If muddy water comes from the well. Well water comes out in spurts

Installing a water well for a private home, cottage or bathhouse is the main task that any homeowner will have to face. One of the common problems is the appearance of a strong odor, sediment and turbidity in the water. In this case, a completely reasonable question arises: why does muddy water come from the well and how to solve such a problem?

Why does drinking water from wells become cloudy?

Often, during the operation of a hydraulic structure, a serious problem may arise: drinking water acquires characteristic turbidity. To choose an effective troubleshooting method, you first need to find out the possible causes of this phenomenon.

Muddy water can come from a well for many reasons. Conventionally, they are divided into three categories:

biological;
chemical;
mechanical.

Causes of biological origin

Pathogenic organisms and their metabolic products enter environment– into the air, soil, water, including hydraulic structures.

Turbid water from a well appears as a result of:

proliferation of pathogenic microflora, siltation and flowering. This happens in the spring, when various bacteria and plant microspores enter the water source;
contamination with substances of organic origin that penetrate into the aquifer from the soil.

What to do in case of biological contamination of water? An effective way to eliminate the problem is prevention and sanitation of the water source. In some cases, it is recommended to install new or replace old filtration units for well disinfection, as well as deep cleaning mines.

Causes of chemical origin

A serious reason why there is cloudy water in a well can be various chemical processes:

contamination of a water source with chemical elements as a result of accidents and man-made disasters;
oxidative processes with high iron content in aquifer. Oxidation is possible only in the case of partial or complete depressurization of the casing.

If a hydraulic structure is located near an industrial zone, such water cannot be used even for technical needs. Complete purification of the aquifer from chemical elements takes a long time, so it is better to choose more favorable place for the construction of a new well or borehole.

To eliminate iron oxidation processes in water, it is enough to strengthen the casing and install a bottom cleaning filter.

Causes of mechanical origin

Sometimes the water from a well becomes cloudy due to drilling or improper use of pumping equipment. The mechanical reasons for the appearance of turbidity in the aquifer include:

washing out of the casing layer when the process of installing the casing of the structure is disrupted. An insufficient layer of gravel packing will not be able to prevent limestone and sand particles from entering the well;
breakdown or silting of the bottom filter. This occurs when the equipment is used incorrectly or becomes excessively clogged with sediment;
deformation, destruction of the shaft as a result of soil displacement, improper installation of water pipes and elements of their fixation;
installation of vibration-type pumping equipment - it can lead to deformation of the internal walls of the column and disruption of the tightness of the joints.

If dirty water appeared when the gravel cushion was washed out, the problem is solved by adding a protective layer.

If the bottom cleaning filter fails, the only way to the right decision– quick replacement with new equipment.

If the water from the well is cloudy as a result of damage to the column, the problem can be solved by restoring the tightness and flushing the structure, in some cases by installing a new hydraulic structure.

Having eliminated the reason why cloudy water appeared in the well, it is recommended to thoroughly clean the hydraulic structure. Effective cleaning methods include:

cleaning with a bailer;
cleaning with a vibration and deep pump;
mechanical cleaning.

Cleaning method using a bailer

The cleaning process using a bailer is carried out in stages:

A bailer is lowered to the bottom of the well. Then it rises to a height of 45 cm with a sharp dive to the bottom.
The cycle consists of 4 ascents/dives. Why is this necessary? To fill the bailer with water to half its volume and clear the silt deposits at the bottom of the structure.
The filled bailer is removed to the surface, thoroughly cleaned and lowered to the bottom. The procedure is repeated up to 3-4 times.

Method of cleaning with a deep-well and vibration pump

For high-quality cleaning of hydraulic structures, it is recommended to use deep well pump. The work is carried out in the following order:

A metal ripper on a cable is placed in the shaft. It is used to loosen silt deposits that have accumulated at the bottom of the structure.
Pumping equipment is immersed in the bottom and water is pumped out until complete cleansing mines. After the turbid water is pumped out of the well, the equipment can be removed to the surface.

The hose is fixed to the pump body. A weight is attached to the bottom of the hose to prevent it from floating when submerged.
The hose sinks to the bottom, then rises to a height of 10 cm, after which the pump turns on.
The equipment provides high cleaning speed, but is not suitable for removing heavy contaminants that lead to rapid valve wear. If water containing clay comes from the well, this cleaning method is not recommended.

Mechanical cleaning method

If the well comes out muddy, almost white water, and the well was drilled to a depth of over 10 meters, an effective cleaning method is mechanical. To carry out the work, two pumps are used - with a deep intake and a self-priming type. The cleaning procedure is as follows:

A tank with a volume of up to 220 liters is installed near the structure. A funnel with a mesh bottom is fixed onto it.
A hose is immersed in the container, through which the liquid will flow to another pump.
A hose with a load is lowered into the shaft. A deep pump is installed at a height of 35 cm from the bottom.
Water is supplied to the casing to remove silt deposits. The hose is immersed as the well is cleaned.

