If your water pressure has become inconsistent or you notice that your faucets sputter with air bubbles on a regular basis, you may be concerned about the health of your water well. Symptoms like these can mean that your well is running dry and you need to act fast to prevent running out of water altogether. However, you may still have options other than drilling a brand new well.
Troubleshooting a Poor Performing Well
Before you embark on drilling a new well you definitely want to know the cause of your water woes. Low water pressure or air bubbles in the system can be caused by a number of smaller problems. For instance, a faulty pump or a hole in your main water line can impact water pressure. Before the problems get any worse, contact a well professional to come troubleshoot your system on site. They will remove the pump from the well, inspect the casing and the components and test you well to determine the current water level. They will be able to tell you whether or not your well is actually dry or if there is a simpler solution to your problem.
Worst Case Scenario - A Dry Water Well
In the event that your well really has run dry, try not to panic. A process called hydrofracturing can restore your well to flowing normally without having to drill a new one. This can save you thousands of dollars and is a much faster process. By combining hydrofracturing with other solutions like lowering your pump depth you can be back up and running in no time. This process opens up new fissures through which water can flow into your well through the bedrock.
How Hydrofracturing Works
Typically wells are drilled to last from 20-30 years. Over time, parts of the system may become blocked by sediment or other debris flowing through the groundwater. In addition, constantly increasing water usage year after year, pulls more water out of the well than can be replenished. This leads to dry well or wells with very low water levels. Hydrofracturing helps remove debris and break up rocks so that more water can flow in. Your Skillings water well professionals will measure the depth of your well to determine a starting point, and then they will insert a packer that goes about 40 feet past the depth of your well. The packer will direct pressurized water down into the bedrock to break things up. Then the packer is lowered a second time and another 1000 gallons of pressurized water are pumped down the well. This high-pressure fracturing process clears away all the debris in the well and restores the normal flow of water. After a few days, a yield test can be done to ensure that the process was successful.
If you are currently experiencing difficulties with your water well, you should make the call to Skillings & Sons today to schedule a consultation. Don't wait too long or you could find yourself without any water at all. We have the licensing necessary to take care of all your well needs from simple pump repairs to hydrofracturing if necessary.
