Risk related to low yield well?

[hanerykroze]

I am considering purchasing a plot of land with a low-yield well. The goal is to build a house on the property, but I am concerned about the ability of the well to supply adequate water.

Here are the details: The well has a flow of 0.5 gpm. It is 950 feet deep and the static water level is at 200 feet - for about 1100 gallons of storage in the bore.

Given water use rates in my current home, this rate & amount of storage will easily meet demand - as long as the gpm's do not drop appreciably over time.

Any thoughts?

 

[Rene T]

WOW.  Is that the typical depth for a residential well in Texas?  Here in NH, I believe your apt to find most wells the maximum of 150' to 200' but they could go a lot deeper. I can't see where you'd ever have a problem with all that reserve unless your demand would be so great like running a farm or a car wash. Even if the GPM drops, it should replenish overnight unless the well completely dried up.

 

[UTTransplant]

A better choice than a RV forum might be a licensed hydrologist. They can analyze the well for long-term viability. Many aquifers are going down, not staying stable.

 

[NY_Dutch]

As said, have the well checked by a pro. Reliable low flow wells can work well as long as the supporting system is properly designed for them. Many years ago, our then young family of four lived very comfortably with a low flow 0.75 GPM well. The source was a well point driven about 75 feet into sand, so there wasn't much standing water capacity in the 1-1/2" pipe. The system was designed with a 250 gallon storage tank that held enough water to keep us supplied for a few days, allowing plenty of time for the level switch controlled low RPM 0.5 GPM piston pump to catch up with demand. The house line pressure was supplied by a secondary inline pump at the tank outlet.

 

[lynnmor]

Maybe you could drill it just a little bit deeper and sell the oil. 

A low yield well will have the water level changing quite a bit.  This washes the walls of the well and creates more sediment.  The amount depends on how deep the casing goes and the walls of the uncased portion.  Your local driller should be able to say if this might be a problem.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You can always add a storage tank too.

 

[John From Detroit]

A better choice than a RV forum might be a licensed hydrologist. They can analyze the well for long-term viability. Many aquifers are going down, not staying stable.

Ditto on this.. With enough storage, both in the core and in the pressure tank/vessle.. You might be OK, you could even build a "Water silo" and store a whole lot.. but well.. I'd like to get a professional's opinion on that well.

(Build a water silo (Storage tank above ground) use a windmill to fill it, then use your jet pump to pressurize your plumbing system.. you could even use a hydraulic ramp pump (returning water to the well) this is a gravity and water powered pump for a completly GREEN water system.. Just make sure to add a bit of chlorine least it become a real "Green" system (Alge green).

 

[robertusa123]

Wow. I got water at 50ft. And pump goes down 250ft.  On my well