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Blogger Louisburg, NC on Aug 01, 2012

A problem with the well water... what category?

Our well is about 100 yards from the house. After a hard rain, the water becomes muddy, especially evident in the commodes. It clears after a few days, but my wife can no longer stand it. Is there a fix, or something more expensive?

5 Comments

Jeanette S Atlanta, GA

I have no idea what to do about wells, but I do know you need to contact a professional! Some things you just need to not try and solve yourself. Contact your County Extention office or health department and follow their suggestions. Any filters, etc., can be done yourself, but the instructions should come from professionals. Keep in mind that in certain parts of the country were sandy soils exists the instances of kidney stones is higher. You want to avoid this at all costs. NC is ...»
one of those states...your photo shows water so coastal is big are for this!

on Aug 01, 2012 · Like 1
Woodbridge Environmental ... Colonia, NJ

Bill, how deep is your well? What kind is it. If your well is becoming muddy it sounds as though it is being effected by the rains telling me its not deep enough. A whole house filter oftentimes can help prevent this crud from getting into the house fixtures, but that is not the prevention you really need.
It does sound like you need to dig a bit deeper to solve your issue. ...»

Also be sure to flush your hot water heater really well. This mud of sorts builds up on the bottom effectively insulating the water from the flame, This causes early failure and leaks as well as elevated energy costs to heat the water itself.

on Aug 01, 2012 · Like 0
Kathy R Rocky Point, NC

We are on a well, house is 70 years old, never seen that before. Our well is only about 30 feet deep in a fast moving aquifer.

on Aug 01, 2012 · Like 0
Woodbridge Environmental ... Colonia, NJ

There you go. The well depth is the issue. I assume the house is a cabin or was one years ago? and perhaps your not using this well for drinking only supplying water for toilets and such? Is it a jet pump that is used?
Because of the weird weather many parts of the country are experiencing, heavy rains, no rain or no rain followed by heavy rains, the aquifer is all screwed up resulting in many wells pulling in ...»
dirt that never had in the past.
You could wait and perhaps it will clear itself up, but normally once you being to pull muddy or silty water its time to dig deeper as it never really recovers.
Have you had the water quality tested? If the surface water is effecting this in this manner, It is likely that surface contaminants have reached this depth and could be contaminating the quality.

on Aug 01, 2012 · Like 1
Bill H Louisburg, NC

Jerry Ball, Franklin County well-drilling expert, recommended we have a new well drilled. The old well was an OLD well, and bored wells will be infiltrated by tree roots over time, creating holes for muddy rainwater to enter. The Big Red Machine is in our side yard, opposite the house from septic field. We have a small metal-clad building to put over it. I'll report with a ballpark price after the electrician and plumber finish the connection!

on Sep 04, 2012 · Like 0