No water from the well: what to check first

Losing water on a well is stressful, and the cause runs from a tripped breaker to a dead pump 300 feet down. The checks below are safe for a homeowner and will either solve the problem or give a licensed installer a head start. Don't open the pressure switch cover or the pump control box; both carry line voltage.

Step by step

1. Is the power on? Try a light or appliance on another circuit. If the whole house is out, the well is just waiting for power to come back.
2. Check the well breaker. Look for a tripped breaker labeled well or pump, usually a double breaker. Reset it once. If it trips again, leave it off and call; a breaker that won't hold points to a short in the wire or a failed motor.
3. Read the pressure gauge. It's on or near the tank. Write down what it says. Near zero with the breaker on means the pump isn't delivering. Normal pressure but no water at the taps points to a closed valve or a plumbing problem inside the house.
4. Look at the valves. The valve after the tank should be open: handle in line with the pipe, as Nebraska Extension's well guide describes it. Check any whole-house filter too; a clogged cartridge can choke flow to a trickle.
5. Listen at the tank. A click from the switch with no pump running, or rapid clicking, is useful to report.
6. Walk the line. A wet or soft patch between the wellhead and the house, away from the septic field, can mean the buried line has broken and the pump is pushing water into the yard.

When the well itself is low

Nebraska Extension notes that a pump set too high in the well can run out of water during heavy use, and that a drought can lower groundwater enough to leave a pump uncovered. That fits East Tennessee's rock. The USGS describes the Valley and Ridge aquifers as fractured limestone and dolomite where water moves through cracks and dissolved openings, and reports that many springs here flow about ten times more in wet periods than dry ones. Wells tied to the same fractures rise and fall with the seasons.

Signs it's the water level rather than the equipment:

• Water returns after the well rests for an hour or two.
• It quits during laundry, irrigation or several showers in a row, but not with light use.
• Water turns cloudy or spits air just before it stops.

State driller records show low-yield wells are more common in some counties than others: about a quarter of reported home wells in Union County and roughly one in five in Anderson County came in under 3 gallons a minute. On those wells, spreading out heavy water use and adding storage can matter as much as the pump. See well depths by county.

What to tell the installer

• Your town and road, and whether the wellhead is easy to reach.
• What the gauge read and whether the breaker trips.
• Whether it quit suddenly or faded over days.
• How deep the well is, if you know, and how old the pump is.
• Any recent storms, power surges, or digging near the line.

If the installer finds the pump failed, read about well pump replacement. If the pump is fine but cycles hard, the pressure tank is the next stop.

While you wait

If the house is without water for a while, turn off the water heater rather than letting it heat with the supply shut off. Nebraska Extension's guide raises this for any time the water is off and hot water keeps being drawn, since the tank can drain and overheat.

Good questions

My well came back after resting. Is it fixed?

Probably not. A well that recovers after a rest is telling you the water level is falling below the pump during use. An installer can measure the levels and decide whether to lower the pump, add storage or look at the well itself.

The breaker keeps tripping. What does that mean?

Something is drawing too much current: a shorted wire, a failing switch or a motor that is seizing. Leave the breaker off and call a licensed installer rather than resetting it over and over.

Who do I call in Tennessee for a well with no water?

A pump installer licensed by TDEC. The state keeps a public list of licensed drillers and installers on its well water page.