How Long Does a Residential Water Well Last?
If you are buying or building a home and it has its own private water well, it can be intimidating; especially if you have never been on a well before! You need to know how long it will last.
But for practical purposes of how long your private water well will last, you need to consider dependent upon its durability and the lifetime of each component as well as the longevity of aquifer that provides your home with fresh water.
This post explains the key components of a well and experience duration as wells.
Water Well Components
Well Screen
A well screen is a filtering device that serves as the intake portion of wells constructed in unconsolidated or semi-consolidated aquifers.
The screen allows the recharge from the aquifer material which is saturated, in addition to filtering out small particles being brought into your well and provides some structural support for the surrounding material in the aquifer.
The significance of a well screen and how correctly they should be constructed cannot be overemphasized when one contemplates the effectiveness of a well and also its what it will costs the owner in future.
Well screens were once made of whatever was at hand, ranging from crude handmade devices to highly efficient and carefully developed and manufactured models produced (usually) with the help of other instruments.
The screen can be cost effective or not depends on its contribution in being a good producer for mineral and hydrocarbon.
Well Casing
When embalmed in the cylinder, water may stream up starting with one aquifer then onto the next and contact a siphon inside the packaging.
The well also relies on PVC casing instead of steel, which eliminates owners worries about corrosion and other problems that can result.
Originally entering the US sewage, drainage and water market in the 1950s by more than two million miles of PVC pipe is now serviceable today. PVC is engineered not to corrode or degrade, which means that PVC products and pipework are much longer-lasting than other materials.
PVC piping, when installed correctly can last 50 years or more. Your well casing should not wear out within your lifetime unless it is made of steel.
Well Pump
A well pump helps water to be transported from the ground into a home. It is usually associated with a pressure tank, which allows the water pressure to be balanced across the house and reduces how often the pump needs to turn on and off.
If your water pump looks like it may be problematic, it is probably because of a high mileage and you should replace it. It may mean that the well pump is too small or problems in all your water system.
The submersible pumps buried in the well are meant to last at least 8 to10 years before they have to be replaced.
With Boylan Water Well Service and Supply, we will get your submersible pump replaced when it fails–and with our limited lifetime warranty on any of our installed pumps, you should never have to pay for a pump again!
Pressure Tank
Nowadays, not only in house but also in a commercial application; Composite pressure tanks are replaced over steel as it has proven the best with its performance.
They do not go steel, so do no longer rust. Tanks are available in sizes from 9-gallon to 119-gallon, depending on the required water storage.
For residential, 22-gallon tank are the most common size. Boylan Water Well Service and Supply recommends that you replace your pressure tank every ten years.
Water that is also dirty with many rocks and other solids will give a shorter life expectancy to the tank. Especially if you need to filter a lot of sediment from your water, be mindful of this.
Pressure Switch
Your pressure switch connects the plumbing and controls your home water supply. When the pressure of water level drops down to a certain point, switch senses there is more requirement she turns on and spring-loaded electrical parts contact each other and well pump will be turned on.
When the pressure drops to a preset level again and well tank starts to be filled, the electrical contacts open and cut power supply to the well pump. Pressure switch can live for a few years, but sometimes it may unexpectedly go bad in couple of months.
Gradually, the electricity contact within water pressure switch has some corrosion developed and no more to be pressed together. Therefore, the well pump goes off, and you get cut.
The percentage of replacements remains alarming year after year for these homeowners. In order to avoid running out of a working well, Boylan Water Well Service and Supply will inspect your switch and can replace is during our annual preventative well maintenance visit.
Luckily, for our certified well drilling professionals it’s also a fairly easy and quick job to do, and there really isn’t that many parts to break.
Water Well Source
Knowing about the components of your private water well gives you an idea of how they work together to move the underground water supply to your faucet, but do you know how long the aquifer that supplies your private well actually last? It’s not as simple as saying well is expected to last 25–100 years, it depends on a few factors that will now be explained.
Well Location
The general location of your well — geographically speaking — will influence the lifespan of your well.
Certain locations require significantly more expensive drilling to achieve an effective water supply. It also depends on the water conditions that already existed at the place where your well is located.
Are there seasonal droughts where you live? As a result well recovery can slow down or in worst case scenario dry up completely during these season droughts.
Well Type
Gravity pulls groundwater down and away, it does not stay in one place. The amount of water that an aquifer is capable of storing results from the size and number of void spaces in the formation, or porosity.
The rate at which water will move through an aquifer is a measure of the amount of void space within that particular rock; this is known as permeability.
Unconsolidated aquifers generally transmit water more readily than bedrock aquifers Water of this type moves quite rapidly through the open spaces between loose sand and gravel particles. Sand and gravel aquifers can easily be punctured by water wells, making them highly productive.
Consolidated bedrock aquifers: Water travels through pores and fractures in the rock. Water wells that are drilled into bedrock through the soil often extend from the surface to aquifers in fractured limestone, shale, or porous sandstone. Dry areas: Limestone, unfractured (non porous) formations (eg shale or siltstone).
Final Thoughts
That is only an overview of what plays a part in private well water production. So, if you have additional questions or need more information about your property in general or need service to maintain good quality water, contact the experts at Boylan Water Well Service and Supply!