Can you treat a shallow well or sand point?
Last updated Reviewed by Sean Mihelich, founder of Save My Well
Yes. A driven sand point or dug well treats the same way as a drilled well, and usually with far less product, because the volume is small: a 2-inch driven point holds about 0.16 gallons per foot of standing water. The dose is still sized by gallons, the contact time is still 12 to 24 hours, and the flush and retest still close the job.
Treating a well with a disinfectant is also called shock chlorination.
Two shallow-well cautions: a jet pump loses its prime when you open the system, so know your pump's priming procedure before you start, and a shallow well sits closer to the surface influences that contaminated it, so the retest matters even more. A shallow well that keeps failing tests is telling you about its neighborhood, not just its plumbing.
Dug wells are the volume exception: a 3-foot diameter dug well holds about 53 gallons per foot of water, so those doses run large. Either way the math starts from your well's real dimensions, which is exactly what we size from.
Sources
Oregon State University Well Water Program, Shock Chlorination of Wells, undated
Ohio State University Extension, Shock Chlorination of Wells (AEX-318), 2019
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