Is It Possible To Fix A Water Well That Has Collapsed Below the Casing?
Posted on: 28 April 2021
If your well suddenly starts producing much less water and the water coming out of it is full of sediment, it may have collapsed. Wells are installed with a casing that prevents loose soil from entering the water. Well casings are made out of either steel, fiberglass, PVC, or iron (in very old wells.) All of these materials will deteriorate over time. An old well casing isn't able to withstand the hydrostatic pressure that's pushing inwards on it, so it will fracture. Earthquakes can also cause well casings to collapse when the soil shifts violently. Rarely, the collapsed well may not involve the casing at all — shifting bedrock below the casing can sometimes cause large amounts of sediment to enter the well.
If your well has collapsed, you may be wondering if you can restore it so that you can use it again. It's possible to reline water wells with PVC in order to provide them with a new casing. However, this isn't always possible in practice. To learn more about your options to restore a well after it has collapsed, read on.
Can You Save a Well That Has Collapsed?
The most important determinant in whether or not you'll be able to save a collapsed well is where the collapsed area is located. The well casing only extends as far down as the loose soil layer. There's no need for a well casing for the portion of a water well that's surrounded by bedrock since the bedrock itself acts like a casing that prevents sediment from entering the well. If the collapsed portion of the well is below the casing, it's much easier to restore a well compared to when the casing has been damaged.
The approach that a water well repair service will take to restore your well depends on the location of the collapse.
Collapse Below the Casing
If the collapsed area of your well is below the casing, a water well repair service can fix your well by developing it. Developing a well is most commonly done by jetting a large amount of high-pressure water into the well, which disturbs the sediment that has collected in the bottom of the well and causes it to be suspended in the water. All of the sediment-containing water will be sucked out of the well into a truck, which will dispose of it elsewhere. With all of the sediment from the collapse removed from the well, extra space for water will be freed and fine sediment will no longer contaminate your well water.
When there's very heavy sediment at the bottom of the well (such as large pieces of bedrock), then jetting the well may not be able to remove it — it's too heavy to be suspended in the water. In this case, the well service may decide to drill the well deeper in order to make extra space for water to collect.
Talk to a well repair company, such as Eckmayer Inc to get started.
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