Well System Maintenance
Well System Maintenance and Inspection
A public water system is tested, regulated and reported on constantly. A private well has exactly one person responsible for it, and it's the homeowner. NJDEP regulates how a well is built; after that, oversight sits with the local health department and the person who owns it.
The annual list
A homeowner could do half of this themselves:
- •Test for total coliform bacteria and nitrate.
- •Look at the well cap. Is it seated, intact, vented properly, and is the casing still standing proud of the ground with the grade sloping away?
- •Check the pressure gauge and watch a full pump cycle. Count the cycles while one tap runs — rapid cycling is a tank problem being ignored.
- •Check the pressure tank's air charge.
- •Check the pressure switch contacts for pitting and burning.
- •Change sediment and cartridge filters on a schedule instead of waiting for pressure to fall off.
- •Check salt in the softener and look for bridging in the brine tank.
- •Replace the UV lamp on schedule, and clean the sleeve.
- •Look for anything new within reach of the wellhead — a new driveway, new grading, a new animal enclosure, a new fuel tank.
What we check on a service visit
Amp draw and voltage at the switch; tank pre-charge against the switch's cut-in; pump cycle behaviour under real load rather than one tap; wellhead and casing condition; the condition of the tank tee fittings; the state of whatever treatment equipment is in line and whether it's plumbed in the right order.
The cheap failures that become expensive ones
- •A waterlogged tank that costs a pump.
- •A burnt pressure switch that strands a house.
- •A fouled UV sleeve that leaves a system looking like it works.
- •A softener bypassed years ago and forgotten.
- •A sediment filter so blocked the household blames the pump.
If you've just bought the house
Ask for the well record if there is one. Find out where the well actually is. Find out what treatment equipment is in the basement and whether any of it is still in service. Get a baseline test. NJDEP holds well records and there is a process to request documentation for a well on a property.
Drilling a new well and sealing an old one are a different licence — a licensed well driller — and we don't do that work. See our NJ pump installer licence page.
Straight answers
Questions we get on this one
How often should a well be inspected?
A practical annual check of the tank air charge, pressure switch, well cap and treatment equipment catches trouble before it becomes no water at 11 pm. Water itself should be tested for coliform and nitrate annually as a baseline.
Is there an inspection required by law?
New Jersey regulates how a well is built, through NJDEP's well permitting program. After a well is constructed, ongoing oversight sits with the local health department and the homeowner. There is no state-mandated annual well-system inspection for a private household well.
Can you inspect a well before I buy a house?
Yes. A pre-purchase look at the pump, tank, pressure switch, wellhead and whatever treatment equipment is in the basement — plus a baseline water test — tells you what you're actually buying. It's one of the most useful things you can do before closing.
What records exist for my well?
NJDEP holds well records, and there is a process to request the documentation for a well on a property — the construction record, depth, casing and yield information. If a record exists it's worth getting; not every older well has one.
How do I find my well if it's buried?
Some wells are buried under a pit or hidden by years of landscaping. The well record, if there is one, often includes a location sketch. Failing that, the well can usually be traced from the line in the basement back to where it exits the house.
Do you service treatment equipment you didn't install?
Yes. We check whatever is in line — softeners, filters, UV units — whether we put it in or not, and we'll tell you honestly if something is plumbed in the wrong order or past its useful life.
We answer around the clock
No water? Call. Don't type.
(862) 276-0328No water right now? Call (862) 276-0328.
Or request service online — but if you're standing in a dark basement with no water, the phone is faster.