# Filling in an old water well



## Uncle

Has any one been through this? What is the procedure?


The well is about 30 to 40 feet deep and about 4 feet in diameter.


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## DAKSY

I have a friend who calls "Fill-A-Pool" every couple of months so
his family can flush & do laundry. Not potable. Uses 5 gallon jugs 
& a water cooler for cooking/drinking. Haven't seen him in a couple
of years, so I don't know how much he pays. His well ran dry due to 
a housing development. Been in litigation for 15 years, last I knew...


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## Morgan

I won't be much help in your situation, but kind of on topic as it may help someone, I had to decommission two 4" shallow wells on my property, provincial rules here (PEI, Canada) required I buy a bag of bentonite per well and a couple bags of ready mix concrete per well. I started by slowly adding 1/2 a bag of bentonite (trying to float it on top of the water so it will gel up and create a plug for the concrete to set on top of, waited maybe 20-30mins, then added a bag of concrete mixed up and poured down, then repeated with the other 1/2 bag of bentonite following by another bag worth of concrete, then I filled well to the top with clay/soil (needed only about 5 shovel fulls to fill well to grade once concrete and bentonite was poured down).  I had dug down about 18" and cut the metal casing off to keep it below grade.  This was provided to me by a local well driller, if you found one in your area I am sure they could tell you what your up against.


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## pen

quarry rubble?  

pen


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## Lumber-Jack

Uncle said:
			
		

> Has any one been through this? What is the procedure?
> 
> 
> The well is about 30 to 40 feet deep and about 4 feet in diameter.


Can you just get a tandem dump truck to back in and dump it over the hole?  A couple truck loads of cheap fill should do it.


Morgan, why did you have to fill in those shallow wells?  Couldn't you just cap them and leave them?


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## jimbom

The procedure will be specified by your state DNR.  Probably online.  If you have a well that has been inventoried at some time in the past, you should follow the rules.  For some day there will be a reckoning.  We did a steel cased well following our state rules and it was easy.  A lot of work, but not highly technical.


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## Uncle

I made a few calls to some local well guys. They told me that paperwork does have to be filed with the state to seal it legally. One guy said you put clay on the bottom the other guy said concrete. The both said after that you pour in clean sand. One guy said it would cost from $400 to $1,000. The other said around $1,200 with a worse case scenario of $1,500. Those prices included the paperwork. I may try to have it hooked back up. Next time I have it open I will take some pictures....then all I have to do is figure out how to upload them here on hearth.com.......


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## JustWood

What is the reasoning for wanting to fill the well?


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## DAKSY

Wow. Am I dyslexic or what? Totally missed the word "IN" ...


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## basod

We filled one in on the farm I worked on.
The rough dimensions you give would require 15-20yds of fill.
If you just try to dump fill downhole it'll wash through to any springs/groundwater table over time. Think sink hole
The bentonite suggestion up above would work for a narrower well but is probably cost prohibitive on 4' ground well(this is the mud formulation they use on deep oil wells).
Concrete last I checked around here ~$120/yd with a 2 yd minimum. I'd measure the water level at the bottom and buy atleast that volume in concrete, pump the well with a larger trashpump and then have the concrete dumped downhole - it'll still cure underwater.
Then find a local guy w/ 8-12yd dump and have them back up to the hole and dump it in.


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## Uncle

LEES WOOD-CO said:


> What is the reasoning for wanting to fill the well?


 
Peace of mind. We just had a tragedy here in Jersey last week not to far from where I live. A three year old fell in a septic tank and did not make it. IIRC someone left the cover off. 

I am also worried about a sink hole like Basod mentioned. Its only 20 feet from my house and ancient chimney.


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## JustWood

When I was a kid mom and dad's dug well went dry and never recovered so they had one drilled. Dad cut the end out of an old scrap fuel tank and painted it. Set it over the well. It was heavy enough that a kid couldn't lift it. They eventually built a deck over it and you wood never know it's there. They entertained the idea of a gazebo and flower bed over it  also.
It woodn't be hard to drive angle in next to the well to secure a lid also. Just ideas to save some coin.


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## midwestcoast

LEES WOOD-CO said:


> ...They eventually built a deck over it and you wood never know it's there...


IMO that is the problem. Underground structures get lost & then show up where you don't expect them. Aside from the physical hazard open, abandoned wells are also a danger to the underlying aquifer. Even if they're capped the well casing will eventually break down & allow surface water down into the Aquifer with potential to contaminate it along with whatever wells are using it. Thats the reason for state DNR/EPA regs about properly sealing them.
Those costs do look steep for something you don't 'need' to do. It's a smallish job & Drillers might rather be off drilling wells & making quicker money.
+1 on looking up your regs & figure the cost to DIY. May be easy 'cause the State wants people to actually do it. You might need some finicky data like GPS coordinates or a legal description of your land parcel, but it may not be too tough.
Might also suggest calling your local Health Department. See if you can get someone to talk you through the process.


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## midwestcoast

Here's the regs.  Chapter 3.  http://www.state.nj.us/dep/watersupply/NJAC7_9D.pdf


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## Highbeam

In my city we require complete concrete fill and a state permit to decomission wells. I've never seen a big 4 footer filled in with concrete though.

The reasons are exactly as midwestcoast stated. Dangerous holes, and contamination of the acquifer. Eventually somebody will forget about the old well shaft under the deck.