Often homeowners cannot independently determine why the water from a well may become cloudy. In this case, it is recommended to perform a water analysis in laboratory conditions to identify possible reasons changes in water color.

One of the common problems that arise with well water, in addition to unpleasant odor and the sharp color is its turbidity. What to do when muddy water comes from a well, but without a pungent odor, let's look into this material. First of all, let's pay attention to new sources that were drilled to the depth of the perched water or artesian well. In both cases, the water may become cloudy. And here it makes no difference how widely or quickly the performer drilled the flask.

The cause of cloudy water in new wells can be sand or clay. Especially if the artesian well is poorly flushed. In this case, if the water in the well is dirty and cloudy, it is worth pumping the source thoroughly. You need to draw water in a volume of 300-500 liters per day for 3-5 days. Don't be afraid that the water will run out. The aquifer supplies water quite well if the contractor made the calculations correctly and drilled a well.

If very turbid water in a well has formed in a well located along the high water, then it is simply necessary to install more powerful filters here. Unfortunately, when the aquifer is located at sandy soil, such phenomena are not uncommon.

If you have been operating your well for more than a day, to put it mildly, then the reasons for cloudy water can be very diverse. Let us consider in detail the very common ones (namely, why this happens).

Vibration pump operation

Unfortunately, such a unit, pumping water, constantly creates vibrations in the water. Vibrations transmitted through the water and casing can stir up small inclusions in the form of sand, clay or silt and wash them out. Why is the water flowing cloudy?

In addition, the operation of a vibration pump leads to the destruction of the casing. A clear symptom confirming that your casing is slightly damaged is the presence of sand and small rocky inclusions in the water.

If this is your case, then simply change the vibrating pump, replace the damaged section of the pipe and flush the well thoroughly. You will no longer wonder why the water flows dirty.

Incorrect installation of casing pipe and bottom hole arrangement

In this case, the water may also be cloudy. Even if you drilled an artesian well, but installed the casing incorrectly, over time the gravel backfill will be washed out from the bottom and sand will enter the water. What to do? It is necessary to call specialists and piston the well. That is, deepen it and fill the face with gravel again. The process is quite complex and time-consuming.

Filter failure

Turbid water from a well can also enter the system due to a filter failure. Why and how this happens is discussed below. Imagine installing the right filters. In any case, at least a little water flows to the filters, but with small inclusions in the form of sand. Over time, the filter system cannot withstand such abrasive pressure and simply breaks. Whatever one may say, the mesh filter is a fragile substance.

What to do in this case? The strainers or the entire filter system need to be replaced.

Too much iron

No matter how much you would like to get perfectly clean water from an artesian well, it is in it that often observed increased content iron particles. This chemical element rises to the surface along with water and, upon settling, precipitates into a cloudy precipitate in the form of rye.

What to do? Install high-quality deferrization filters. Moreover, they need to be changed regularly.

Presence of foreign chemical elements in water

If you drilled a well through high water and eventually encountered muddy water, then it’s worth thinking carefully about this. Is there any one near your site? industrial enterprise, livestock farm or city dump? Often the close proximity of such objects can spoil the water in wells located specifically on sand.

If this is your case, then you urgently need to do a detailed chemical analysis and, depending on the results obtained, install a good filter system.

Artesian well depressurized

Why does water with turbidity come from an artesian spring? Perhaps your well has passed the depressurization stage. In this case, to clean water plain ones can be mixed groundwater. What to do? Carry out work to restore the integrity of the well. If such work seems too costly, then it is better to drill a new well.

Banal silting of the face

If you do not use the well constantly, but from time to time, then silt and algae may be the cause of the turbidity of your water. Imagine your source standing still for a while. Water does not pump, direct circulation of liquid does not occur. This is an excellent environment for algae and silt to grow. When you start pumping water, additional inclusions rise to the surface along with it.

What to do? Install good system bacterial cleaning.

Important: when choosing a method to solve a problem, be guided by your financial capabilities. For some it is easier to drill a new source, while others decide to spend money on restoring the old one. In any case, invite specialists to fix the problem.

Why is there muddy water in the well?

Ideally, the water from the well should be clear. However, sometimes situations arise when the water loses its clarity and becomes cloudy. In this case, immediate measures must be taken to improve water clarity. Depending on the reasons for the appearance of turbidity, it is necessary to either install additional systems filtration, or replace pumping equipment, or restore the tightness of the well. When diagnosing the causes, it will be very useful to know what types of water cloudiness can occur.

What is cloudy water like from a well?

