Casing & wellhead
The casing lines the borehole to keep it open and seal out surface contamination; the wellhead caps it off at the surface.
Water well education
How a water well works
A plain-English guide to what's actually happening between the aquifer under your land and the water coming out of your tap.
Your home's water starts deep underground. A water well is a borehole drilled down into a water-bearing layer of rock or sand, an aquifer, then lined with a steel or PVC casing to keep the hole open and clean. At the bottom sits a submersible pump that pushes water up through the casing and into the pipes that serve your home.
From there, the system's job is simple: deliver clean water to every faucet at a steady, usable pressure. A pressure tank and a pressure switch work together to make that happen automatically, so the pump isn't running every second you turn on a tap. When your home needs more water than the well can produce on its own, a storage tank and booster pump are added to bridge the gap. And for the steadiest feel at the faucet, a Constant Pressure System uses a variable-speed pump to hold your water pressure rock-steady no matter how many fixtures are running.
The big picture
A water well system at a glance
The parts of your system
What each component does
Submersible pump
Sits down in the water and pushes it up to your home. Sized to your well's depth and your household's demand.
Pressure tank & switch
Store a buffer of pressurized water and tell the pump when to kick on and off (commonly around 40/60 psi), so the pump isn't constantly cycling.
Storage tank & float
On lower-producing wells, a tank stores a reserve. A float switch tells the well when to top the tank back up.
Booster pump
Pulls from the storage tank and delivers water to the house at full pressure, even when the well itself is slow.
Constant pressure (CPS)
A variable-speed pump and pressure sensor adjust on the fly to hold steady pressure through any demand, our signature setup.
Four common setups
Which well system is right for your property?
Basic system, no storage
A submersible pump and pressure tank. Best for higher-producing wells (roughly 10+ GPM) that can keep up with the home on their own.
Storage tank + booster pump
For lower-production wells where demand, landscaping, a pool, livestock, outpaces the well. The tank stores water and a booster delivers it on demand.
Constant pressure + storage
A variable-speed system paired with storage. The most common CPS setup, and the approach we reach for most often in the Hill Country.
Constant pressure, no storage
A variable-speed pump alone, for high-production wells (roughly 30+ GPM) that can supply the home directly at steady pressure.
Start your project
Questions about your well system?
We're happy to explain your options in plain English and recommend the right setup for your property.