The water quit, now what
When you turn on the tap and nothing comes, the instinct is to fear the well went dry, but far more often it is the pump, the pressure tank, or the switch that controls them. A good well pro diagnoses which before anyone talks about drilling, because replacing a pump or a pressure switch is a fraction of the cost of a new well.
Anybody who jumps straight to re-drilling without checking the pump side first is skipping the cheap answer.
The two kinds of pump
A submersible pump sits down inside the well underwater and pushes water up, and it is what most modern wells use because it is quiet and efficient, though pulling one for service means pulling it up out of the well. A jet pump sits above ground and draws water up, easier to get at but generally for shallower wells. Which you have shapes what a repair looks like.
On a deeper South Texas well you almost always have a submersible.
What usually actually fails
The pump itself is built to run for years, so when the water gets weird the usual culprits are the pressure tank losing its charge, the pressure switch wearing out, or the wiring and the check valve. These are normal, fixable parts. A well pro who checks the whole system, tank and switch and wiring, not just the pump, is doing it right and often saves you the big bill.
- No water is more often a pump or pressure problem than a dry well
- Submersible pumps live down the well; jet pumps sit up top
- The pressure tank and switch fail more than the pump itself
Texas requires drillers and pump installers to carry state licensing under separate occupational codes covering each trade. Local groundwater district rules can add their own requirements for spacing, well logs, completion, and shutting a well down properly.
Questions people ask about Pump Install and Repair
How long should a submersible pump last?
Many years when it is sized right and not abused. What kills them early is short-cycling from a failed pressure tank, running dry, and sediment. That is why a good pro checks the whole system when a pump dies young, because replacing the pump without fixing the killer just schedules the next one.
Why does my water sputter and spit air?
Air in the lines means trouble upstream: a dropping water level letting the pump gulp, a failing check valve, or a leak in the drop pipe. It is a diagnose-first situation, and it is worth acting on, since each of those causes gets more expensive with time.
Can my well run on a generator during an outage?
Yes, and out here it should be part of the plan. The pump needs a generator sized for its startup surge, not just its running draw, and the transfer setup has to be done safely. Get the pump's numbers from your well pro and size the generator to them, not to a guess.
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