Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations 6" Irrigation Well to Fill Pond

I have 3 6" irrigation wells on some of my duck hunting property that pump 400-600 GPM, With the cost being around $10K, same as drinking well, I see no reason not to dig one of these instead of the typical 25-50 GPM wells to keep my pond full if needed, 2 acres. My question is what are the downsides of a well as far as oxygen deprived water, changing water temp and gases that can be in the well water, and how can I overcome these obstacles.

Justin, irrigation or drinking, it still comes down to how much water the well can generate and recharge. Large volume wells are not always found. I think Dave Davidson's Texas well only produces 3-8 GPM

Rex, I wish it did produce that much. It actually produces 1/10 gpm but runs into a 2,500 gallon holding tank. But, that is sufficient for our household needs.

I supply our pond with well water.. It produces about 35GPM

I'm able to run it 24/7 if needed. It will raise our 1.5 acre pond about 1/2 inch in 12 hours if I let it go.

I like to turn in on in the heat of the day to add a little oxygen and cooler water to my pond (not sure if it makes a difference)

Our pond is only 4 inches low after not having a drop of rain in 8 weeks with 100 degree Texas heat compared to neighboring ponds being a couple feet low..

Hi Caviler03,

Are you doing something to oxygenate the well water, such as shooting it in the air, running it over rocks, etc? My understanding is that well water is void(?) of dissolved oxygen until it hits the atmosphere.

Just curious, thanks!

Keith

PS - I have a shallow pond which in turn heats up quickly, so I like the idea of adding some cool water, if it would in fact help any.

It's not real far from one of my wells that produces 400 GPM at only 50' deep, I'm going to call the well guy and see what he thinks about my exact location and if there are any in the vicinity. I was thinking of a "rock river bed" type entrance to the pond to aid with the oxygen.

My well water drops about 2 feet to the pond so I assume the splash and the force of the water hitting creates some sort of oxygen.. Or is that way to small to make a difference?

I would think that you would need it to splash around on some rocks a bit to mix in 02

I think you are looking for water surface contact with the air. Mixing in bubbles is not really adding the air. I think the more you can have the water become in contact with the air the more O2 you will end up in the water.

See I thought with these air stations it was just like an aquarium and the station was adding air to the water from the bubbles. But that is not really the case even in the aquarium. The case is that your moving the water to the surface where it can take in the O2 more then the bubbles contact with the water.

A lazy river into the pond from a water source would be a great idea. I do not know for sure but I do feel adding our cool water to fill our pond over our water fall triggers something in our common shiners and emerald shiners to populate like crazy.

Cheers Don.

We're about to install a 4" artesian well with our home build. The contractor said he's seen these produce 40-45 psi in my area. I'm not sure what the GPM or GPH is at that pressure, but I'm surely hoping it will be able to control my pond level.

JustinK, when we were looking at the property we eventually bought, Bob Lusk advised me to get a sample of the well water from that area sent to Texas AM for analysis. Turns out the water is pretty much fine for the pond, EXCEPT that it will need to run through some gypsum on its way there. Otherwise, could be issues.

It's not just DO and temperatures you have to address, unfortunately.