Signs your well or well pump is failing

Losing water on a rural property is not like losing water in town — there is no utility to call, and if it happens in a cold snap the stakes climb fast. Catching the early signs buys you time to get a driller or pump service out before the taps run dry.

Watch for a drop in pressure or flow, air spitting from the taps, the pump short-cycling or running constantly, sudden changes in water clarity such as silt or sand, or a jump in your power bill from a pump that never shuts off. Any of these can point to a failing pump, a dropping water level, or a well that needs attention.

Some of these are quick pump or pressure-tank fixes; others mean the well itself needs work. Either way it is worth a call sooner rather than later, because the same problem is a great deal cheaper to solve in fall than at minus thirty.

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