They'll resume work in the morning, first to recheck the rate of water flow. At day's end on Friday, at a depth of 440 feet, we were getting about 2.5 gallons/minute, half of what's recommended. We might be able to get by, but the pump would have to work harder, shortening its life.
One option is to keep drilling. Our neighbor across the cove reached a good flow at 520 or so. (Another lakeside resident was getting 15 gallons/minute at 150 feet. It's tempting to run a pipe along the lake bottom to his well.)
The other option is hydro-fracture, also known as hydro-frac or fracking. In brief, the crew would pump pressurized water back down the hole. The pressurized water fractures the rock around the veins that are feeding the well, increasing the rate of water flow.
This seems like a lot of work (and money) to get water when we're right beside a lake. The lake water, as good as it is, however, is susceptible to a number of biological processes resulting from human, animal, and plant activities, particularly during the warmer periods of summer. This project is worth it, allowing us to have a reliable supply of good drinking water.
I just hope we don't find oil.
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