Pond Boss subscriber Bob Durham
dropped us an email asking about
using a well to fi ll a pond. During my
travels around this great country, I am
privileged to be involved in a diverse range
of projects. One thing about wells always
strikes me during conversations with
landowners.
Here�s a typical exchange. Landowner
says, �If my watershed isn�t quite big
enough, I may just drill a well and fi ll the
pond.� Or, one might say, �If the pond
leaks, we can just punch a well and keep
it full.�
It ain�t quite that easy, folks.
Here�s where I always start. Remember
this number�it�s of huge value as you
think about a well. One acre, one inch
deep, is 27,000 gallons. That�s twenty
seven thousand gallons of water! Many
wells are drilled for domestic uses, water
for the house, maybe for livestock. But,
do some math. If you have a well which
produces 10 gallons a minute, 600 gallons
an hour, 14,400 per day�hmmm�and
you have a three acre pond?
People tend to think a �well� will do
them well. Not necessarily so. While I
never discourage someone to drill a well,
I do think it wise to do a little research and
think it out, forgive me, �well.� A well
thought out well will be better than an
expensive hole in the ground.
While volume is important, so is quality.
You don�t necessarily need to go way
down deep to get water of pond quality.
Fish and plants like hard, mineral laden
water. If a shallow aquifer has iron, lime,
other minerals and metals, it�s likely pretty
good for fi sh. Don�t drink it, though. Hard
water with lots of minerals doesn�t taste
like Ozarka.
There are several well stories to tell. I
have yet to see pure water come out of the
ground. Contrary to popular belief, most
groundwater is loaded with something it
absorbed along it trek toward the middle
of the Earth. As water seeps downward,
into aquifers, it digests rocks, metals,
gasses, and organic matter it might pass
through. When it sees the light of day,
everything changes. Don�t be surprised
if your well water leaves a nice coat of
orange on everything it touches. Iron. Or,
it might bless you with the ever-effusive
aroma of rotten eggs. Sulfur. Or, here�s my
favorite�.
Got a call from a man north of Dallas a
few years ago. He had built a small pond in
his yard. But, it was muddy all the time. I
had him send a water sample. Analyzed it.
Yep, it was muddy, for no apparent reason.
Looked at the cations and anions. There
were more negatives than positives. I knew
that couldn�t be right. After all, I had been
taught nature wouldn�t allow anything
other than a balance in water. As we all
scratched our heads, educated minds eased
our pain.
We learned water always seeks a
balance�always. This man�s water was
balanced. With dirt. Tiny suspended pieces
of dirt added the missing positive charges
his water desperately sought. Why?
I drove down, took a look. Sure enough,
he had a well, pumping crystal clear water
into his pond. Then, he had a pump hooked
up to irrigate his lawn, pumping water from
the pond bottom. The mystery was nearer
to being solved. His well water came out of
the ground pretty and clear, but was so out
of balance coming out of the ground, it did
what it had to do to balance itself. It was
literally picking dirt off the pond bottom,
and physically holding it in suspension.
His water was heavy on carbonates and
bi-carbonates. It needed more charged
particles to seek a natural balance. The
water chose dirt. Once we fi gured it out, we
were able to buffer the stuff with gypsum.
He stopped irrigating with the water when
turf experts explained what this water
would do to his lawn. He left the pond as
a scenic landscaping spot, amended the
water, planted some pretty water plants,
and now enjoys it as it is.
Here�s another story. One conscientious
homeowner drilled a well, and decided to
aerate it by running water over a waterfall.
Great idea. He built a beautiful waterfall,
cascading down a pretty creek through
the yard, into the pond. Well water is
devoid of oxygen, and by breaking it up
over big rocks, letting it fall a few feet,
added oxygen. Oxygen is good. After a
month, the entire waterfall and its pool was
coated orange. Iron. Not such a big deal,
but his Labrador retrievers couldn�t wait to
immerse themselves in the pool below the
falls..every day. The black labs came out
looking like some sort of punk rocker with
January/February 2005 / POND BOSS 25
funky colored hair. Not exactly what the
landowner had pictured in his mind�s eye.
Toss in the fact his dogs would shake, rattle
and roll themselves in the least kind places.
Iron was beginning to be painted all over
the place. How did he solve the dilemma?
He re-routed the well water straight into
the pond, and set up a pump in the pond
to pick up water for the waterfall. Within
a week, all the iron was gone, and he was
still aerating pond water. Problem solved.
Before you drill a well, do some
homework. Contact reputable local drilling
companies. Odds are, they have drilled a
well somewhere nearby. They will have
logs of the well, and can tell you quite
a bit about the water, different aquifers,
and quantities of water you might expect.
Use the well driller as a consultant, and be
confi dent when asking questions. You need
answers.
I had a well drilled just more than a
year ago. The driller I chose has been a
client for years. I stocked his pond years
ago. He is also the main well guy I refer
people. He is knowledgeable, and willing
to answer all questions. I told him I needed
at least fi fty gallons per minute to serve
my fi sh vat shed, and to fi ll any one of six
ponds on my home site. While he couldn�t
honestly guarantee what I might get, he
took away much of the guesswork by
drilling a hole big enough, and fi nishing
the well appropriately, with the correct size
pump. As long as there was water in the
aquifer, the well would do its job. So far,
so good. The well produces 75-80 gallons
a minute. It has iron, a little sulfur, but is
buffered very well, with plenty of lime in
it. It serves the purpose we need.
Here�s what you need to do. Defi ne the
purpose of your potential well. Calculate
volume of water you will need. Then,
defi ne the quality of water. Do you intend
to drink it? Often, there sits more than one
aquifer underneath your land. Pick the one
you want based on defi ned need. Next,
talk to the driller about costs and your
expectations.
My well went to 360 feet of depth, pump
set at 180. Total cost? Slightly less than
$10,000.
Don�t be cavalier about your thinking.
After all, you may not want to toss ten
grand into a hole which might produce just
enough water to bathe.
As you can see, it�s a pretty big operation to drill a water well. Do some homework
before drilling. Photo credit: Schroeder Rotary Drilling.
