuff too). We use an RO right now. In the event of SHTF we have to distill the water we get out of our well. I bought some device to do that...The Vortex or something like that. I got it a few years ago and haven't looked at it in a while.


You should set it up and check it out. What happens if you need it and it doesn't work?


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## Wise Prepper (Oct 2, 2014)

Mine is 350'... ugh. Changes from place to place.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Ice Queen said:


> I live in a rural place and have a well. I have an Amish well bucket in case power goes out. My static water level is pretty shallow. My problem is nitrates (where there are nitrates, there is other stuff too). We use an RO right now. In the event of SHTF we have to distill the water we get out of our well. I bought some device to do that...The Vortex or something like that. I got it a few years ago and haven't looked at it in a while.


We feels your pain on the Nitrates in the ground water. Its real prevalent in Texas too. General consensus of opinion its too much anhydrous ammonia which been dropped on the farm land for too many years. RO is a good plan to prevent the Big C. Smart thinking. Steam distillation is how God recylcles the stuff. Ever thought of a Cistern to catch rain water?


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

We're going ro for the house and adding a rad filter for later. Can't stand the smell and taste of town water here. Like drinking a swimming pool.


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

bigwheel said:


> We feels your pain on the Nitrates in the ground water. Its real prevalent in Texas too. General consensus of opinion its too much anhydrous ammonia which been dropped on the farm land for too many years. RO is a good plan to prevent the Big C. Smart thinking. Steam distillation is how God recylcles the stuff. Ever thought of a Cistern to catch rain water?


It used to be that rainwater was drinkable, but that's long gone. Too much acid rain, if nothing else, plus whatever lands on your roof.

"Don't drink outta thet there stream, John! Fish f**k in it!"
-Johnathon Winters as Maude Frickett &#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Well whatever you think Sir. Kindly keeps us posted.


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

oddapple said:


> We're going ro for the house and adding a rad filter for later. Can't stand the smell and taste of town water here. Like drinking a swimming pool.


Don't forget to add a charcoal tank filter to take away bad taste/smell.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

thepeartree said:


> It used to be that rainwater was drinkable, but that's long gone. Too much acid rain, if nothing else, plus whatever lands on your roof.
> 
> "Don't drink outta thet there stream, John! Fish f**k in it!"
> -Johnathon Winters as Maude Frickett ������


All rain water is acidic. What are you alleging? Kindly tune out Alfgore and other tree huggers. Thanks.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Above ground pumps will pump 100 to 150 if you use a jet pump. The jet pump pushes water down one tube then back up a slightly larger one. On the way back up it carries more water with it..
In the western part of WI some wells are 400 feet they use an in well pump .
Sand point wells are nothing more than a tip on the end of pipe that is drove into the ground section at a time until you hit water .They can be done with no special tools by hand. They do not work every where . If they are an option for you they can be put in without any one noticing it. On my land I have two places Good clean water can be hit at 15 feet and at 70-90 feet almost anywhere.
There was a time every farm house here had a Cistern the water from them was used of washing and not drinking.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

Smitty901; said:


> ...
> On my land I have two places Good clean water can be hit at 15 feet and at 70-90 feet almost anywhere.
> There was a time every farm house here had a Cistern the water from them was used of washing and not drinking.


I remember my uncle had a cistern in Iowa.
Now that I live in Florida would an a manual hand pump work?

I have not contacted a local company yet.


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

Yes, FL shallow wells but must purify water for chems, pathogens and rad.
The Po boy might grab a $80 micron/charcoal filter and a rad filter for about 50 bucks.

Typically, the deeper the cleaner and sweeter, vide mineral deposits. Also harder to pump up tho.

We have purifiers separate from the well so any water brought in can be cleaned.
Those $30 brita pitchers do wonders for "flat" tasting water if one pass through the charcoal doesn't "brighten" enough.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Smitty901 said:


> Above ground pumps will pump 100 to 150 if you use a jet pump. The jet pump pushes water down one tube then back up a slightly larger one. On the way back up it carries more water with it..
> In the western part of WI some wells are 400 feet they use an in well pump .
> Sand point wells are nothing more than a tip on the end of pipe that is drove into the ground section at a time until you hit water .They can be done with no special tools by hand. They do not work every where . If they are an option for you they can be put in without any one noticing it. On my land I have two places Good clean water can be hit at 15 feet and at 70-90 feet almost anywhere.
> There was a time every farm house here had a Cistern the water from them was used of washing and not drinking.


We lived up in Wilbarger County, TX for quite a few years. The land is generally deep sand with useable ground water at 28' or so. Sand points were real popular. Even dug one myself with an old timey hand auger but chickened out when it came time to buy the stuff to finish it. Was talking to a chum who's granny had one for 40 years or so. He said it would eventually get plugged up so about once a year he would go over and shoot a .22 down the pipe which he claimed knocked the sand off the screen. Sounded like an interesting story. Anybody ever heard of that? Or maybe the guy was pushing my leg. l


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

That happens. With mud and gravelly junk too - it's all what under you is made of. Our 400 footer on top of the mountain put out sweeter than you can buy. Two miles down mountain, theirs ran yellow with clay and had more rock in it than a panning sluice.
You find out what you got and apply any number of remedies. YOUR water.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Never had one plug up bad all you need to do is force water back down it to open up the screens. Shallow wells on my land are feed by artesian wells the water is forced up from much deeper. It is 100% fit to drink right out of the ground. Most years it flows even without a pump..
Sand point wells are most often used with a hand pump.
They are not legal in many places, the government does not want you taking the water. Sand point wells are often called drive point wells also.
I do not think shot a round down one would be a good idea. The Tip comes to a point because it is driven into the ground. If you ever need to go deeper you just add another pipe and drive it down some more.


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