How to protect your water well from being over pumped.
We often get calls from people interested in our well system who have had to replace their well pump prematurely, or they have had a decrease in output from their well caused by the over pumping of the well. Over pumping a well occurs when an attempt is made to draw water out of the well at a rate faster than the water can flow from the ground to the well pump. Usually, this over pumping will result in the well temporarily running dry, at least until the water flow can recover. This may result in the action of the well pump pumping until there is no water to yield, which is very hard on the well pump and well. Nearly all low yielding wells are most likely being over pumped on a regular basis. The frequency of it being over pumped is dependent on the needed output and how low yielding the well is.
No matter the frequency, a well should not be over pumped. Steps can be taken to help avoid this. In this article we will discuss what exactly over pumping a well is, what problems it can cause over time, and how you can protect your well from being over pumped, avoiding the damage that can result.
How does over pumping a well happen?
Over pumping of a well occurs when the water demand is greater than the supply. A common reason for over pumping is if the water table is naturally low, and the little water available can be easily depleted. Another possibility is if the ground surrounding the well does not have many fractures or open fractures for the water in the aquifer to flow to the well quickly and easily. In this case, there is a lot of water available, but it cannot flow to the well quickly enough for the demand.
It is not uncommon for a well to be drilled with the water output being more than sufficient for the household or business using it. The well produces just fine, but years later their well becomes low producing. Many factors can cause this to happen such as an increase in demand if more people moved into the household or an increase in irrigation is needed, and so on. Environmental factors can also play a part as changes in weather or water availability in a region are reduced. Human factors can also cause a well yield to decrease and cause over pumping. Examples of such factors can be an increase in wells being drilled nearby, a county pump station built, or possibly construction that could slow down the flow of water to your well.
Issues with over pumping a well.
A low-yielding well is already an issue in itself, but if a well is being overpumped it creates many more issues that can make your well unhealthy and cause premature well failure.
Well Pump Burn Out
One of the first issues that can occur when a well is being over pumped is that the well pump will burn out. When there is little to no water in the well, and the pressure is low in the house, the pressure switch will not know that this is the case. It will continue to run the well full tilt until the pressure returns to its cut-off point. With the pump running without any water to cool and lubricate its components, the pump’s lifespan is greatly decreased and the possibility of it burning out is much higher if it is not stopped from overpumping.
Perforation Plugging
As the cone of depression increases, and the distance at which the water is being pulled through the ground to the well increases, the chances of debris being pulled with the water also increases. As the loose debris is pulled with the water, it can get caught and stuck in the perforations of the ground. This can plug up those perforations so that the water can no longer flow through. If this continues, the more the debris will get pulled toward the well pump, the worse the production of the well becomes.
Mineral Incrustation
Another common problem that can occur in wells that are being over pumped is called mineral incrustation. This can happen especially in the cases of shallow water table aquifers that have an abundance of minerals in the water. In a non-controlled environment, pumping can cause changes in the pressure and temperature. This can cause minerals to form incrustation on the casing, liner, and screens. This can slow down the rate at which water can flow through the fine capillaries of the aquifer.
Biofouling
Lastly, over pumping of a well can increase the oxygen in the well and aquifer. This can give life to bacteria and living organisms to be able to thrive in these conditions. Over time, this can cause a sort of biofilm to develop. A gelatinous film that, as the water flow and with it brings sediments, minerals, and earth which can attach itself to the film. This creates a biofilm that can reduce flow in the arterial water pathways from draining into the well, eventually causing a reduced water yield.
What’s the solution?
Now that you have a good understanding of why over pumping a well is harmful, you may be wondering what the solution is. If you really want to protect your well from being overpumped you will want to make sure it is done right, and that you have the best solution to do the job. There are three common solutions to this problem. We will break down why some of them are not ideal, or even just don’t work, and why our recommended solution is the best.
A Pump Protection Device
This solution is most commonly recommended by well drillers when diagnosing a low yielding well. A pump protection device is a very simple device that measures the amperage of electricity going to the well. If the amperage changes dramatically indicating that the well has truly run out of water, the protection device will shut off the well and start a timer that lets the well fill back up with water before it pumps again. This solution can seem very attractive to many low producing well owners, but the truth is this device does not protect your well from being overpumped. When it comes to protecting a well from being overpumped, the best solution is to keep as much water in the well as possible, all while harvesting what you need. A pump protection device will allow your pump to run even after all the water is pumped out of the well. That means that the pump is running when there is little to no water in it to lubricate and cool it, and many of the issues discussed above can still happen if the well is dry. This is why we do not recommend this as a solution as it will not protect your well from being overpumped.
Any ol’ Low Yield Well System
There are low yield well water systems on the market that may claim to protect your well from being over pumped, but do they really work? The answer is “not really”. Some of these systems are timer-based where you need to select how long the pump will run for, and then how long it waits before trying to pump again. The problem is that water tables are always changing due to environmental factors and changes during the seasons. To protect your well from being over pumped, you would need to be adjusting those timers so that your well will not run out of water. These systems can protect your well from being over pumped , but only if you are willing to constantly monitor and adjust the timers, as well as run well draw tests to determine the safe system zones. This would be as often as the water tables change. We do not recommend this as a very good solution because no one wants to have to babysit their well system with the concern of their well’s health in mind.
An Epp Well Solutions System
This brings us to our third and final solution, the Epp Well Solutions System. This low yield well water system is the only one on the market that can protect your well from over pumping. This system uses high tech sensors to measure the available amount of water in the well at any given time and it will shut off your well when the water levels get low, leaving water in your well so it won’t be over pumped. This system is fully automatic so there is no need to adjust any timers to be able to harvest the most amount of water while protecting your well. This system also runs seasonal optimizations four times a year to learn the changes in the water tables, and through the changing seasons. It not only protects your well from over pumping, but that it is also harvesting at maximum efficiency to get you the most water your well can produce. If you want peace of mind knowing that your well isn’t being over pumped, and you don’t want to have to adjust archaic timers to ensure that it isn’t being over pumped, invest in a high tech fully automatic system that will stop your well from over pumping, all while working hard to provide you the water you need from your low yield well. Reach out to us and get your system today!
