Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Increase flow of a spring?

Probably straight down, but that will be determined by the well driller, whatever provides the easiest access and is less expensive. Ultimately, you will be paying by the foot so the shortest distance is best. Here is an article from the USGS, see Figure 5 on page 12. Go through the references and look a few of them up on Google to get a better description of your exact area. You might get lucky and find a study that was done in your backyard. Remember a 2-inch well can produce approximately 20 gpm, so you will most likely be looking at a 4-inch or possibly 6-inch well. Your contact in New York will help there. Good luck.

USGS

Steve thanks for sending that,unfortunatly the area of desrciption is located in New Hampshire. I presently reside on Long Island( hopefully not for much longer) i hope to move up to NH in the near future to be closer to my property up there.
My land is located in nothern New Hampshire aprox 3/4 up the state 15 min from Littleton close to the conneticut river valley.
If you go to "Beaver Pond Woes" below this oridg. post (selecting a site) you will find some pictures that might give you an idea of the type of area im located in. ( its bout as different from Long Island as night and day!) Long Island has grown so crowded i cant stand it anymore. You cant even find land here anymore its basically all developed.
Anyway untill that day i leave here for good , i must travel the 5 hours it takes me to get up there. If you have some time today check out the pics...... i have one shot of the outflow from one of the springs, my choc. lab is in that one too...you would like him!

Steve,

The pond is entirely excavated and although there is some shallow spring seepage at the bottom, all the water that goes in is via a well that has to be pumped. We hit a gravel layer when drilling at about 30 feet and the well is set at 88 feet. Aquifer is typically about 40 feet thick in this area.

Although I have to pump I am fortunate to have an excellent aquifer supply in my area, and in fact, one farmer pumps 2000 gpm when he irrigates. Hard to believe but true. 500 gpms in large diameter wells is not unusual in my area. We even have a double aquifer in some areas.

I don't know about New Hampshire but in my state of Indiana you can get well records on line. All you need to know is township range etc for your area and I was able to print out lots of records of wells of my neighbors which include well depths, composition of layers encountered etc.

You are giving good advice Steve. I would think a local well driller should be up to speed on all the details of his area too.

Sorry about that, I looked at your profile and assumed the pond was near Northport. I didn't think there was 500' of elevation change on Long Island. Looks like an absolutely beautiful place. Was really happy to see the instructions for posting pictures, too.

Cecil, that's a decent hole in the ground. Hopefully you are gaining water from that gravel seam at the bottom and not losing. When you put 30-feet of head on it, things could change from what they are now. It concerns me that seepage hasn't partially filled your tank. Did you patch the gravel or line the pond bottom?

Steve,

I think you misuderstood. The pond is only 9 feet deep and is entirely clay although the banks drops off quite rapidly. It has some seepage at the bottom but not enough to lower the water level much even when the well is not running.

The well itself is about 100 feet uphill and then the water flows through a 4 inch pipe to the trout pond. When I spoke of the gravel layer etc. I was speaking of the well not the pond.

Steve, any idea how i would go about finding ahydrogeological survey for the New Hampshire, or more specific Littleton, New Hampshire area ive been trying to locate something with no luck.
Bill

Cecil,
I'll say it again, I'm glad your back! You add alot to these discussions!
I guess I'm paranoid when it comes to well drillers. I agree with you and also would favor the science. However the drillers around here don't use science. I also believe some people are just naturally good at certain things call it a knack, seat-of-the pants, whatever. If someone, (even a well driller) consistently finds alot of water I'll go with them science or not.
Mtn,
As you noticed I thik Cecil gives good advice. Notice when he advised to drill he said . After you check out the science get your friend to come out & confirm the location. If he finds a better spot, do the science again. Get at least 3 reputable drillers to give their opinion without giving away what the previous one advised.
It sounds like alot of trouble but won't cost you anything until they start drilling and you will be satisfied with the outcome.
Again just my opinion.
Ric

N.H. Department of Environmental Services
Water Division
29 Hazen Drive
P.O. Box 95
Concord, NH 03302-0095
(603) 271-3503
TDD Access: Relay NH 1-800-735-2964

http://www.des.state.nh.us/water_intro.htm

Ask for well drilling logs and if they are available for your area.

