Three Things That Could Delay Your Water Well Installation

Most people assume that water well installation is an easy process; drill down until you hit the water table, drop a pump and tank into the well, and be done. In actuality, it is not that easy at all. In fact there are some things which can delay the installation of your new water well. To prepare you for what could delay your well, here are a few examples of things that could cause a hold-up.

Extra Hard, Extra Thick Rock

Some people find out on the day of their well installation that they have layers of extra hard, extra thick rock just a few feet below the surface their landscape. These geological features are the result of centuries of softer soil and dirt building up over rock ledges after the last ice age. You will not know that they are even there until you try to drill through them. If there is no alternative means of getting to the water, your well contractor will have to wait until he/she can get a hold of special well drilling bits that will blast through these rock layers. That could take a few days or a couple of weeks, depending on how soon the contractor can get the special bits and how thick the underground rock ledges are.

Tainted Underground Water

When there is a local industrial plant or coal-mining operation close to where you live, the water underground has to be tested before the well pump is installed. You do not want a well that provides toxic or poisonous water into your home, and neither would your well contractor. As such, your contractor will dig a hole for your well, test the water to make sure it is safe for consumption and use, and then install the well pump if the water passes the tests. If the water fails the tests, then another hole is dug somewhere else on your property to see if cleaner, safer water can be found. The delays could take a month or more.

Subcontracted Electrical Work and No Available Electrician

Finally, another possible cause for the delay of your new well could be that the electrical work required on your well is subcontracted out to an electrician. If no electricians are immediately available on or close to the day that your well pump should be installed, then you and your well contractor would have to wait. Usually, it is not more than a few days' delay, but it could be as much as a week or two. Plan ahead, and get plenty of bottled water prior to the day that your new well will be excavated.


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