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is this well plan sound?

 
pollinator
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Location: Denver, CO
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I have a sticky clay soil with a very high water table. To build a shallow well, could I scoop out a big hole with an excavator, line the hole with landscape fabric, insert a large diameter PVC perforated PVC pipe, also wrapped with landscape fabric, in the center of the hole, and fill the hole with sand? Some sort of pump would go down the center of the capped PVC later.
 
pollinator
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Seen it done with gravel and a metal culvert. Not sure if your idea would drain down too fast or not, depends how much you plan to pump at a time.
 
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Gilbert Fritz wrote:I have a sticky clay soil with a very high water table. To build a shallow well, could I scoop out a big hole with an excavator, line the hole with landscape fabric, insert a large diameter PVC perforated PVC pipe, also wrapped with landscape fabric, in the center of the hole, and fill the hole with sand? Some sort of pump would go down the center of the capped PVC later.



Yes, I was told by a guy who is experienced with wells, to do exactly that, but to surround the perforated pipe with gravel and then stones. He didn't mention fabric or sand.
 
Gilbert Fritz
pollinator
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I guess gravel would hold more water then stones, due to more space. I was thinking that the fabric would stop the gooey clay from filling all the spaces. Maybe this would not be necessary, but it might help.
 
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Sand may cause havoc with your pump. Either scratching sidewalls that need to be smooth or wearing out impellers prematurely.
 
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