Wells, Sump Pumps and Septic Sewage Systems - Making my own well. Need some advice.

I read that the water table where I live is only about 10 feet down. The soil here is sandy and clay like so it is easy to dig through it. The gears started turning in my head and I got 3 pieces of 3/4" PVC pipe and put threaded connectors on them. I attached a hose to the pipe and started making a hole. In a couple hours I had a 30 foot deep hole! The water washed away dirt from around the pipe and the hole is about 4 inches in diameter. After I pulled out the PVC pipe some dirt settled back into the hole. A few hours later I checked the water level and there was water in the hole 5-1/2' feet below the surface. The next day the water level was at the same level. More dirt had filled in the hole so the hole was now only 10-1/2' deep. Even with that it looks like I have 5 feet of water in my hole. So here is where I start to have questions.

What diameter casing should I put in the hole? (It would not be that hard to widen the hole if necessary.) How deep should I run the casing? The soil is sandy and silty. What size holes should I drill in the casing to allow the water to come in? Will the holes get plugged with the dirt and sand and will the soil fill up the casing? I was thinking about using 2" PVC pipe for the casing.

I'd like to have my well for an emergency source of water. Don't really plan to use it on any regular basis. But if I can get enough water out of it maybe I will use it to water the plants in my backyard.

Any tips would be appreciated. I found an article that discussed the basics of a well, but it didn't really explain how to prepare the casing where it collects the water.

Thanks for any help! :)

purchase well screen, the slot size will depend on what you want to do, if max water slot size of 0.20 or 0.30 in., if you want the clearest water slot size of 0.10 in. then you hole should be at least 3 in larger in diameter than the pipe you plan on using. you can purchase factor slotted screen from most well supply dealers, you could also use what is referred to as a sand point.
SAND BLOCKER DRIVE POINT SCREENS (http://www.deanbennett.com/sand-blocker-drive-point-screens.htm)
it is usual to pour a screened sand called gravel pack around the screen, if you're soil is sufficiently sandy you can dispense with that. then it will need a bentonite clay seal above the screen about 2 ft thick, then a pour concrete from about 4ft below ground to surface and make sure that you're casing extends at least 1 ft above ground, if you must have it below ground you must use a seal to make sure no critters or rain water can enter the casing. then use a bailer to surge the water removing the fines and some water until it starts to clear up. then pump vigorously to set the gravel pack. i would plan on removing at least 500 to 1000 gals of water for development.

life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies

First, you should know that most states require a license or permit to make a well. There are two or more layers, state, regional water management, county, and city. All must be satisfied. In my area, as long as the well is no bigger than 2", that satisfies the state and water management district and is exempt. Any diameter, as long as it is less than 40' deep, that satisfies the county and is exempt As long as it is at least 25 feet setback, the city is happy. So as long as I make a well no wider than 2", less than 40' deep and 25 feet away from property lines I don't need a permit. Your laws will be different. You could get into trouble if you don't follow the laws. When you sell the property, there could be questions raised.

Next, there is a company that sells kits to jet your own well using PVC fittings. Their manual is good to read even if you don't buy their products. It is very dense and has a lot of info, so slow down when you read it so you understand what they are saying.
http://www.campbellmfg.com/brady/documents/wellinstallation.pdf

Another good source is Fred Dungan's page:
http://www.fdungan.com/well.htm

In regards to your questions: What you need is a PVC well point, with 4' of screen. These are available here at both Big Box home improvement stores as well as the "pump stores" I call them, that specialize in well equipment and pumps which are found in most rural areas.

Since by law, I am limited to a small size, I will describe that size. You can buy either 2" to use as a casing, then use 1 1/4" pipe inside. Or you can just use the 2" pipe and pull from that or you can use just 1 1/4" and use that. Depends on how much water you want and how much money you want to spend.

A 1 1/4" well with 4' of screen is capable of producing UP to ~12 GPM.

You will need a pump. Harbor freight has a very inexpensive hand pitcher pump for sale ~$20. I have one and it works well. Has a 1 1/4" connector at the bottom to which you would attach a check valve. Use plumbers grease as a lubricant for the inside of the pump. It is very good for well development.

Thanks for the resources posted so far!

I'm in an unincorporated area and think I am in compliance but will make sure.

I want to keep the cost down but if I can get a good amount of water then maybe it is worth to put a little money into the project.

The info from Brady Blue Points was great. That is very similar to how I drilled the hole. I cut a jagged pattern on the bottom of the PVC pipe to help cut through some harder spots. But for the most part the water pressure was enough to make steady progress drilling the hole. I also hooked up my air compressor to agitate the water a lot and bring more soil to the surface. Only used the compressor on and off as it is a cheap Harbor Freight unit and started to get hot.

I'm wondering if I am better off using something like the Brady Well Screens or if I just drill several holes along the casing and wrap the casing with a screen if that it will accomplish the same thing? Is "gravel pack" something you can get at Home Depot type stores? Can you recommend a place that sells the screen material?

For now I will work a bit more on expanding the diameter of the hole. I already have about 30' of 2" PVC pipe. Not sure if it makes much difference to go with 3" as that still is not very expensive. I don't think I will go any deeper than 30'.

12GPM from 1-1/4" x 4' of pipe sounds great! When I have the final hole size and confirm the static water level I'll probably come back here for some final advice. I'm hoping that indeed the water in the hole now is from the water table and not just accumulated water from all the water I used to dig out the hole!

"or if I just drill several holes along the casing and wrap the casing with a screen if that it will accomplish the same thing?"

This may be a bit more difficult than you realize. First, the screen is large and long, so that you can expose as much area to the water bearing surface as possible. If the water can't get in, you can't bring it up.

Some people don't use a screen. They "overpump" the well ao as to create a bowl beneath the bottom of the pipe. This works for a while, but eventually, the bowl collapses and they can't get any more water.

The object is get down far enough to get as much as the screen into a water bearing layer as you can, rather than try to pull from a particular spot. This improves your chances of success. To determine if you are successful or not, you have to decide how many GPM you want. To help you, 1 rotating non-impact sprinkler head uses 3 GPM and two uses 6 etc.

Study that Brady book more. Look at the diagram of what is underground. You will see that you want to be under a layer of clay. Did you see that on the way down? This is where things get a little tricky -- if the layer is too thick, progress will eventually stop and you will end up with little water since clay doesn't move water -- too thin and the layer underneath it may not be able to support much pumping. You may have to go down 30,40 or 50 feet to get under that layer of clay. All depends on what is down there.