Cisterns

[edro]

We have a cistern (underground water storage tank... NOT a drilled well). (We do have a drilled well for our water supply)
When I take the concrete lid off, there is a 3' diameter clay "pipe" that extends down about 5'.
About 6" above the bottom of that 5' entrance is the water level.
I have lowered a 10' piece of pipe into the cistern to see how deep it was, but it didn't touch.

I want to fill this in and cover it with dirt. I have found numerous procedures online about proper decommissioning of wells and cisterns. Some places require official companies to do it for you, others say to fill with gravel and top dress with topsoil.

The water level concerns me because it tells me the entire thing is chock full of water. If I fill it with gravel, where will that water go? Assuming it is semi-sealed (brick walls), the water would have to rise vertically and into my yard.
I think it is supplied from my garage gutter. I will disconnect that once I fill it.

I have seen people say to break out the bottom of a cistern before you fill it, but I don't see why. If 95% is filled with solid material, it can only hold 5% water and what can that hurt?
Some people say not to fill with rocks/dirt because you can contaminate ground water.
I don't see how a 15' deep cistern can hurt well water that is 200'+ deep.

I am trying to find the official word from my locality, but I am in BFE.

Anyone have experience with this?
I am tearing out a bunch of old concrete and want to throw it down the cistern. *kerplunk*

 

[highland145]

Weight on a string. Curious how deep.

I'd love to have one for watering the yard/shrubs/beds if the structure is safe. Our water's chlorinated so it can't be great for the plants. Especially when I can smell the chlorine.

Would think you should open the bottom so you don't have stagnant/trapped water.

You could always hide the bodies/guns/gold/children in it.:sneaky:

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Weight on a string. Curious how deep.

I'd love to have one for watering the yard/shrubs/beds if the structure is safe. Our water's chlorinated so it can't be great for the plants. Especially when I can smell the chlorine.

Would think you should open the bottom so you don't have stagnant/trapped water.

You could always hide the bodies/guns/gold/children in it.:sneaky:

Just make sure the bodies/guns/children are properly sealed so they don't start smelling from decomposition and/or are still usable when you bring them back up

 

[highland145]

Just make sure the bodies/guns/children are properly sealed so they don't start smelling from decomposition and/or are still usable when you bring them back up

I'll ask the local expert.

Olds, you got a minute.

 

[MotF Bane]

1) Weight on a string, get the depth, it matters.
2) Get a length of sturdy metal pipe such that the bottom will sit on the cistern and the top is above ground.
3) Apply hammer viciously to pipe until bottom breaks free.

That's my only idea to break out the bottom, and I would be inclined to break out the bottom before filling it up.

You may also find that since this is hooked to your garage gutter, it is also serving as a drywell. Accordingly, you will want to break the bottom out in as many places as possible, and then fill with gravel, but NOT disconnect your gutter drain.

 

[edro]

We have another cistern close to the house.
It is about the same size, but only has 12" of water it in, so I can see the bottom with a fleshlight.

It has a mound of sand/rocks/junk in the bottom of it, but the water is crystal clear.
I don't care too much about that one right now, but would like to fill it too.

 

[Texashiker]

Use a sump pump to get the water out.

Then haul in a few dump truck loads of dirt.

 

[GeekDrew]

Which part of BFE are you in? I might know who to put you in touch with. We filled the old cisterns on our farms a few years ago.

 

[Zargon]

i would just get a pump and use it to rewater........

 

[edro]

i would just get a pump and use it to rewater........

But we have a well, so our hose water is already free.
The cost to pump the water would cancel out.

 

[hanoverphist]

i say empty it, seal it and use it as a secret lair. put satellite tv and internet, big tv and a couch. hide from neighbors.

 

[waffleironhead]

But we have a well, so our hose water is already free.
The cost to pump the water would cancel out.

A sump pump is a whole lot cheaper than a well pump. The more you use the cistern for outdoor watering the longer life your well pump will have.

 

[skyking]

If you are serious about decommissioning it, the proper material to use is pea gravel. It is self compacting, it essentially hits the ground at 95% compaction. It is also self leveling and will fill the tank wall to wall without any intervention on your part.
I know this from decommissioning many tanks over the years on the job.

 

[OutHouse]

Why do you want to fill it?

 

[edro]

Why do you want to fill it?

Because it is in front of the entrance to my garage.
Picture a 2 car detached garage. The cistern lid is centered 20ft out from one of the doors. It makes getting into that part of the garage a hassle.

 

[ISAslot]

Because it is in front of the entrance to my garage.
Picture a 2 car detached garage. The cistern lid is centered 20ft out from one of the doors. It makes getting into that part of the garage a hassle.

Lower the lid?

 

[Squisher]

A sump pump is a whole lot cheaper than a well pump. The more you use the cistern for outdoor watering the longer life your well pump will have.

I'm not sure a sump pump would give him the pressure needed to get water to plants and lawn effectively. Not even taking distances into account he'd be lucky to water a 5'X5' area at a time.

 

[edro]

Lower the lid?

I guess I could cut the pipe off below ground level and make the lid even with the ground. I could even make a steel lid so I would feel better about driving over it. I'll have to think about that some more, but it's a good idea.

 

[Zargon]

But we have a well, so our hose water is already free.
The cost to pump the water would cancel out.

ah, makes sense!

 

[blinblue]

I am pretty sure an good sized explosion would fix your problems very quickly!