Slightly cloudy well water

A month ago or so I started digging a well in the clay soil here, right between two twisting alders.
There is about 60cm of black soil followed by 50cm of white-ish, water carrying clay. Below that is yellow/red clay with lots of stones (that break easily and look like clay pottery on the inside) that smells of sulfur.
The flow is betwen 5 and 20 liters per hour, depending how many weeks it has been dry.
The area surrounding the well is grass and lots of valeriana officinalis, some stinging nettles and the occasional black berry. The surrounding area is forest with mostly alder in it.

The water is slightly opaque/cloudy and it does not settle over time (days). The water also has a slightly bitter taste which appears to correlate to the amount of cloudiness. Apart from that, the water tastes excellent and is in fact the best water I have tasted so far.

Does anyone have an idea what it could be? I don't have access to lab equipment, so tests are limited.

(The cloudiness does not disappear when adding vinegar.)

The words "The flow" gives me the idea that this is a spring that you are developing. Pictures of the location might help.                                      

The cloudiness might be the minerals in it.  All of those plants you listed are an indication of a lot of ground water, but they wouldn't affect the color of the water.  Can you get some kind of water filtering material, like a household charcoal water filter, run it through that, see if it clears up?

How deep is the well?  It sounds like a good flow level, but you want to be sure that it is not shallow ground water that "upstream" or "uphill" from it there could be large amounts of cattle poop, animal poop.  That is one reason to get a swimming pool test kit to check the level of bacteria in the water.

The clay might smell like sulfur because it is anaerobic, saturated with water and no oxygen, which is typical for certain clays around a spring or ground water, then the water running through it smells like sulfur.  

When you say you "started digging," does that mean you are continually digging it still?  That could be causing the cloudiness.   It could take a week or more to clear up after you've stopped disturbing the soil.

Cristo Balete wrote:The cloudiness might be the minerals in it.  

That "white-ish, water carrying clay" might be Gypsum.  

 

Cristo Balete wrote:The cloudiness might be the minerals in it.  All of those plants you listed are an indication of a lot of ground water, but they wouldn't affect the color of the water.  Can you get some kind of water filtering material, like a household charcoal water filter, run it through that, see if it clears up?

I will try to run it through one of the gravity filters.

Cristo Balete wrote:How deep is the well?  It sounds like a good flow level, but you want to be sure that it is not shallow ground water that "upstream" or "uphill" from it there could be large amounts of cattle poop, animal poop.  That is one reason to get a swimming pool test kit to check the level of bacteria in the water.

The well is sitting in a ridge (40cm high) and the closest area where animals can get to is 30m away, However our dog makes sure they don't go there.
Currently shallow ground water can get in the well too, but I am working on a clay wall to prevent that … just need to get the clay back out of the well… aargh.

Cristo Balete wrote:The clay might smell like sulfur because it is anaerobic, saturated with water and no oxygen, which is typical for certain clays around a spring or ground water, then the water running through it smells like sulfur.

The clay below the water layer is actually quite dry and the sulfur smell is only noticeable when digging in the well.

When you say you "started digging," does that mean you are continually digging it still?  That could be causing the cloudiness.   It could take a week or more to clear up after you've stopped disturbing the soil.
I am working on it from time to time to make it deeper and add storage capacity, however the well has not been disturbed for two weeks now.

I tried adding some gypsum (way too much) and it is clearing the water up!

Thanks Cristo and Burl for your ideas and insights.

I was working in the well yesterday and pumped up some clay soup at the end and decided to collect it to see what would settle.
Turns our the top half turned into crystal clear water that still tastes good.
The water with the added gypsum didn't taste very agreeable (like stale tap water).

So mixing in some fine clay (just not that fine) works to clarify the water. (Not that I plan on doing it.)