Water Well Drilling & Service - Advice from the Pros

What is Static Water Level and what does it mean?  In normal water well conditions, the depth of the water level in the well is known as the "static water level." To best measure static level in your well first turn off the well pump for several hours before attempting to measure it. Here are a few ways static can be measured: Sound Wave Level Sounder : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgki7esvOO0&t=6s This unit uses sound waves to measure the distance from the top of the well to the water level. This is done by placing a probe through the well seal, usually in the chlorination hole if a sounding tube is not present and turning the unit on. The unit will report out the information.  Electric Water Level Sounder:  This unit includes a sounding cable that is let down the well.  When the water level sounder's probe assembly makes contact with the surface of the water, a bright LED glows and a beeper sounds on the reel. The water level sounder detects the bottom ...

  Fortunately, its quite uncommon to drill a dry well. Heritage Well Service has been in business for over 20 years and our owners are a second generation drilling family. All said and done our family has been in the drilling business for over 40 years, that’s a lot of holes in the ground! Annually we drill 60-70 wells a year and of those we have 1-2 wells per year that do not produce. It is much more common to drill a well that did not meet your production expectations than a completely dry hole.  During the estimating process we spend a significant amount of time researching our own records and those of property owners around you to help determine what method of drilling is best for your location, what depth will yield positive results and what formations we expect to encounter. All of this time spent researching gives us an informed opinion about what’s the best approach to drilling a well on your property. If we have doubts for any reason about the viability of a well on y...

Is pressure tank size important? The answer is ABSOLUTELY YES! Pressure tank sizing is essential to the life expectancy of your pumping system if you want maximum life of your equipment and reduced power consumption.  Did you know that an undersized tank can cause premature pump failure? This issue can be minimized with a correctly sized tank. When a pressure tank is correctly sized it reduces the changes of short-cycling of the motor. Short-cycling means the motor turns on and off rapidly. This causes overheating and overuse of manufacturer specified start cycles. Additionally, it increases the power consumption of your motor.  So how is your pressure tank activated? When water is used in the system the tank evacuates its stored water and when the bladder is emptied the pressure switch is triggered. The pressure switch sends a signal to the pump to turn on and run when the low pressure setting on the switch is reached. The larger your pressure tank, the longer the drawdown of...

When should drinking water be tested? The most common time well water is tested is when there is a change of ownership in a home or property. Most often this is because a lender requires a potability test along with a flow test to ensure that the new occupants have safe drinking water. Typically this is called a well certification and testing the water is just one step in the process.  Having your water tested while you are in escrow is essential. This is mostly because you and your family will be consuming the water from the well and you want to ensure your water supply is safe. Never take a seller or realtor's word for it and make sure you verify any results provided yourself.  As a home seller it may be a good idea to get your water tested prior to listing your home so there are no unexpected surprises. We can help you select the right tests that align with what lenders are looking for. Keep in mind if you do this prior to being in escrow it is entirely possible that a lend...

  A well typically will provide a reliable source of water for 30+ years as long as it is drilled using quality products, there are no significant water quality issues and it is originally drilled to a suitable depth.  Quality products in well construction start with your drilling company and their practices and procedures. In residential wells plastic or PVC casing is typically installed to line the well. For residential applications this casing comes in sizes between 4” - 5” ID (Inside Diameter), has two options for thickness SDR 17 the thicker option and SDR 21, a thinner grade of PVC and has the option of manufactured slots. Any quality driller knows that they should steer a client away from 4” PVC SDR 21 casing and from driller installed slots. The reason to stay away from 4” casing has to do with residential pump sizing. A typical residential pump runs 3 ⅞”. If you are looking a little puzzled right now and rereading the numbers we have discussed here you got it right, t...