Artesian Well FAQs

Construction, Troubleshooting, Repair Q & A

Artesian Well Water Flow Stopped or is Reduced or Muddy

Overflow at our artesian well stopped flowing and water at the house is getting muddy

Our artesian well started with this issue over the summer. The over flow pipe at the end of our property stopped flowing water.

Also noticed that our water filter for the house has been getting dirty faster since the over flow stopped flowing water.

We still have water in the house but I'm getting concerned that this might become a bigger issue if there is something wrong that I dod not know about?

I was told that the over flow stopped due to a change in the water table around me. Could this be the problem? On 2019-12-27 by Tom Wasluck

by (mod) - Your artesian well is losing water

Tom

When the overflow stopped overflowing, is it possible that the artesian well is in fact losing water - a drop in aquifer level in the ground, for example? That's what you're being told and that's what it sounds like.

by Tom Wasluck

If the artesian well is losing water because of a drop in aquifer level, am I looking at more issues to come? Is there a chance that my well could run out of water?

by (mod) -

With the apology that what the heck do I know about a well when sitting here on the other side of the wall, in Mexico, yeah, regrettably if the aquifer is dropping - to be confirmed perhaps by inspecting the well itself - you may find that you need to add pumping capacity or even to improve the well yield. (See that topic in the ARTICLE INDEX given above).

Climate change, warming, changes in weather patterns, etc., all mean that many parts of the world are headed for water shortage - in fact are already there. According to the United Nations 4 out of 10 people in the world already face water shortages.

What is in store for you specifically depends on where you live and possibly more narrow, local conditions.

You might check with nearest neighbors and with local well drillers to see what they report - let me know where you are and what you're told, Tom.

Can I put a gate valve neare the top of an artesian well to reduce the load on my water pump?

Will an artesian well with a gate discharge near the top help the submersible well pump work less? On 2019-01-13 by bvorobel@yahoo.com

by (mod) -

BV

An artesian well, by definition, is one that delivers water under its own pressure. But some, as I infer from your question, have a flow rate that's so modest that people stick a submersible or even a jet pump into the artesian well to pump at a faster rate.

Bringing the pump up near the top of the well is absolutely backwards - you would be reducing the volume of static head in the well that's available to the pump. When the pump runs it is extracting water faster than the in-flow rate to the artesian well. IN that circumstance the water available to the pump is the volume of water in the casing - the static head or water columnn between the water column top (when the pump is off and the well has recovered or rested) and the water column bottom at the point of pump intake.

Making the static head shorter by raising the pump just means it'll run out of water sooner.

If by "gate discharge" you mean "Gate valve installed near top of an above-ground well casing." as we discuss in the article above, NO that will not help the submersible pump in the well work less

EXCEPT insofar as you sometimes choose to take water from the well not through the pump but right at the "gate discharge" or "faucet" installed right on the casing, above ground, at the well. That water use, obviously, won't be using the in-well pump, and the discharge rate or flow rate you will see at that valve is limited to the artesian well's own in-flow rate.

How do I get our muddy artseian well flowing again?

i bought asome property and it has an artesian well on it but its just a hugh muddy mess so im sure theres still water there

the small town i live in used it for the towns water supply for many years .i would like to know what to do to get it flowing and the mud dried up On 2018-12-17 by sheila emerson

by (mod) -

If the muddy area is due to water coming out of the top of your Artesian well that's telling you that a well spool is either damaged and leaky or missing entirely.

You need a well driller to explore the well and make sure that it's connected properly to a supply pipe as well as being sealed against overflowing.

My artesian well isn't sending me water: what's wrong?

Artesian well not giving me water, but the pump is working fine. Besides the well being dry ,what else could be wrong? On 2018-01-12 1 by David

by (mod) -

David,

If the well is dry it's no longer functioning as an artesian well and that's the root problem.

If you are confident that the pump is working, and if you think the well is not "dry" then there could be

- a leak in or broken well piping

- a clogged intake screen

- a mistake in guessing that the pump is actually working - for example a damaged impeller or broken shaft

- a mistake in guessing that the well still yields water

See WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE

South Texas artesian well slowed to a trickle: will using a smaller water pipe fix the trouble?

Due to our drought, my flowing artesian well is just trickeling. I want to install a smaller pvc pipe in my 3 inch casing so to lower the head pressure to increase flow.

What can I use to seal off the bottom of my pvc to the casing. Like a packoff.

I do have some mineral build up inside the casing downhole. calcium and such. I live in south Texas. (Feb 2, 2014) A. G. Roby

Reply:

A.G.

A smaller pipe is not going to improve the performance of the artesian well if the root problem is that it's flow rate has diminished.

You may be better off leaving the piping in place and installing a larger water storage tank to give the well more time to recover and produce water its now reduced flow rate.

From the comment about calcium (mineral deposits) it may be worth asking a professional to take a look at the installation for mineral clogging. Well fracking can sometimes improve the well yield.

I suspect that drought conditions are dropping the water table, a condition that's likely to reduce the output of many artesian wells world wide.

Artesian Well Installation Issues

Drilling a well we hit an artesian water supply and can't get anyone to hook it up to our house

We just had a well dug for our home and hit an artesian cavity of water. Water is pouring out of the top at 7-10 gal a minute.

We cannot get anyone to help us contain the water or hook to the house.

Question: can we put a pressure cap on the well casing without compromising the well itself? On 2015-12-21 by Gary

by (mod) - if the casing is properly sealed

Yes if the casing is properly sealed throughout the borehole. How did this happen? Your well drillers should finish their work or you need to find someone who actually knows how to handle well piping for artesian wells.

It's not rocket science. The installer puts a water tight casing into the well bore and installs a capping device so that excess water can be permitted to drain off to an acceptable location.

If you're in a freezing climate the piping of well water to your home will use a below-ground pitless adapter.

See details at ARTESIAN WELLS, WELL SPOOLS 

Where Will We Find Artesian Well Water?

Illustration above showing a typical structure of types of aquifers that may provide an artesian well is adapted and expanded from the original found in the Michigan DEP Flowing Well Handbook)

What kind of land permits drilling an artesian well?

Wow, this has been extremely informative. My brother recently installed an artesian well to cut down on his water expenses. It made me very curious to know more and if it would be possible to do the same at my house.

Is there a specific type of land that allows for digging a well, or contrarily, a type of land that is not good for it? 11 Feb 2015 Eli

Reply:

You wouldn't "dig" an artesian well in most situations; rather you'd hire a well driller to drill a bore type well or to install a driven point well.

The aquifer has to be one that will deliver water to you without a pump - that's what makes it an artesian well. That geology varies widely around the world.

But this illustration that we have adapted and expanded from Michigan DEP's original shows typical geological formations where artesian well water may be present.

But local well drillers and neighbors will know if artesian wells have been found in your area; else you'd need to hire a geotechnical engineer or similar expert.