Period Water Levels

[noj]

For the first time our well (which also acts as a cistern for rain water from some of the roof) actually overflowed this morning!

By the time I got out and took some photos it had dropped to just a couple of feet above the level of the living room... This is getting silly



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[Lime]

Its probably not really a well but a soakaway for the house roof guttering.
With the heavy rain, wet soil conditions and high water table the excess rain collected from off the roof has nowhere to go except to over flow the well.

I take your point about the height of water in relation to your house floor.
I suggest in better weather when the level has dropped in the well that you take a look to see if the well has an overflow pipe near the top inside.
It may be blocked.
If you haven't got one it would be prudent to put an overflow pipe in so that the water never reaches floor level.
Run the other end of the pipe to a buried soakaway away from the house filled with rubble or brick.

 

[noj]

Seems to be a combination - it's a concrete lined cylinder about 2m wide and 7 or 8m deep with a cast iron pipe leading in/out about 6m down which appears to exchange water with the surrounding soil. In summer it would slowly replenish to around the 2m level when I pumped a lot of the water out for the garden and this morning the level dropped a foot or two in about 30 minutes once the rain stopped.

The guttering downpipe discharges into it though another iron pipe a few feet below ground level.

The lining appears to be 'relatively' modern pre-cast concrete pipe with a dome at the top and corresponding 'dish' at the bottom. I guess there's always been some sort of well/water catchment there to supply the cottage but I have to assume that the concrete lining post dates connection to the mains (which is a lead supply pipe). I'm surprised that a PO must have gone to some considerable expense to re-excavate and line this in such an urban area...

As for overflow - it's probably not going to be too common an event and the gravel surrounding the top should (hopefully) be sufficient as a soakaway

 

[Lime]

The lining indicates it was used for drinking water.