No Water From Your Well?
Three things worth checking before you call anyone. Then tell us what you found and we’ll help you get water back on.
{{AVAILABILITY}} · Midland County · Ector County
Three things worth checking right now
The breaker
Find the breaker for the well pump in your main panel, usually a double breaker. A tripped breaker doesn’t always look obviously out of line. Switch it fully off, then back on. If it trips again straight away, stop and leave it off.
The pressure gauge
Find the gauge near your pressure tank and read it. Zero means the system has lost pressure entirely. A normal reading with no water at the taps points somewhere else entirely, which is genuinely useful to know.
Whether the pump runs
Stand near the tank or the wellhead with the water off and listen. A pump running constantly, a pump that never starts, and a pump clicking on and off every few seconds are three different problems.
Why a well suddenly stops producing water
A total loss of water almost always falls into one of three groups. What you found in the three checks above usually points at which one.
Electrical: the most common
A tripped breaker, a failed pressure switch, a burnt control box or damaged wiring out to the wellhead. This is the largest single category, and it’s the reason the breaker is the first thing to check. Some of it is genuinely inexpensive to put right.
Mechanical
A failed pump or motor, a broken drop pipe, or a check valve that has stuck. Here the pump often runs perfectly happily while moving no water at all, which is why “I can hear it running” doesn’t mean the pump is fine. See well pump repair.
The well itself
The water level has dropped below the pump intake. This tends to arrive gradually rather than all at once: weakening pressure through the day for weeks beforehand, then nothing. See water well repair.
What it usually isn’t
If only one fixture has no water, or the water is merely weak rather than absent, the problem is likely plumbing or the pressure system rather than an emergency. Pressure tank repair covers low and fluctuating pressure.
Don’t keep resetting the breaker
A breaker that trips repeatedly is doing its job. Resetting it over and over risks damaging the pump motor and is a real fire risk. Leave it off and get it looked at.
What to have ready
Whether you have any pressure at all
Nothing whatsoever, or weak but present. These are different problems and it’s the single most useful thing to say first.
What the pressure gauge reads
The number near your tank. Zero versus normal splits the possible causes roughly in half.
Whether the breaker had tripped
And whether it stayed on when you reset it, or tripped again immediately.
Whether you can hear the pump
Running constantly, silent, or cycling rapidly. Each points somewhere different.
When it stopped, and what changed
Sudden or gradual. Anything unusual beforehand: heavy use, a storm, work done on the property.
Related services
Well Pump Repair
If the pump is running but producing nothing, or won’t start at all.
Pressure Tank Repair
If pressure is weak or surging rather than gone completely.
Water Well Repair
If the water level has dropped and the well can’t keep up with demand.
Questions people ask when the water stops
Three things, in this order. First the breaker for the well pump, which is often a double breaker in the main panel and can trip without looking obviously tripped. Second the pressure switch and gauge near the tank, to see whether the system has any pressure at all. Third whether the pump is running, which you can sometimes hear at the tank or the wellhead. Between them these three checks separate most causes.
The common causes are electrical, mechanical or the well itself. Electrical means a tripped breaker, a failed pressure switch or a burnt control box. Mechanical means a failed pump, a broken drop pipe or a stuck check valve. The well itself means the water level has fallen below the pump intake. A sudden total loss is more often electrical than anything else, which is why the breaker is worth checking first.
No. If a breaker trips once it may be nothing, but a breaker that trips repeatedly is doing its job and telling you something is drawing more current than it should. Repeatedly resetting it risks damaging the pump motor and creates a genuine fire risk. Leave it off and get it looked at.
Whether you have any pressure at all or nothing, what the gauge near the tank reads, whether the breaker had tripped, whether you can hear the pump running, and roughly when it stopped. Also useful: how deep the well is and how old the pump is, if you happen to know. That handful of details can save a diagnostic visit.
Tell us what’s going on with your well
Describe the problem in a sentence or two. We’ll take it from there.