my well is picking up sediment

I have been on my property for about a year and a half now and at first my well would pick up just a tiny bit of sand. I have a wye strainer just after my pressure switch on my well. At first it would take a month or more to get plugged up enough to affect volume in the summer when I was watering a lot. This summer I can't go more than a few days without it picking up quite a bit and it seems now it is picking up some silt also. I am trying to be proactive so what do you think this is a sign of?

A lot of things can cause sediment in a well. Sometimes just the pump cycling on and off constantly will stir up the well. Sometimes a little hole in the well pipe can stir things up. Or the water level in the well dropping lets sand fall in. Small earthquakes and other big vibrations in the area can shake things up.

You probably just need to pump out the well. Use a wide open pipe, not a faucet, and pump the well hard for a couple hours. Then turn it off for an hour, and repeat this process until the sand is cleaned out.

I may give this a try, I get paranoid living in CA when they keep telling us there is no water. Luckily this well has been a good producer since 91 when it was drilled.

Next time you pull the pump for whatever reason, check the water level and the total depth of the well. If you have plenty of water below the pump, you can always drop it further down the well if the water level drops drastically.