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Head Pressure

Wells Need Upkeep

Most wells work without any issues for years or at least we don’t see them at the surface. The reason is wells have one moving part, WATER, and as long as we get the water, we believe everything is alright. The fact is all flowing water carries particles, builds deposits and wears out structure. With higher pumping rates today a well that should last 80 years may only go 10 years before suffering a major break down.

How does well water move

Without pressure we would have no water

Water Pressure

A pump uses pressure to lift water and sends it up and out through pipes to where it is needed, but a pump is not good at collecting water. What a pump does is creates an empty area and head pressure pushes water towards the void. Head pressure is an invisible force that moves water to where it rises up to equalize the pressure.

Well Damage

Over the course of time all wells drop in volume and often a pump is lowered in response. This raises head pressure and lowers efficiency. It is a bad idea to increase pumping rate without cleaning a well. This is because the well has established it’s draw area, and unless the draw area is cleaned a pump pulls down more water and accelerates well damage.

Well Cleaning

Cleaning inside a well reduces wear to perforations and gives better access to the water outside. Cleaning outside is more important because it increases water yield while reducing pressure needed to flow water. Outside is where the big water is, and in wells it is the number of gallons per pound of pressure or gallons per foot of pulldown that gives a well its flow volume. The formula is simple, for every cubic foot of open area in a well’s draw area you get 7.48 more gallons of water using the same pumping effort.

The Truth About Wells

When it comes to well cleaning opinions are all over the chart. The problem with most is they are designed by people that have no idea of how a well works.

Always clean for efficiency

Water inflow should always be produced by head pressure. Water volume is limited by water table height and we can’t change that. But we can clean deep and this adds depth to a well’s vertical draw area. This is a win-win it gets the most water draw for the least effort.

Clean to Prevent Water Issues

Sand entry, surface contamination and casing damage are a result of a well working hard to keep up pumping volume. Cleaning a well is a good investment to prevent problems and avoid the sudden breakdown.

Wells are not drains…

So don’t clean them like one! Wells work the opposite of a drain, groundwater flows into a well. The buildup on the inside walls has little effect on water pumping because it is on the non-producing side of a well. The only time a well slows flow from incrustation is when it is left idle for a long time.

A good way to clean a well >>>

Solid CO₂

Known as Dry Ice

CO₂ is a good way to clean almost any well, but only when used by a well expert. It makes no difference if it is ice, gas or already pressurized liquid. The advantage of CO₂ is, it can pressurize the entire water bearing zone in a well without endangering the well or its casing. This is because when properly used it transfers energy out to the formation instead of violently shooting it through perforations. Another big advantage is it works with chemical enhancement. The danger of a non-professional using CO₂ is, use too little it is a waste of time, use too much and it is a violent explosion. It has turn over tractors, trucks and even sent hundreds of feet of drill pipe with a packer flying out of a well.

Experience counts!

The Guardino family has been involved in the groundwater industry since 1929. Western Well was one of the first water well companies that stopped digging wells and started drilling them using filter packs for a cleaner water supply. In 1970 the family branched off and started Well Tech Inc, a company that was dedicated to water well repair, using hydraulic swaging tools. Today we use well video cameras and specialized tools to come up with innovative solutions for well problems. Water Well Aid is just that, when a well issue occurs there are decisions to be made and we collect data, provide information and offer alternatives to get a well back into service quickly.