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will very rusty well water harm plants?

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posted 5 months ago

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We are in a drought and have almost finished up our stored rain water so have begun watering with the old house well here....pulling it up with a two gallon well bucket as we haven't decided on a well pump.

It's very rusty. This is due to the 6" iron well casing...so high iron?

The family who owned the house back in the fifties used the well for all but drinking and laundry (because of iron) and did water gardens with it.

Any thoughts on long term use for plants?

I've been careful to only water blueberries with rain water and not the city water we sometimes resort to for other things as it's quite alkaline.

I should probably test ph.

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R Scott

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Extra iron shouldn’t harm most plants, but it can wreak havoc on irrigation equipment. Hand watering should be fine. IF it is just the extra iron. I’d get it tested for other contaminants if you can, I know people that have enough ag chemical traces in their shallow well to kill seedlings.

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Judith Browning

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thanks!
that makes me wonder how an eventual electric pump will handle iron then?

For now we are watering by hand and trusting that since we are in town and there are only hayfields in the immediate area we're less likely to have contaminants? I don't think many here use herbicides on their hay fields.

We have tried to empty the well a couple times and just ran the water out on the ground and the plants and trees growing there anyway, seemed to appreciate it...I did watch for damaged and dieing plants.

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Anne Miller

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posted 5 months ago

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Judith Browning wrote:We have tried to empty the well a couple times

I assume you were trying to get rid of the rust?

Most wells are on a water table or aquifer so I would hope that it would be impossible to run the well dry.

There is a pipeline south of me and the guy next to the pipeline said the construction workers ran his well dry during an expansion.

He said that was because the water level fell below his pumps intake. The water level came back up and he was okay.

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Judith Browning

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Thanks Anne!

we were just trying to let fresh groundwater into the well and get a look at the water.

I think the rust is there forever since it's an iron casing?

The water is pretty dense with rust, almost opaque when we pull up a lot of buckets...seems to replenish quickly though and then the water is somewhat clearer.

The well had not been used for decades.

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R Scott

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The iron pipe dissolves over time, so unused wells will look REALLY rusty at first. In regular use, it should clear up.

Amber Michello

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posted 5 months ago

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Judith Browning wrote:thanks!
that makes me wonder how an eventual electric pump will handle iron then?

Is there a consideration or available option with your setup for a sediment filter prior to the pump?

Judith Browning

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Amber, that's a good question!
We don't have the pump yet nor any pipe...we'll be starting from scratch.
I haven't run across any info to do with the pumps we've been looking at mentioning a prefilter but it looks like we'll need one.

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Rad Anthony

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posted 2 weeks ago

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You should be fine. Your plumbing and pump will need cleaned and maintained though. I'd try get into rain barrels if possible. Filtration is also possible but you will need to maintain it.

John C Daley

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Judith, there are pumps that use compressed air to push water up, they may work well for you, and as someone said, a good run with water removal may clean it up.
Where are you such that water is in short supply in the town?
Recharging ground water from a well casing is not a good idea, research that action.

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Judith Browning

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posted 2 weeks ago

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John C Daley wrote:Judith, Where are you such that water is in short supply in the town?
Recharging ground water from a well casing is not a good idea, research that action.

We have 50" of rain a year...mostly winter and spring so we are adding gutter and more rain water storage but not enough for summer and fall drought.
The well is here and for now we can use the well bucket for small amounts but would like to be able to more easily water the big garden with a hose and have some pressure behind it.

Will look into 'recharging ground water from a well casing' as you suggest since I don't immediately see the downside other than the rust and having to use a pump and electricity?

We do have municipal water plumbed to the house but prefer not to use on the gardens...mainly because of chlorine and the price we pay for water here.

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"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
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Judith Browning

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posted 2 weeks ago

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John, is the following quote what you meant by "Recharging ground water from a well casing"?

Groundwater can be recharged through a well casing by using injection wells, which are designed to pump treated water directly into aquifers under pressure. This method allows for efficient replenishment of underground water reserves, especially in areas where natural infiltration is slow or difficult.

That is not at all what we are planning to do 😊

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"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
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J. Syme

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posted 2 weeks ago

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search Youtube for air lift pumps, or tiger air lift pump for examples. Basically you take long water up hose and attach a 2-3 foot pvc pipe with end cap on it with some stilts on its side to let water in (large sediment rock filter pickup tube). The long water hose needs to be long enough to get to bottom of well and have an air line running along side it. On the top half of the pvc pipe, above where the water intake slits, you will need to pipe the air line into the side of the pvc pipe. The airline makes bubbles inside the column of water in the long water pipe creating upward current. The current is eventually enough to raise the water to the surface. This system it quite tolerant of sediment and particulate that normally chews up standard submersible well pumps. note the water coming out the top will at first be quite muddy and full of bubbles because the pump usually stirs up the bottom of the well when started up. normal use for this system is in areas that wells are not real clean and the water is pumped into a non pressurized holding tank, like an open livestock water tank. these pumps are not as energy efficient as standard pumps but durable in harsh conditions.

Cristobal Cristo

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Judith,

If the rust came from casing then pumping out 100 galons of water should clean the water. I had similar problem - the water was slightly salty and slightly rusty. Few minutes of pump running solved it all.

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