04/03/2023
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As things thaw out and melt away, spring is the ideal season to take a good look at your private well.
1. Inspect the Wellhead
Ensure that the well cap is tight and secure, and look for any cracks, corrosion, or other damage. A loose cap or a degraded wellhead or casing can introduce contamination to your system. It’s important to check on this component regularly — not just in the spring! Ensure you have an up-to-date well cap that meets current standards. (vermin proof)
2. Assess the Area Around Wellhead
Identify possible problems in the area. Make sure the ground slopes away from the wellhead; frost heaving, runoff, and other winter and early-spring conditions may degrade that optimum slant, necessary to ensure surface water drains away from the well. Keep an eye out for any potentially hazardous chemicals or materials in the vicinity of the wellhead that could contaminate your water supply, such as motor oil, pesticides, paint, etc.
3. Ensure Proper Landscaping in the Well Zone
You want the wellhead to be easily accessible. Low-cut grass is the ideal ground cover as it allows for ready access and reduces the attractiveness of the area to critters. Flower beds, shrubbery, and other dense plantings around your wellhead may draw in animals, which opens a potential avenue for contamination of your well supply. When mowing around your wellhead, take extra care: it’s all too easy to damage the cap or casing if you aren’t paying close attention.
4. Get Your Well Water Tested
You should have your well water tested at least once a year. Regular water testing screens for potentially hazardous microbial life, chemicals, and other contaminants.
5. Have a Professional Inspect Your System
There’s a lot to well inspections and basic servicing beyond the expertise and capability of a well owner, which is why an annual checkup is necessary to identify any small problems that could become big (& pricey) headaches if left unaddressed. *Work on wells should only be undertaken by experienced well technicians*
Contact: Georgian Blue for Spring Well Inspection, Maintenance, and Water Quality Testing.
