To Repair Or To Replace: The Conundrum That Faces All Water Well Owners
Posted on: 13 October 2017
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When you do not have city plumbing, your only choice for water is a well. Wells require powerful pumps to push water up and out of the ground. When the well starts to run dry and the pump needs repair, what are your options? It is often a frustrating moment defined by limited choices. Here are the facts surrounding your particular situation.
Yes, you can repair the pump. However, a repaired pump cannot pump a dry well. You are staring down the twin barrels of a loaded situation. While fixing the pump means that you do not have to buy a new pump, you still have to find a new source of water. Otherwise the water you have in the current well will dry up and leave you hanging. A dry well can also cause additional damage to the pump as the pump desperately tries to suck up water that is not there and gets clogged with mud instead.
New Well, New Pump
Since you are in for a penny, as they say, you may as well be in for a pound, too. A water well driller has to come out, so do some exploration drilling and find a deep aquifer that can provide you with plenty of water for years to come. If you have to pay for all of that just to make sure you have water, you could pay for a new pump instead of repairing the old pump. It goes hand in hand; you get a fresh well with water that will last for some time, and you get a new pump that will last just as long as the well does.
New Well, Old Pump Repaired
Your alternative is to repair the old pump, drop it down the new well, and take your chances with the old pump. It might last almost as long as the new well. It depends on how old the the old pump is already and how much longer you expect to stay living in your current house. If you just need the pump and the well to last long enough to sell the property (and some years beyond that), then you could drop the repaired pump down the new well and call it a day. It would certainly cost less than new everything, if you are trying to save some money.
Drilling Deeper
Finally, consider drilling deeper in the old well. It may produce nothing at all, or it could tap another aquifer lying just below it. Then you could naturally refill the old well, repair the old pump, and be all set again for some time.