Old dug well 75 feet

[Spoofy]

Leave it until I get my MIL over there. We'll toss her in, and if there's any room left, put the concrete on top of her.

[ransley]

Why fill it. The water is probably great for watering plants, lawn and trees, its all full of nutrients.

[Van Chocstraw]

I don't water nothing. I let nature take care of itself.

[Van Chocstraw]

I would think if you are not using it it would become polluted and stagnant.

[hallerb]

nope water flows underground naturally........ it doesnt spoil and traveling thru ground helps clean it

[willshak]

on 10/23/2009 9:18 AM (ET) Van Chocstraw wrote the following:

Throwing anything down there might affect other people who take their water from that aquifer.

[bud--]

I agree. You are using the aquifer for your other well. This well is next to your drain field. You need to protect the aquifer.

Gravel provides no protection. Sand not much protection. Clay can be a pretty good seal.

I suggest calling the state agency that regulates wells and ask for suggestions. There may also be requirements for closing wells. as EXT wrote.

[Harry K]

If there are any regulations covering closing a well there _will_ be specifications to the effect that it be sealed so no surface water can enter. If no local regs apply, then the EPA will have one, you can bet on that.

Having had my go around with the EPA I promise you you do not want to go that route.

Seal it properly or not at all.

Harry K

[EXT]

When they tore down some houses across the street from where I live, each house still had its original well. As the construction company started working on their lots they pumped out as much water as the could and filled the well with something out of a ready mix concrete truck. Probably a very low psi mix that would just plug up the hole by hardening without a great deal of strength, but that is just my guess, as I did not ask, just observed.

[hallerb]

the easiest thing to do is cut grass around the existing well.

gravel is a bad idea a friend had a well, nearby construction used tons of gravel which contaminated and ruined his water supply......

construction company had to pay for connection to city water and water bill for 5 years.

[KC]

.

Naw, water traveling thru 100' of soil is clean enough to drink. That's why you can have a well and septic field on the same property as long as they are 100+ ft apart.

KC

[aemeijers]

Probably true for e.coli and the like, which is all a home septic is likely to release. Not at all true for hydrocarbons, heavy metals in solution, and similar industrial things. They managed to kill a well field in this city a few years back with the plume from a solvent processing company several miles away. Also why gas stations that go out of business can't abandon their old metal tanks in place any more, and why new station tanks are double-wall plastic with alarms built in. And why neighborhood ma'n'pa dry cleaners have to send their actual cleaning out to a central plant now.

-- aem sends...

[JIMMIE]

I checked with my brother who sells the stuff for shutting down a well, They either cap them and/ or fill them with bentonite(sp) clay. Most just cap them off. You may have to get a permit to do this and have it inspected.

Jimmie

Jimmie

[Bob F]

If you fill with gravel, you create a short circuit from the surface pollution directly into the deep water.

[Caesar Romano]

On Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:50:37 -0700, "Bob F" wrote Re Re: Old dug well 75 feet:

Correct. If it must be filled, it should be with something like clay or bentonite.

[hallerb]

A good friend with 2 wells suggests the non used well may be acting as a water reservior. helping increase water production at the active well.

something to ponder as you consider permanetely plugging the wall

[Harry K]

The 100 ft through dirt may be correct. Dumping pollutants directly into an aquifer (well) bypasses the 'dirt' bit.

Harry K

[bud--]

Bentonite is used because it expands, increasing the effectiveness of the seal.

[hallerb]

didnt betonite used to contain asbestos??

[bud--]

Still too retarded to remove the retarded artifacts of your retarded newsreader?

I doubt it. Bentonite is used several ways in well drilling. One of them is "mud drilling" where, when drilling in dirt, a thin bentonite mix is pumped down the drill shaft. The bentonite spreads into the dirt and stabilizes it. The mix also returns cuttings to the surface.