Wells, Sump Pumps and Septic Sewage Systems - Don't know what happened!

Hello! The details.........had a broken well cap. Decided that it would be best to shock the system since I was not sure how long the problem had existed and what small critters had gotten in. So I used about 2 cups of laundry bleach diluted with about a gallon of water and dumped it down the well. I ran a garden hose to the well and let it run for about 45 minutes. At the same time I decide to drain the hot water heater (generally do this once a year). After this I noticed there seemed to be a decrease in water flow. Pressure seems to be the same going by the system gauge but for some reason there just isn't the same flow amount. I used to be able to run the shower with a bunch of other faucets no problem but now something has changed. I have a PH balancer and a sediment filter which I serviced afterwards to see if that was part of the problem. In order to do that I had to drain the system. I checked the pressure tank and it was 2 psi under my cut in pressure. I opened all the faucets and charged the system. Cloesd everything back up and tested the shower and a couple faucets. Nothing changed. I don't under stand what happened? Maybe I stirred something in the well by backfeeding it with the garden hose and now something is blocking the pump? The pump I believe is an older Franklin Electric 1/2hp 230v 1 ph 2wire submersible.6" well pipe. Well is 75 ft and about 13 yrs old. System pressure is 40/60.

The first step is to attach a garden hose at the "tank tee" assembly and check your pressure there. The best way to address a pressure issue is to find out where it is. If you have good pressure at the tank hose spigot then you know your problem is downstream of the tank. Start checking flow at different points in the plumbing and find the leak. It is most often at a filter/conditioner, valve, or a transition material fitting (copper to plastic, copper to galvanized, etc.) if one exists.

If you check the flow at the tank and it is bad there then obviously the problem is before the tank. You may have a check valve inside the house and it may be stuck in the open position at only a fraction of it's maximum opening capacity allowing water to enter the building but at a reduced rate of flow. If you have no obstruction in that line then the problem is a blockage somewhere underground or down the drop pipe in the well. If you get this far and deduct it is a problem outside, the only thing to do is pull the pitless adpater to just over the casing, clamp it off and test flow there. If it;s good then your blockage is underground, if it's bad then the blockage is down the well and the pump will need to be pulled to find the problem. It's a process of elimination and the most logical next step is always the right one.

In general I NEVER recommend chlorinating a well unless you know what potential problems you may cause for yourself. Often times my customers cause more problems than they help when trying to chlorinate their well.

You say there is a decrease in water flow but is this to just the shower or at all taps?

In addition to what Shane has said, if just at the shower you could have plugged up the valve by draining the hw tank and if you have a temperature or pressure balance shower valve, plugging the hot side can affect the pressure on the cold side.

When doing any work on plumbing that could release sediment it is a good idea to remove the strainer on a sink and thoroughly flush the system as well as wait awhile to allow what is left to settle in the tank.

The low volume/low pressure seems to be to the whole house. It "seems" to be slowly getting better but I guess I need to buy/make a gauge that I can hook up to shower heads and spigots. I am assuming I have to take in account for friction/elevation loss in the plumbing and also by what pressure is currently in the system since I'm on a well. I did go back and clean all the shower heads and sink strainers. I did find some debris but don't know if that was from before or after. Thank you, I do appreciate the incite/suggestions!

It sound like there is a blockage. If there is good pressure at the tank, and you have a good working gauge.

Up to the tank sounds like it is ok

You say you changed the filter after the tank.
Have you tried taking the filter cartridge out and leave it out for your test.

You will probably need to take off and clean all the screens at all the faucets in the house.

The pressure and flow will not change just by fixing the well cap.
When you put the bleach in the well, it may have loosened some minerals in the pipes.
When you turned it all back on, it was flushed into the lines, causing the faucet aerators to stop up.

Even if you place a gauge on the shower, it will more than likely show the same pressure as on the tank.

I am going to point the blame on the filter after the tank, before it goes in the house.



Travis