What to Do If The Well Quantity Fails

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Buying a Home With a Well

So what happens if you have found your dream home, test the well, and fails? Don’t despair hope is not lost yet. There are ways you can effectively fix a well that has failed the quantity test.

Two common methods of fixing well quantity issues are:

  • Drilling a new well – You will find a new location on the lot and put an entirely new well system into the ground. The goal, of course, is to hit a good water source. Drilling a new well can be expensive. The cost of drilling a new well can vary substantially. Determining factors include where you are located, the conditions of the soils and how deep the well needs to be to generate a constant supply of water. Plan on spending anywhere from $5,000-$15,000 drilling a new well.
  • Hydrofracking – Hydrofracking is another method to fix water quantity issues with your well. The process involves injecting high-pressure water via the drilled well into the rock formations surrounding it. The point of hydrofracturing is to widen fractures in the bedrock and extend them further into the formation to increase the network of water-bearing fissures supplying water to the well.

Quite often hydro-fracking will be successful, and you will not need to drill a new well. However, it is only suitable for wells getting their water supply from water moving through fractures and fissures in existing bedrock.

The property should have at least an acre or two if it has a well.

If the property has a well, then it might also have a septic system – which processes the waste produced by the home.

Septic systems are almost certain to fail given enough time, which usually means waste is leaking out of the system and into the ground. If there is less than an acre of property, the well and septic system is probably close enough that the septic system leak will contaminate the well.

In Massachusetts and probably many other states, wells have to be located a significant distance from a septic system for this exact reason. Replacing septic systems can be costly, so make certain you do an inspection when buying a house that has one.

Only Buy a Home With a Drilled Well

A drilled well is built with special equipment and typically goes down 100 feet or more. At the least, a drilled well will be over 40 feet deep in most cases. A drilled well is usually easy to recognize because there will be a pipe sticking up out of the ground at least a foot or more, with a thick cap on the end of it.

Most homes will have drilled wells, but occasionally you will run across a home with a dug or bored well. Such wells are much less reliable and more prone to contamination. You do not want anything other than a drilled well.

Ask About The Age of The Well

If the owner does not know the well’s age, the well inspection should give some clear signs. The average lifespan of a well is 30-50 years, although they can last longer or shorter depending on different circumstances.

If the well you are buying is over 20 years old, you should at least factor in replacing the parts that commonly fail into your home buying budget. If the well is 15 years old or older, you should probably consider budgeting replacement parts such as a pump or well pressure tank.

It is quite common for well pumps to last around ten years or so.

The Well and The Septic System Should Be at Least 100 Feet Apart.

As discussed above, the septic system can leak, and that leakage can make its way into your well water. A good general rule is that each system should be separated from each other by 100 feet or more.

If you come across a home where the septic system is quite close to the well, it is best to avoid buying the home. This, however, would be rare, as most municipalities do not allow such clear violations.

Well inspections are typically done by the board of health before an occupancy permit is granted for a new home.

The Well Cap Should be Uphill or on Level Ground.

All the contaminants that fall on the ground, like oil and grease from your driveway, or manure from livestock, will flow downhill and can contaminate a well where water pools on the ground. You want your well to be located on a level surface or uphill so that contaminants do not accumulate on top of it.

Well inspections conducted by a professional will often provide any action necessary to rectify this kind of issue.

Series Navigation<< What to Know About Well InspectionsWhat to Do to Fix Well Quality >>

Do you need help with your water system? 

If you need well repairs, a well inspection, a well drilled, or any of the other well and water system related services we provide, you can email us 24 hours a day at service@jkawelldrilling.com, or call us at (360) 684-1932 (office hours are Monday-Friday, 730AM - 300PM).

Iron Bacteria in Water Wells

Iron Reducing Bacteria in Snohomish County Water Well Systems Reducing Bacteria, otherwise known as Iron Bacteria, is a naturally occurring family of bacteria that consume raw minerals in groundwater.   While not typically a problem, iron bacteria can produce a slime...

A Complete Guide to Drilling a Well in Snohomish, Washington

The Complete Guide to Drilling A Well in Snohomish, Washington Well drilling is the process of excavating a hole and putting a steel casing or pipe down to an aquifer underground.   It sounds simple, but legally and technically, it is often quite complicated. At JKA...

Got a Pitless Adapter? Frost proofing your wellhead

If you're a homeowner with a water well, you know the importance of protecting your wellhead from the elements. While it doesn't often get that cold in the Puget Sound region, we do tend to get short bouts of freezing conditions that can cause serious damage to a...

Carbon Filtration to Remove PFOA’s

Whole House Carbon Filtration is Used to Remove PFOAs When it comes to keeping our families safe and healthy, we all want to make sure we're doing everything we can. One critical area of concern is the quality of our drinking water. Unfortunately, many homes across...

Community Well Construction 101

So you want to share your well with your neighbors?   How generous!   This can be a process that is both complicated and time-consuming, but the long-term benefits can be substantial. Type of Shared Well Washington State defines a Group B water system as 2 to 14...

Well Water Filtration Systems for Clean Drinking Water

Choosing the best well water filtration system for clean drinking water doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s easier when you know which contaminants are in your water, as there are different filtration systems that filter out different contaminants. When looking for a...

The 3 Types Of Water Well Pumps And Which One Is Right For You

With 85% of people in Washington state receiving their water from a water well it is surprising that not many of them know what well pumps look like or how they work. This article should help to clarify what exactly water well pumps do and what type you might have....

4 Signs Your Well Pump Might Be Failing

Is your system trying to tell you somthing? Here in the United States water is one of the things we take most for granted, in regards to home ownership. If you live in a city, your water is most likely provided by the local water district and you pay for what you use....

What’s in your well water?

For the average person who has never owned a well before, water well filtration can feel like a very overwhelming topic. With so many different options and constant waves of new products it can be hard to know what you actually need and what is the best use of your hard earned money. This introduction will cover the common types of contaminants found in water wells, how they get into the water and the types of filtration required to address them.

Water Wells 101 – Where does my water come from?

How Water Wells Work and Where Your Water Comes From Despite the fact that 15% of Washington state residents receive their water from private water wells, but even more get their water from a public water systems fed by water wells.  Very few people actually know how...

ASSOCIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS