[Thermographer]

I bought the house in 1995 and the homeowner couldn't get the water well to pass a safety inspection. He put in city water and since then the well has not been used. There is a nice building over the top of it, very well insulated, Not an eyesore at all.

Every spring, I might get a few weeks with a little bit of water coming out, but with the heavy rains in Arkansas, it's still flowing alot. I would say 2 to 3 gpm give or take.

Someone told me once that if you cement a well, it takes value from your house, however, having a non-wanted lake behind my house can't be good either. My entire back yard is wet and spongy.

I'm guessing I'll be calling a well specialist, but wondering if you guys have any ideas as far as abandoning the well, or make any necessary repairs to keep it. My wife and I want to sell the house in 2-3 years.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Ground water is coming up thru the well?

 

[Thermographer]

It always happens in the Spring but just for a few weeks. I guess you can call it a part-time artesian well.

This year we've had a lot of rain, with more on the way.

 

[Plumber101]

Do you know how deep it is? I'm guessing not very deep 30-40 since when it rains water comes up. Water table not very deep.

If you do then you can fill it with gravel up to about 10 ft from the top. Add bentonite up to about 3 ft from the top and then top off with cement

 

[Thermographer]

Thanks for the reply.

No idea how deep, but i could find out. I do know there is no submersible pump at the bottom, both pumps were in the well house.

I working now but can answer that next Wednesday.

 

[hayewe farm]

Check with your local health department of filling requirements. In some areas it is very strict. If it is an artesian be warned that capping may not work.

 

[4just1don]

here they have a program to have a pro well driller abandon and cap it properly. Doesnt cost anything I know of

 

[majakdragon]

Every area has it's own rules about capping wells. In Florida, a certain type cement was required (twice the price of regular cement) and the work done by a licensed well driller. Strange part was that my old well was 110 foot deep and the estimate for the amount of cement was 2/3 more than it actually took to do the job.

 

[Gary Slusser]

Another possible solution is to run a pipe to take the water somewhere instead of letting it run on the yard to soak into a septic tank drain field and ruin it.

Capping/plugging a well can cause serious blow out problems meaning, it could push the casing up out of the ground, or the water can start coming up around the casing washing a big hole in the yard, and the water in the yard will still be a problem.