Well pump repair and replacement around Knoxville
Tell us what the well is doing and we will put you in touch with a TDEC-licensed pump installer.
Call (865) 509-8938
Plenty of homes around Knoxville still draw water from their own drilled wells. The state's driller records list more than 30,000 home wells across Knox, Blount, Anderson, Sevier, Union and Grainger counties, from north Knox County out to Maynardville, Rutledge, Seymour, Sevierville and Clinton. When the faucet sputters out in one of those houses, the fix is usually somewhere between the breaker panel and a pump sitting a couple of hundred feet down in rock. This site walks through what tends to go wrong and puts you in touch with a licensed local pump installer.
Where to start
| What you're seeing | Where to read first |
|---|---|
| No water at all, or it quit in the middle of a shower | No water from the well: the checks that take five minutes before you call. |
| Pump clicks on and off every few seconds when a tap is open | Usually the tank has lost its air. See pressure tank replacement. |
| Weak pressure, pump running nonstop, or air spitting from faucets | Well pump repair: check valves, broken lines, worn pumps and controls. |
| Pump is dead, or old enough that you'd rather not wait for it to die | Well pump replacement: sizing, wiring and what happens after the new pump goes in. |
| You want to know how deep your well likely is | How deep wells run in East Tennessee, county by county from the state's own records. |
| Water smells, stains, or you haven't tested it in years | Well water testing around Knoxville. |
Tell us what the well is doing and we will put you in touch with a TDEC-licensed pump installer.
Call (865) 509-8938
What makes wells here different
East Tennessee sits in the Valley and Ridge, a belt of folded and faulted rock where limestone and dolomite run under the valleys and harder sandstone and siltstone hold up the ridges. The USGS describes groundwater here moving through cracks, bedding planes and openings that slightly acidic water has dissolved in the carbonate rock. Two practical results for a homeowner:
- Depth varies a lot from lot to lot. State driller records for the six counties around Knoxville show a typical home well around 265 feet deep, but plenty go past 400. A deep pump means more pipe and more wire to pull when it fails.
- Water levels move with the weather. The same USGS report notes many springs in this rock put out about ten times more water in wet stretches than in dry ones. A pump that was set fine in a wet year can end up gasping during a long dry spell.
Who is allowed to work on your well
Tennessee treats well work as its own trade. Under the Tennessee Water Well Act, the Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) licenses well drillers, pump installers and water treatment installers. TDEC states plainly that a licensed plumber, electrician or general contractor may not install or service a well pump unless that person also holds a TDEC license. The licenses are issued to individuals and renew every July 31. TDEC publishes the list of current licensees on its well water page, so you can check a name before anyone pulls your pump.
We are not a well company. We take your call, note the town and the problem, and pass it to an independent licensed installer who works your area. They give you the price and do the job.
Good questions
Can my regular plumber replace a well pump in Tennessee?
Only if that plumber also carries a pump installer license from TDEC. The state says plumbing, electrical and general contractor licenses alone do not cover work on wells, well pumps or well treatment systems.
What areas does this site cover?
Knoxville and the rural parts of Knox County, plus Blount, Anderson, Sevier, Union and Grainger counties: places like Powell, Corryton, Maryville, Seymour, Sevierville, Clinton, Maynardville and Rutledge.
Do you charge anything for the referral?
No. You talk to the installer directly about price before any work starts, and you pay them, not us.
Talk to a licensed pump installer about your well
Give us your town and what the water is doing. We pass it to an independent installer who holds a Tennessee pump installer license; they quote the job and do the work. House completely dry? Say so up front and the installer will know it can't wait.