Wells (shallow or bore-hole) running dry?

Tazio

Hi Lads and Lassies,

Just wondering if you're hearing of wells running dry during this mad long dry spell? I'm near Riverstick Co Cork and I know of a shallow spring gone dry nearby and two bore-hole deeps wells dry SW of Kinsale (family). Is this a real problem right now for ye or are we ok for a while? Lads in my area with larger herds are saying it's grand for now.

I've a bore well ~160 foot with only a few dry cattle on it and just wondering should I be worried? I've decided not to pull up the pump for a look to see how wet the pipe is down low! - ignorance is bliss and all that. :) All jokes aside I'll pull it up tomorrow for a look.

Cheers..

ruwithme

Nout one can do about it, aside from supply stock with water from a vaccum tank or let them to the river if you have one on the land to reduce use from well.

Another crazy measure in contradiction with "climate change" as they call it, disallowing stock drink with their noses from a river. Having them consume treated water & all associated paraphernalia.

Anyway back to the well,don't think I'd trouble me self lifting the pump unless your stocks consumption is quite high.

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058259649/wells-shallow-or-bore-hole-running-dry

Groundwater is something of a hobby for me.welks are definitely under pressure in West cork at the moment as we seem to have less rain than normal right back to last autumn.that being said rain doesn't exactly top up ground water as fast as that.i suppose one fact we have to take on board is deep well drilling is a new phenomenon that's really only operational in Ireland with 50 or 60 years.deep wells drill down and try tap into an aquifer and pump up the water.depending on location some tap into aquifer that could be sealed or slow filling and when demand spikes you well runs dry also the general water table does go down so the reserve is smaller especially on hills.also it is possible to dry an aquifer but not usually in Ireland as its irrigation is rare.areas vary as to how wells preform but alot of the time it has to do with demand spikes rather than wells flow rate.shallow wells are more prone to yield variations and often come back fast with rainfall.you don't have to fully lift out a pump to check how much water is in it. Just try to lift and if there's plenty water you ll be able to pull it up a bit.if you have to work or can't lift it the water is low.

Danzy

Had one struggling in North West Cork, last happened in 2018.

A few heavy evenings of rain and it was ok, which was worrying, that says to me, it's a quick in and out type of well, a more prolonged drought might be a real problem. I have work arounds, water being usually a problem.

K.G.

There seems to be a little fresh water crisis developing in alot of the world.lots of reservoirs and rivers at record lows and snowcaps and glaciers reseeding.many aquifer s facing depletion.we might be glad of the rain soon in fact some of us already are

foxy farmer

There's no harm in pulling up a pump now and again. Brass and iron connections corrode. Intake can get blocked. Pump can get burned out. I have a well here with iron in the water and over time the pump internals gets choked water flow diminishes and the only cure is to pull it up and soak it in descaler for a few days.

There are parts of west cork crying out for rain. 80mm of a soil moisture deficit in the south on the farming forecast today .I see a neighbour spreading dirty water on a few paddocks yesterday. Sucking out of an unmixed tank. Anything to keep grass growing. Back in 2018 a contractor pumped water out of a river and spread it using an umbilical on grass ground. Farmer said it made no noticeable difference. 22000gls/acre is equivalent to an inch of rain on the ground.

Tazio

Thanks all for your replies. It's a relief to read them and not read a load of "yea I've run dry!" replies.

I'll pull up the pump in the morning and see how good / bad she is. Will update here.

Thanks again

_Brian

Must look at ours. 180ft bore here but water is often within 6ft of top over winter periods.

White Clover

We have a 11ft deep x 4ft diameter shallow well on the farm. I checked it Sunday morning and it's about 4" lower than the highest level in winter time, very happy with that.