Hello, and thanks for any suggestions you might have in my journey toward pulling in a well.

I am tried of having to re-seed my front yawn every year and pay high water and sewage rates when I do water the lawn. I would like to have and irrigation system and hook up well water to at least the toilets and if the water is clean enough possibly to the washing machine. The priority is irrigation with everything else being cream.

I have a ranch style home with a basement and live in southern Indiana about a mile to mile and a half from the Ohio River. I have been advised that the water table here is easily reached after a few feet of clay. A co-worker actually drove a well in a previously owned home after cutting a hole in his basement floor and reported good results. He supplied water to his outside faucets and washer only.

I’m not sure if I want to go that route because I would like a very robust installation, you know, the Tim Allen approach. Not really, but I do want and installation that is more than just adequate.

My options are, as I see it, to do what my co-worker did but I’m a little worried that a driven system may not provide the necessary through put a do a good job covering the yard. In this option all of the equipment is in the basement, the pump is below ground so not too much noise and winter means draining the irrigation lines into the sump pump.

Or, drill a well in the backyard a few feet from the basement wall and either go submersible or run a couple lines down and have the pump inside the basement.

The driven system will have less foot head than the drilled system by four or five feet.
So, let say I’m going down 35-50ft which should be an over kill since water should be found around 20-25ft. Which would be the more robust system? Driven , drilled submersible or what ever the other system is called with the pump inside the basement.

Finally, I wouldn’t mind doing this myself.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated,

Norm