Depending on the location of the wells and the features of their design, there may be different variants cloudiness of the water. In some cases, well water may be opaque and “rusty” or reddish in color. There are often cases when the color of water from a well becomes similar to milk. It happens that the water remains relatively clear, but suspensions of small particles of sand or gravel appear in it. There are also situations when, in addition to turbidity, small filament-like impurities appear in the water.

Depending on the cause, cloudy water from the well may flow constantly, or appear at certain points during the operation of the well. It is also necessary to pay attention to this point.

Turbidity of water in shallow wells

The cause of turbid water in shallow wells (up to 15 meters) may be the ingress of surface water with suspended mud, silt or clay into the well. Such turbidity is observed if near the well there are layers that are highly permeable to water and have poor filtering properties.

Why is there muddy water coming from a new well?

There are situations when muddy water begins to flow from a new well. It contains grains of sand or fine gravel. This is primarily observed in young sand wells. The cause of cloudy water in this case is most often poor pumping of the well after drilling. The second reason, which happens extremely rarely, is the destruction of the filter in the aquifer. It can occur during improper flushing of the well after casing.

Why does “red” turbidity appear in water?

Groundwater often contains large amounts of chemical elements. If the water at the location of the well is rich in iron, then situations may arise where, if the concentration of iron is exceeded, it can enter into a chemical reaction with atmospheric oxygen, resulting in an oxidation reaction. As a result, the iron contained in the water turns into ordinary rust.

What can cause cloudiness and stringy fibers in water?

Sometimes muddy water containing small fibers begins to flow from shallow wells. The appearance of such water means that microorganisms have entered the well and began to multiply there. In this case, the water may become cloudy due to the ingress of waste products of microorganisms into it.

There was good water in the well and suddenly it became muddy - what was the reason?

The appearance of turbidity in the form of impurities of soil particles can be associated not only with the degree of pumping of the well. Often impurities appear as a result of siltation of the well. Some teams use gravel to fill the bottom of the well. With significant dynamics of processes in soils, such filling can simply be washed away. As a result, soil begins to fall into the well, and it silts up.

Another reason for the appearance of suspended fine particles in the well may be a violation of the tightness of the casing pipe. In places where the tightness is broken, both top water and water from other aquifers with particles of sand or soil can enter the pipe.

Why is the water cloudy in a well with a vibration pump?

During operation, vibration pumps create vibrations that spread, including through the casing pipe. These vibrations also affect the soil around the well, which can lead to soil penetration into the wellbore.

Why did the water become cloudy after the well was idle for a long time?

This phenomenon is observed in wells that are operated from spring to autumn, and stand without water movement during the winter. In this case, development processes may begin in the well biological organisms, which most often cause turbidity. Also water, after winter downtime, may acquire an unpleasant odor.

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The operation of the hydraulic structure is unstable. In this case, water from the well comes in spurts or disappears completely. The most common reasons for this are:

decrease in water level;
uneven supply of moisture to the water supply system;
well drying out;
damage to the membrane in the accumulator;
unstable water pressure;
power surges in the network.

Water may flow in jerks if air gets into the pipe along with it. It significantly impedes the flow of fluid. These problems may be the result of errors during drilling and well construction. Most often, such problems arise when performing work independently. To avoid such situations, it is necessary to contact professionals on these issues.

If water flows in spurts, it means that its pressure in the water supply system changes from time to time. To eliminate the breakdown, you should determine where the pressure fluctuations occur. This can be observed at the pumping equipment level, at the stage of water passing into the pipes, and also at one specific point in the system. This type of violation occurs when the pump breaks down, the water intake system depressurizes, or there is a lack of air in the hydraulic tank.

To carry out diagnosis, the exclusion method is used. It is recommended to open taps in all rooms at once. If there is unstable pressure everywhere and the water supply is jerky, then the fault should be looked for in the pipeline.

If water flows in jerks, the pump elements may malfunction. Most often it consists of valve incontinence. You should also check the level of electrical voltage at the moment the pump is turned on and during its operation at the contacts of the pressure switch.

Water will come out of the well in jerks if the pump is clogged. In this case, the pressure rises excessively when the device is turned on, and the pump switches off. After the pressure decreases, the pump is turned on again. That's why the water comes in spurts. In this case, the pump needs to be cleaned and the filter replaced.

A malfunction of this type is observed if the entire water intake system is not tight enough. It is recommended to check its operation in all areas. Inspection is carried out from the pump hydraulic tank to all pipes. It is necessary to pay attention to the water level in the well, as well as to the correspondence of the suction height to the diameter of the pipe.

If there is insufficient air in the hydraulic tank, the air must be pumped up with a regular bicycle pump. This simple action helps normalize blood pressure. After this, the water will flow again with normal and constant pressure.

If the hydraulic tank membrane ruptures, the pump may be clogged with small particles of debris. In this case, the hydraulic tank needs to be replaced.