Thanks for that Cecil! Im gonna check it out and see what i come up with, should be interesting..

Lobster:

I looked too and did not find anything useful. Ric is right about well drillers. Their job is to install a well then move on to the next one without thinking too much about correlation of geologic units or science. They will not necessarily keep you out of trouble. What they can offer is experience in your area, which may or may not be valuable depending upon how variable the hydrogeologic terrain is in your area. Over the hundreds of drillers that I have worked with, I can remember one that actually had a degree in geology. The state agency, university, or a private consultant would be your best bet. It looks like you are dealing with a fractured bedrock aquifer that probably disharges to the lowland via seeps through permeable zones, which creates streams, etc. in the alluvium and glacial deposits within the valleys. Quite a bit different from the midwest. If you are able to get your hands on the well logs and a good topographic map where you can plot the well log locations email me and I'd be happy to walk you through a couple cross sections.

Cecil, I need to stop responding to posts while trying to watch a basketball game. My Spartans took it on the chin again yesterday.

Thanks Steve! I have had two well diggers look at the site. well, when i say site, they looked at one of the springs. This was last summer, what he told me was " If the spring runs year round chances are we can make it flow more if we drill down"
Now this guy, or one of the guys was in the well drilling buis. for many years but it occured to me that he was a driller not a water finder...you know what i mean? He did say the fact that there was shale there was a good sign. I never checked out his history , but im sure if he went down deep enough he would probably find water....how much? Thats the big question! I decided that my best bet was to research everything before i make any decisions. You guys seem to agree with that. I dont know to how much water (if any more ) i can get out of this area. I would be flabbergasted if i can get 500 gpm , it would change everything about my plans for fish! Water is such a precious resourse! I love the whole aspect of the hunt for more. Its like im lookin for gold!
Thanks again for the help! gotta go outside and do more shovelin.....we got 15 inches of snow here last night!

Lobster:

The comments about the shale being a good sign are probably related to easier drilling through shale versus crystalline bedrock (saves $). The idea that you can increase flow by installing a well is most likely true. The reason to have a professional evaluate the situation is 1)to make sure that you do not throw away drilling costs in case there is not an aquifer that is capable of producing what you need (and to estimate the cost of drilling, i.e, depth); and 2) to make sure that your well will not have an adverse affect on wetlands, other wells, etc. that may be upgradient of your location.

We have 1-inch of ice but no snow, it can hold off until Christmas, too much work to be done.

Hey Dave, where did you get a 2500 gal holding tank for your water? What material is it contsructed from and how much did it cost?

The 2,500 gallon tank was ordered from a well supply house. The driller picked it up and installed it. I'll look for my bill and post the cost when I find it. I've seen quite a few of them in my area, mostly where people are growing flower seedlings to supply to nurseries. It may be becoming a cottage industry here. Seems like a good way to add fertilizer.

Question for all ya'll- have 2.5 acre pond in east tx. i'm meeting with a well driller this week to discuss a well . water is supposed to be second best in the U.S.A. , I have city water but will connect it to the house , but my main purpose is for watering the yard and keeping the pond full . the water is apprx. 280' down. any suggestions on gal. per min.,pump size , pound pressure , holding tank size, but as i understand from reading post's here that well water has no oxygen. any suggestion's on how to get oxygen into the water before it enters the pond. I am not aireating at this time . any advice will be greatly appreaciated , Harvey. sorry i can't help any of you with your problems because i'm kind of new with the pond and all

Harvey,
Two thoughts.
How much land do you want to irrigate? And, what's the maximum amount of water you need to maintain your pond level? Figure out those numbers, then calculate the amount of water you need to accomplish those tasks. Then, you can tell your well driller your needs, and he can advise you about pump size, etc.
To calculate water volume, remember this..one acre one inch deep is 27,000 gallons. So, if you want to irrigate a lawn one inch every third day, and you want to maintain a one acre pond against evaporation loss in the summer, you can calculate water needs.
Second, if you want to add oxygen to well water, break up your well water before it flows into the pond. Some people run it over rocks, others flow across corrugated tin, allow water to spill like a waterfall into the pond. Be creative, and figure out what works best for you.