When your well stops pumping water, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to purchase a new well pump or dig a new well. Well pumps are designed to continue working for many years; some can last for 20 years or longer. Residential well systems include many components, any of which can cause the well to stop delivering water.

1. How to Troubleshoot
Village Problems

2. •When your well stops pumping water, it doesn't necessarily
mean you have to purchase a new well pump or dig a new
well. Well pumps are designed to continue working for many
years; some can last for 20 years or longer. Residential well
systems include many components, any of which can cause
the well to stop delivering water.

3. Power
•Test the system for power. Before doing anything else, verify
that the electrical circuit for the well pump has not tripped.
Lack of power to the system is the most common residential
well problem. When you live in the country or in a rural
setting, power surges, power blackouts and brownouts are
common in winter and summer. Increased power usage or a
power surge can cause the circuit breaker to trip and shut the
system off. Locate the service panel and the circuit breaker for
the pump. Switch the circuit breaker off and then on again.
Sometimes when a circuit breaker trips off, it might look as if
it is still on when it isn't.

4. Pressure Switch
•Confirm that the pressure switch has not shut the system
down. When you have a pressure tank and pressure switch
attached to the water delivery system, too much draw on the
system automatically trips the pressure switch to shut the
system down. This is a safety measure to keep the system
from continuously pumping water if a pipe breaks in the
delivery system. The pressure switch sits in a gray box atop
the feed line from the well pump to the pressure tank.
Alongside it, you'll find a small silver bar. When it is tripped,
the bar rests parallel to the ground. When operational, the
trip handle sits at a 30- to 45-degree angle. To reset it, close
all the water valves leading to the delivery system. Gently lift
the handle up until it engages. Allow the pressure tank to fill
and slowly reopen the water valves.

5. Pressure Tank
•Verify that the pressure tank is functional. If the pressure tank
doesn't have the right air pressure inside it, it will not send the
correct signal to the pressure switch to turn the tank on.
Pressure tanks can become waterlogged or the tank's air
bladder can break. Use a tire pressure gauge and locate the air
fill valve atop the tank. The pressure in the tank should be 2
pounds per square inch less than the setting at which the
pressure switch comes on. For instance, the default setting on
the pressure switch is 30 psi, which means the tank must be at
28 psi.

6. Discolored Water
•heck for discolored water or smells. A well that has rust,
brown or black elements in the water requires a treatment
system to correct the problem. Residential wells, depending
on their location and geographical region, can be drilled into
areas that contain iron, sulfur, calcium, magnesium and other
naturally occurring minerals. Iron, for instance, leaves rust
stains or can grow iron bacteria inside your toilet tanks,
creating a soft red-brown fur. Manganese leaves black stains
on clothes and forms a coating inside refrigerator water lines.
Contact a water treatment specialist in your area to fix this
problem. Under-counter or faucet filters are not sufficient to
correct the problem.

7. Discolored Water
•heck for discolored water or smells. A well that has rust,
brown or black elements in the water requires a treatment
system to correct the problem. Residential wells, depending
on their location and geographical region, can be drilled into
areas that contain iron, sulfur, calcium, magnesium and other
naturally occurring minerals. Iron, for instance, leaves rust
stains or can grow iron bacteria inside your toilet tanks,
creating a soft red-brown fur. Manganese leaves black stains
on clothes and forms a coating inside refrigerator water lines.
Contact a water treatment specialist in your area to fix this
problem. Under-counter or faucet filters are not sufficient to
correct the problem.