The short answer: If your drilled well runs low during normal use, recovers slowly, or never produced enough water, hydrofracking may help, and it is often worth looking at before you pay to drill a new well. It does not work on every well, and nobody can guarantee a result. The first step is ruling out the pump and pressure system, because sometimes the well is fine and the equipment is the problem.
What is water well hydrofracking?
Hydrofracking, also called water well hydrofracturing, uses high-pressure water to open or widen the existing fractures in the bedrock around a drilled well. Wider, cleaner fractures give groundwater more room to move into the well.
It is a water well service. It is not the same thing as oil and gas fracking, and it is used on household, farm, and commercial water wells.
Why North Georgia wells run low
Most wells in North Georgia are drilled into hard crystalline bedrock. The water that supplies them moves through natural fractures, joints, and other openings in the rock, not through a large underground lake. A well is only as productive as the fractures it crosses.
When those fractures are few, narrow, or clogged, not enough water reaches the well to keep up with the house. That can happen with an older well or with a brand-new well that simply came in low.
Background: U.S. Geological Survey, Geohydrology of Fractured Crystalline Rock of Northern Georgia.
Signs your well may be a candidate
- The water runs out or pressure drops during normal household use, such as laundry, showers, or watering.
- The well takes a long time to recover after it runs low.
- The well has always produced less water than the property needs.
- A newly drilled well came in with a low yield.
First, make sure it isn't the pump
Low water and low pressure can come from the pump, the pressure tank, or the pressure switch, not just the well. Hydrofracking a well will not fix a failing pump. Before anyone recommends hydrofracking, the whole system should be checked so you are fixing the real problem.
Hydrofrack or drill a new well?
Drilling a new well means a new location, new drilling, and new hookups. Hydrofracking works with the well you already have. For a low-producing well, it can make sense to try hydrofracking before committing to a new well, but whether it is the right call depends on the well itself. A licensed driller who can look at your well's history and condition should help you make that decision.
What happens on a hydrofracking job
- Pump comes out first. If there is a pump in the well, it has to be pulled along with the drop pipe and wire at least 24 hours ahead, so the well is clear for the equipment.
- Camera inspection. Groundwater Pros camera-inspects every well before treatment. If something shows up that means treatment should not go forward, you hear about it before any work is done.
- Treatment. Packers seal off part of the open hole and high-pressure water is pumped into that section of rock.
- Test pumping. Afterward the well is test pumped and the results are recorded, so you can see what it is producing.
Single-pack vs. double-pack hydrofracking
Single-pack treatment uses one packer to treat a larger section of the well at once. Double-pack treatment uses two packers to isolate and treat one zone at a time, moving the packer assembly through the well. For deeper wells, double-pack treatment is often recommended because it lets several sections of the open hole be treated individually. Which method fits depends on the well.
Will it work?
Every well is different, and no honest driller will guarantee more water. What you can expect is a camera inspection before the work and a test-pump result after it, so you know exactly where the well stands.
Talk to a licensed driller
Groundwater Pros is based in Talking Rock and serves North Georgia along the Highway 515 corridor, with three Georgia-licensed well drillers and our own hydrofracking rigs. If your well is running low, call (706) 901-2345 and tell us what it is doing. You can also read more about our hydrofracking service, pump service, and well drilling.