Well Problems

There are plenty of advantages to having a shallow well, but a few drawbacks too. There’s a bit of maintenance that needs to be done once in a while. Periodically, the well gets “shocked.” What happens is that the well is drawn down then given a good dose of bleach. That kills any invasive bacteria that may have found their way in.

It’s usually no big deal. My well sits in the middle of a steep hill. I can drain it down using siphon hoses. That went just fine. While it was draining down, I used a long handle brush to scrub down the walls of the well. Then I gave it a good dose of bleach.

I left for the afternoon. When I got home, no water came out of the faucets. Did I somehow damage my submersible pump when cleaning the well? The last thing I wanted to do was to drain the well again and remove the pump. Maybe it was an electrical problem? Using a multi-tester, it soon became clear there was power all the way to the topside of the well.

By then, it was getting too dark and cold to work on it anymore. All evening the problem ate away at me. Finally I went to bed and tried to get to sleep. Then an idea hit. What if the house filter is plugged solid? The house never had a small micron filter in the system before. I hopped out of bed and went down the basement to change it.

Sure enough, that was the problem. I was so happy I stayed up and washed all the dishes.

-Sixbears