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## semipro

If I had such a well at my place I'd be trying to figure out how to line it and use it for water storage. 
This would effectively address aquifer contamination concerns and let me store water for fire control or other uses.
I'm sure lining would be a challenge though it might be less expensive than filling.


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## Lumber-Jack

I'd be looking into how it could be made into a geothermal heatpump source for heating and cooling my house.
Just filling it in seems wastefull considering how much it cost to dig a well in the first place.

Uncle, It's tragic when kids get hurt or die, but it's not really fair to compare a hole that is carelessly left open to one that is carefully sealed and marked. I'm sure they didn't fill in that septic tank after the child died, they likely just covered it back up the way it should have been.


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## JustWood

Carbon_Liberator said:


> I'd be looking into how it could be made into a geothermal heatpump source for heating and cooling my house.
> Just filling it in seems wastefull considering how much it cost to dig a well in the first place.
> 
> Uncle, It's tragic when kids get hurt or die, but it's not really fair to compare a hole that is carelessly left open to one that is carefully sealed and marked. I'm sure they didn't fill in that septic tank after the child died, they likely just covered it back up the way it should have been.


Agreed, covers are easy to build and can be done on the cheap.
If you fill it,, in 2 years you'll find  a need for it and kick yourself for filling it.


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## Uncle

Thanks for the link Midwestcoast...and everyone else too

I have thought about getting the well back in working order. I just don't see what use I would have for the water. My water bill is about $40 a month. Plus I'm really not sure weather they will allow me to get it going again anyway. I have to have the septic system replaced soon. 

BTW: I stuck a tape measurer down the well and it went down 22 feet before it hit bottom. It did have 8 feet of water in there. I also forgot to mention the house is 202 years old and I'm not sure of the wells age. I am going to call the water company tomorrow to see if I can get any info out of them.


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## Gasifier

Many, many years ago we filled an old well of about 3-4 ft. diameter. It was on an old farm and the owner had a new welled drilled next to the house. We started with a lot of large rocks. Then went to medium sized rocks. Then went to small rocks. When we were close to the top we added crushed stone and then filled the last two or three feet with dirt. Packing it down good with the backhoe tires, then filling some more. Back then, I don't think they had regs for filling a well. It worked *well* though.


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## firefighterjake

My wife and I filled in a shallow, dug well on our property. Here in Maine things are pretty lax. We just used rocks and gravel. No real concern with needing water since the drilled well (the original dug well aparently didn't supply enough water) has been fine for our needs and we were more concerned with a neighbor child (at the time) moving the cover and falling in.


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## granpajohn

I have seen 3 ways: Backfill with stone/other aggregates, backfill with lean mix concrete, cap off top.
-The lean mix is 1 bag mix. (1 cement per cubic yard). Fly ash is also used. Look up "flowable fill"
-We had one where the owner simply had a load of CR-6 (crushed stone) dumped in. This was for the same safety reason mentioned. It worked fine.
-This link is the state's standard for MD. (Since we've become the NJ of the South, it should be approved):
http://apps.roads.maryland.gov/Busi...licationsonline/ohd/bookstd/pdf/MD-386.02.pdf

Now, having said all that...Is this dug well lined with stone, brick, timbers, or what? I agree with the idea of keeping the hole intact, but with only 8' of water in a 22' hole, it should collapse without a lining/shoring. If that support system is in failing condition, then I would backfill it with one of the suggested methods, depending on what local materials are cheapest.

If it is 202 years old, your probably don't have to rush your decision.


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## Frock

My wife and I bought a late 19th century home about 12 years ago. since then we have discovered an old cistern and two wells. The cistern opening was just covered with a piece of metal and about 6" of dirt. Now the hole is exposed and the ground around the cistern is sinking. The wells were obviously filled with just "fill". One has been sinking since we bought the property - we keep adding dirt to grade but it keeps sinking. The other one started sinking this year with the exceptionally wet year we've had.

Since I don't know the exact methods/material that was used to fill the wells and the cistern is dry but the ground is sinking around it - what can I do to stabilize this ground? Any suggestions would help. FYI - it's obvious the wells themselves are what's sinking. The ground around the 4' diameter sinking is solid.


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## semipro

Frock said:


> what can I do to stabilize this ground?


I see 4 options:
-Keep do what you're doing - add fill as needed to level,
-Have someone come out, drill down, and inject grout to stabilize the existing fill,
-Build a structure over the opening that can support itself while the fill below it settles.  (e.g. a reinforced concrete slab)
-Remove the existing fill and re-fill with proper compaction, etc.


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## johneh

I was forced to fill in my dug well 2 years ago
Frigen government .
2 loads of sand and no more well


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## peakbagger

Call any concrete supplier and get a price for flowable fill. Its a very lean concrete. It gets delivered in a truck like concrete and fills in all the voids. It sets up enough that it cant be dug with a hand shovel but can be dug with a backhoe. I have used it to fill old an old pipeline so it wouldn't collapse and recently had about 500 yards placed under a foundation for small power plant.


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## D9H

The flo fill is a good idea. You can figure up how many yards you need pretty easy: Multiply depth x width x height in feet and then divide by 27, that gives you cubic yards.

What is your cistern made of? Stone and mortar? Concrete? Fiberglass?  Just asking because you could get a bid from a local guy with a back hoe to cave it in or dig it out and fill it in with good sized rip rap as another option.


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## burnham

Google Dirty Jobs mine plugging.   We use foam like that at work for setting utility poles, it's strong stuff.


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