Spring fed water system

Hello all,
2 years ago i purchased a home with a 30/40 yr old spring fed water system. From what i understand there is a spring (weve located that) about 400 yards from our house that feeds a Spring box(1000 gallon concrete holding tank about 300 yards from house) ; Line from there down to house where it comes up into a Woodsford frost free pump. Recently we ran the water into a small above ground pool for 2 days straight. after which the water pressure had diminished dramatically and had some sporadic brown water. Did we drain the holding tank and cause a clog?  access to the holding tank is difficult and requires a contractor to dig down about 3 ' to
the top of the tank.

we are now looking into getting a water booster pump and  tank at the house to give the house at least 15/20 psi pressure.

any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.



Ken

If you want "city pressure" water get this:

Check this out at Amazon.com
Grundfos MQ3-45 1 HP Pressure Booster Pump, 115-volt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NXQ20W/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_Q1W4CbFJPRZRM

Its not cheap but ive used them for years.  

Main benefits:
Shuts off if tank is dry. Will retry every few minutes. So it won't burn out like other pumps that don't know there is no water.

Its 110v

It needs nothing else-like a pressure tank. It uses the down stream piping as a pressure tank.

Con:
Because it doesn't have a bladdered pressure tank, you will get  low pressure for about 2 seconds when you turn faucet, then full pressure comes through.

This type is much cheaper. It has built in pressure tank and pressure shutoff. Ifs pressure is much lower than the groundfos but sometimes $$ dictate pump. I dont know what 20 psi feels like. I just know this pump gives me lower pressure than what i would consider "city pressure" for my area.

Check this out at Amazon.com
Red Lion 97080503 Shallow Well Jet Pump and Tank Package, Cast Iron Pump with pressure Tank, 5.8 gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015Z7JLSE/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_W8W4CbGHMDCX8

Hi Ken;  Welcome to Permies!
It sounds like you over ran your spring's capacity. The brown sediment is from the bottom of the tank.  All spring systems get this. Wait a few days/week  and it should refill.  
It is possible you did get a plug.  Here's how I deal with mine when it does.  Large trailer mounted air compressor, 185 cfm or bigger. Build an adapter that goes into the hydrant and converts into a "Chicago" style air fitting that you attach to the compressor. Blow it out backwards. I've simplified that process, there are a few more steps, but thats the basic idea.
I have to do this to my system every two years or sooner. I have 2200' of 1.5" line up to my holding tank. I also have 300' of vertical drop and have 125 psi water pressure at the hydrant.

If you had adequate pressure before your pool filling, then clearing your line and letting the tank refill should do the trick.

I would only add a pressure pump if you really need one. Remember every time you run that tank down you will get a sediment problem thru the lines.

Thanks Thomas....my Spring tank  is probably about 50' above our house and approx 250 yards away. it simply runs from a 1000 gallon tank to the house where it comes into a frost free hydrant. we have pretty low psi..im guessing maybe 6-7. we want to add a small bladder holding tank and pump to increase it into house.

The holding tank up in the back is not easily accessible by design,,,the hatch is buried under about 2' from surface and last time we had to hire a contractor with machine to dig it up. he then went in and used a sunp while he found screen and cleaned it...that was 23 years ago in Oct. want to do it myself but may be out of my wheelhouse

update; my plumber installed a 1/2 hp pump and 15 gal. tank

took the water pressure psi from gravity fed 14lbs to 30/50,,,what a huge difference. can my pipes handle the change in pressure?

ken ferm wrote:update; my plumber installed a 1/2 hp pump and 15 gal. tank

took the water pressure psi from gravity fed 14lbs to 30/50,,,what a huge difference. can my pipes handle the change in pressure?

The good news is there's a really simple way to find out. The bad news is that the amount of time involved for a failure to show itself is unknown. Test your shutoff valve before you need it (how do I know this?) and make sure everyone in the household knows where it is just in case something goes leaky in a spectacular way when you're out in the back forty, or away running errands.

You should consider installing a surface access to you collection tank (cistern) in order to periodically disinfect it.  Non-thermal springs that are not part of a deep groundwater circulation system can be susceptible to near surface bacterial contamination.  You should also fence off the area around the spring and collection system to keep wildlife and livestock away from it.  I manage over 50 small  transient public supply systems and four of them are springs and these are mandatory requirements in my state .  Good luck with your system.