Clean Water

[Trapper Bob]

I am having a building constructed on my farm. There will be a small apartment inside. I will not have access to rural water. There is a rock lined hand dug well, 42’ deep, about 5-6’ in diameter. The well currently has 17’ of water in it, but does fluctuate with the seasons. I have had the water tested. The water is hard, with high levels of manganese & sodium. The total dissolved solids are high. Everything else tested within the normal range & the microbiological parameters were very good. The water is clear.
I have contacted several water purification businesses. Each one has their own idea of how to clean up the water for use (drinking, cooking, showers, clothes washer). Various filters & reverse osmosis have been the common recommendation. Has anyone had these issues & how did you solve them?
There are two Elm trees with 18-20” trunks growing to close the well. I will remove these trees, but how would I kill them without poisoning the well?

 

[DustyRusty]

I would cut them down and then have the stumps ground down below the surface. You could also dig them out, but grinding is expensive, but so is digging them out, especially if they are large.
When I first had my well drilled, the well driller recommended 2 or 3 gallons of bleach be put in the well to clean it. I did that and waited a few months to have the water tested. It tested high for bacteria, iron, and a few other things. The water testing company suggested 5 pounds of swimming pool chlorine and to circulate it with the pump back into the well to clean the casing. 4 months later I had the water tested again, now bacteria, low iron, and overall good water. Being that yours is an open well, I would get a tight fitting cover over it to keep critters out and sanitizing the well long before you are going to need to use it.