Well water question

[crz4mm2]

We have lived in our home for about 11 years. Periodically, we get "dirty" water out of the pipes.
It is BLACK colored. Not completely black, but you can see it has black in it.
Used to happen when we would have a very HARD fast rain. I figured it was dirt washed into the well and left it at that.
Seems to be happening more often and when it is not raining hard.
I am at a loss.
Could it be the holding tank is full of stuff? and it swirls around at times?
Thanks.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

IDK, I've never lived in a house that didn't have well water and I have never experienced anything like that

Hoping its nothing major

 

[DMickey28]

Have you had it tested? I'd probably get it tested ... we had well water growing up and it never had stuff in it. Sometimes it would get an odor but my father had it tested many times and it was fine.

We just signed the contract on a house that has a well. I am a little nervous about it but we are having the water tested with the house inspection so I am sure it will be fine.

 

[crz4mm2]

We have had it tested and all was well.
I will call someone and see if I can get them to check it out.

 

[karen l]

We have well water but haven't had anything swirling around in it. A few years ago I had a softener system installed & it's great.

 

[JR6ooo4]

how old is the house? Or more specifically how old is the plumbing? what type of pipes do you have? Copper, plastic, galvanised...?

what area of the country are you in?

Mikeeee

 

[3boymthr]

Don't have a well now, but grew up with one and grew up on a farm where we used various other sources of water including an old fashioned water pump (you know the kind where you crank the handle and the water goes into a bucket) and pumps pulling water from a river.

Off the top of my head I can think of several reasons a couple not related to the well:

1. One not related to the well is that you have Cast Iron pipes somewhere between your well point and your house. We had them in the bathroom and we used to get black water in the tub. DH solved the problem by replacing the cast iron with plastic.
   
2. This could also be happening because you have a build up of black mold or other sludge somewhere in your pipes. We had this in our washing machine - ick!
   
3. Your well point is going bad; some well points have a cage around them to prevent dirt/silt from going up through the pump and this portion has corroded away. (I've seen this happen with the river pumps.)
   
4. Your well point is sinking into silt/mud and needs to be re-set in a different location. (My parents had to do this it cost $1,500 to have the well point moved about 15 years ago.)
   
5. Your holding tank is corroding.
   
6. Your well is going dry. Again, very expensive. But the fact that this problem started after heavy rains makes this not as likely.

Your best bet is to inspect your pipes for cast iron or other "black" pipes and replace them. DH was able to walk all our pipes himself to see where the problem was coming from. He started at the faucets and traced his way back to where the water came into the house.

You can have a plumber inspect your tank to see if it's bad but sometimes like a hot water heater they just can't tell and they'll just recommend replacing it, especially if it's on the old side. If these fixes don't solve the problem I'd call a couple of well drilling companies and see what they say.