Water is my project this coming year. I have a 6 inch well that’s 90 feet deep. Recharge rate is low but it’s OK. We don’t use much water so there’s plenty of time to recharge between pump cycles. No, my problem is that there is an abundance of iron in the water. I mean a LOT of iron. Given time it will settle out but we’re talking days. I have a few options. Namely
- Dig a new well; expensive and no guarantee it would solve the problem
- Drink rusty water; not even a real option
- Figure out how to get rid of the rust in the water
My project to rid water of iron oxide.
But first a little history. This year I pulled the pump; it’s a submersible configuration. The intent was to mechanically scour any rust from the well casing, kill any rust bacteria growing, and replace everything in the bore hole. I did that. Can’t say that it helped much but at least now I know exactly what’s down the hole and how deep.
The really bad water is when I first start the pump in the Spring. I have discovered that if I pump the well dry several times and let it refill that if I don’t over pump it will clear. But I can’t do that without getting some nasty water in my lines and into the house. That’s bad. Showers turn orange; white clothes turn orange; everything turns orange. Drives the wife crazy! But if I pump it, let it settle, don’t over pump it it will turn clear and be very good water. But when it’s bad it’s really bad.
I think I have a problem!
So here’s the general plan but I’m really open to suggestions from others who might have addressed similar problems so please contact me. Plan outline:
- Test if a sand filter can remove enough of the visible rust. I know there’s probably dissolved iron that I can’t see but it doesn’t seem to be a problem. If it works I’m done.
- Test a biological filter. I know it will work but they’re hard, if not impossible, to backwash which will be a necessity because of the rust.
- Put it all together so it’s able to operate at below freezing temperatures but still be easy to maintain.
- Also, I have a natural spring at a higher elevation that I want to divert into my water supply. Whatever solution I end up with needs to be able to process the spring water as well.
I’ve done a lot of homework already but won’t clutter this post with it. I’ll create future posts to share the successes and failures.