If the equipment operates uninterruptedly and there are no listed defects, the reasons may be hidden in the well itself. The supply of fluid in jerks can be explained by a decrease in the productivity of this structure. To solve this problem, well cleaning is proposed.

Drinking wells on personal plot, have one unpleasant property - they can become dirty over time. One option is the appearance of sand impurities.

The reasons for this can be very different, but the consequence is always the same - such water cannot be used for its intended purpose. Therefore, you first need to determine why water with sand comes from the well, and then eliminate the reasons and clean the source. And you need to act immediately.

Water with sand from a well

Reasons for the appearance of sand in water

There are several reasons why sand comes out of a well. The most common are:

problems with the filter mesh in the casing;
casing pipe is damaged;
sand comes from the surface;
the source has silted up.

All of these reasons are quite common. But the most important thing is to identify and correct them in time. Otherwise, both the well itself and the pumping equipment may fail.

Filter problems

In this case, there may be two options:

The mesh parameters are incorrectly selected.
The filter is damaged.

In the first case, sanding may occur slowly. This depends on the intensity of pumping and the level of contamination of the aquifer. And sand penetrates into the source, due to the fact that the grid cell is selected larger than the sand fraction. Typically, from the start of using a well to the moment when sand begins to flow out of it, 2-3 years pass.

Mechanical damage to the filter mesh also causes sanding of the column. In this case, everything happens much faster - after a breakdown, several months may pass.

Determining filter damage is very simple - just carefully examine the sediment in the water. If the sand grains are of different fractions, then the mesh is damaged and it’s time to replace it.

Filter wear

Silted spring

Another reason why water with sand comes out of a well is natural pollution. Unfortunately, this is an inevitable process for shallow sources. The rate of siltation is influenced by the following factors:

pumping intensity - if there are long breaks in the use of the well, sediment will quickly accumulate at the bottom;
correct filter selection and pump installation - if it is too high, this will also speed up the process of sedimentation;
level of contamination of the aquifer;
integrity of the casing.

In any case, regardless of the contamination of the pumped water, it is recommended to carry out preventive cleaning of the well every 1-2 years. This simple measure will significantly extend its service life, as well as protect pumping equipment from severe wear.

Backfill problems

Improper well construction also causes sand to penetrate into it. Most often, this manifests itself for the following reasons:

dirt penetrates through the upper layers of the soil;
sand is sucked through the bottom of the well.

In general, according to the rules, a sealed plug must be installed at the bottom of the well. It limits the source from the penetration of contaminants from the lower layers. However, most often when arranging they are limited to the usual backfill of gravel.

The disadvantages of this approach are obvious:

due to pressure, small suspended matter can penetrate through the gravel;
If a powerful pump is installed in the well, it can draw small grains of sand through the backfill layer.

Sand can also penetrate through the top layers of soil. The reason for this is the incorrect organization of the near-pipe backfill. In this case, the problem is easily solved. A canopy is installed over the column, and waterproofing is done near the casing.

Casing problems

Damage to the casing can also cause sand to come out of the well. In fact, the situation is simple - the pipe has either rotted over time, or cracks have appeared at the joints.

To accurately determine the location of the damage, video logging is used. And then the problem area is sealed.

Well cleaning

There are two effective ways to clean a well from sand:

pumping;
water supply under pressure.

Ideally, for pumping it is best to use special pumps for a well with water and sand. Their advantage is that they are able to lift large fractions of sand to the surface.

However, given that this equipment is expensive, you can get by with a simple submersible pump. Cleaning will take more time, but you won’t need to make large financial investments.

Pump cleaning

This cleaning method is quite effective and easy to do yourself. Before starting work, you need to prepare a place for draining water. It should be as far away from the well as possible, otherwise dirty water can get back into it through the ground.

Sequence of cleaning work:

the pump that will be used for cleaning is lowered into the well;
first, onto the suction hole, you need to put a piece of tube 10-15 cm long;
the unit is turned on and after that the height of its installation is determined - the pumped out water should not be too thick, otherwise the pump will quickly fail;
as it is cleaned, it gradually goes down.

If you decide to use special pumps for a well with water and sand, then it makes sense to pay attention to the following types:

However, this equipment is quite expensive, so it is better to use it as a permanent pump. Especially in cases where the source is fed from sandy layers.

Pressurized water supply

a pipe is installed into the casing all the way to the bottom;
it is connected to a powerful compressor;
There are two washing options - supplying air or water to the bottom. In the second case, in addition to the compressor, you will need a large tank;
After the system is installed, the compressor turns on and the cleaning process begins.

When using this method, you need to be prepared for the fact that water from the casing will rise under high pressure and splash. Therefore, it is advisable to cover everything with film and place electrical equipment as far away as possible.

Thus, the problem with sand can be solved quite simply. The main thing is not to delay its decision.