Few things rattle a homeowner like the well sputtering out. Take a breath, because a well that "goes dry" usually is not the end of the road, and the fix is often far cheaper than you fear. In the Hill Country, dry most often means the water level in the well has dropped below the pump, not that the aquifer is gone for good.
How to tell if your well is drying up: the warning signs
A well rarely quits all at once. It usually gives you weeks or months of warning first, if you know what to watch for. The common signs that a well is drying up are:
- Sputtering or spitting air at the faucets, especially when you first turn on the water, as the pump starts pulling air along with water.
- Pressure that drops when you use more water, like the shower fading when the sprinklers or the washing machine kick on.
- The pump running longer or cycling on and off more often to keep up, and taking longer to recover between uses.
- New sediment, sand, or cloudy water that was not there before, a sign the pump is drawing near the bottom of the water column.
- Water that runs out during heavy use and then returns after the well rests a few hours, which means the well is refilling more slowly than you are drawing it down.
If you are seeing one or two of these, do not wait for the well to quit completely. Catching a well that is drying up early gives you more options, and cheaper ones. Running a pump that is sucking air can also damage the pump, turning a supply problem into a repair bill on top of it. Give us a call and we will measure your water level and tell you where you actually stand.
Water trouble now, or planning ahead? Tell us what your well is doing and we will give you a straight answer and a free quote, often the same day.
First, make sure it is actually the well
Before you spend a dollar on the well itself, rule out the cheap stuff. A tripped breaker, a failed pressure switch, a waterlogged pressure tank, or a worn pump can all look exactly like a dry well from the kitchen sink. These are routine, affordable fixes. Our pages on the signs of a failing pump and well and pump repair walk through it, and if you have no water right now, our emergency service page is the fast track. We always diagnose the whole system before recommending anything major.
Why Hill Country wells run low
When it truly is the well, the cause is usually a dropping water table during drought, especially in the Trinity Aquifer that underlies much of the central hills. Fractured limestone wells are particularly sensitive to dry years. Our guide to protecting your well during drought covers how to ease the strain.
Your options, from cheapest to last resort
- Lower the pump. If there is still water standing in the well below the pump, simply setting the pump deeper can put you back in business. It is the first thing we check and the least expensive fix.
- Acidizing. If mineral buildup has choked the well's intake over the years, a measured acid treatment can dissolve it and restore flow, often for a fraction of a new well. See our well acidizing page.
- Hydrofracturing. Injecting water under pressure can open and connect the natural fractures around the borehole, improving how much water reaches the well. On the right fractured-rock well it can meaningfully boost yield, and it typically costs far less than drilling a new well.
- Deepen the existing well. If the formation allows, drilling the same hole deeper can reach a more dependable water level.
- Drill a new, deeper well. The last resort, and sometimes the right long-term answer when a well is at the end of its life. See our drilling page.
How we help you choose
We start by evaluating your well's construction, depth, and water level, then recommend the least expensive option that actually solves the problem. We are not going to sell you a new well when lowering the pump would do. Four decades of drilling this exact ground is what lets us read the situation correctly. Tell us what your well is doing and we will take a look.