"When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.”
-- Benjamin Franklin
It’s Monday morning, the alarm goes off dragging you from sleep. Reluctantly, you crawl out of bed and make it to the shower hoping it will wake you up for the day ahead. Turning on the water the steam begins to fill the bathroom, you get in and suds your hair, then halfway through rinsing the glorious spray of hot water stops. You stumble out and reach for a towel wondering
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY WATER?!
Ahhh, your mind shuffles through images of piles of laundry that were washed yesterday because your in laws are coming to visit, your teenage daughters hijacking the bathroom to take 40 minute showers, the extra loads of dishes that were washed AND it hasn’t rained in 3 weeks…OMG has my well run dry?!
Depending upon a well for water requires an understanding of how much water you have and how much you need. It is about monitoring, maintaining, and understanding usage. Unlike a city water supply, there is not an endless amount of water in your well. You’re well can (and will) run dry if you over pump it, potentially costing you thousands of dollars for repairs. Unfortunately, most well owners have no idea how much water they are actually using. How many gallons do you use when you take a shower or wash dishes?
Homewaterworks.org, which is a project of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, has a great interactive online tool to estimate your home water usage and tips for ways to conserve your water.
Monitoring your well water levels is one of the best ways to avoid a major lifestyle disruption. Water tables across the United States are dropping and it is becoming essential to be armed with the water intelligence needed to understand how your well is performing.
Is my water level dangerously close to my pump level? Has my water dropped to a record lower level? Is it taking longer and longer for my water levels to recover? Are my neighbors or that new development across the road effecting the water supply?
There are several different ways that you can monitor you well water levels. You could pay a water professional hundreds of dollars per visit to take measurements (multiple or weekly measurements can be rather costly). If you are a do it yourself you could drop a weighted tape into the well. Unfortunately, if not cleaned and stored properly between uses it could contaminate your drinking water. Tapes often get tangled in the internal components of the well. Additionally, a one time measurement does not give you the data needed to monitor usage.
Well Watch 670
Another popular method utilizes non-contact measurement products, such as the Well Watch 670 from Eno Scientific. It is installed in the vent or access hole on your well cap and utilizes sound waves to monitor and calculate the water levels inside your well.
By cleverly utilizing sonic technology you are not risking the health of your water by introducing a foreign, possibly contaminated, object into your supply. No risk of damaging your contents or causing expensive service calls from your Well Professional. The Well Watch provides constant monitoring of water levels, drawdowns and recovery.
Acoustic monitoring devices like this will display the real time depth to water and can warn you when your levels are getting dangerously low. Armed with the data provided by monitoring your well water levels you will know when your well is distressed.
Understand your basic water needs and consumption. Be smart, watch your well water levels so you don’t get stuck with soap in your eyes!
