If you live outside the Gainesville, Flowery Branch or Buford water systems, there is a good chance your home runs on a private well. Thousands of homes across Hall, Jackson, Banks, Habersham, White, Lumpkin and Dawson counties do. A well is a reliable, low-cost water source when it is maintained, and a confusing, stressful one when it is not. Here is what every well owner in North Georgia should understand.
How your well system works
A drilled well in our area is typically a 6-inch steel-cased hole that goes 150 to 500 feet into granite bedrock, where water collects in fractures. A submersible pump
sits near the bottom and pushes water up to the house. (Older or shallow wells sometimes use a jet pump
mounted above ground, usually in a well house or basement.)
From there the water goes to a pressure tank, which stores a cushion of water under air pressure so the pump doesn't have to start every time you open a faucet. A pressure switch
turns the pump on at a low setting (often 40 psi) and off at a high one (often 60 psi). Any filtration or softening equipment sits after the tank.
Seven warning signs your well pump is in trouble
1. Pressure that surges and drops
while the shower runs. Often a waterlogged pressure tank, sometimes a tired pump.
2. Air spitting from faucets.
Can mean the water level has dropped below the pump intake, a cracked drop pipe, or a failing check valve.
3. The pump runs constantly
or cycles on and off every few seconds. This burns pumps out fast and is a same-week repair, not a someday repair.
4. Higher power bills
with no other explanation. A struggling pump draws more current.
5. Dirty, cloudy or sandy water
after years of clear water. The pump may be sitting too low, or the well screen may be failing.
6. Noise
from the pressure tank or well head: clicking, humming or rapid clicking of the pressure switch.
7. Age.
Most submersible pumps last 10 to 15 years. If yours is older and showing any of the above, plan ahead rather than waiting for a Friday-night failure.
We cover each of these in more detail in 7 Warning Signs Your Well Pump Is About to Fail.
No water at all? Check these first
• The breaker.
Well pumps are on their own 2-pole breaker. If it has tripped, reset it once. If it trips again, stop and call; something is drawing too much current.
• The pressure switch.
Look for burned or stuck contacts (power off first). A stuck switch is a cheap fix.
• The tank gauge.
If it reads zero and the pump is humming, the pump may be running but not moving water, which points to the pump, drop pipe or a dry well.
Beyond that, the problem is usually downhole, and pulling a pump safely takes the right equipment. That is where we come in.
What is actually in North Georgia well water
Granite bedrock gives our well water a few common traits: it is often slightly acidic (low pH), which slowly eats copper pipe and leaves blue-green stains in sinks; it frequently carries iron and manganese, the source of orange and black staining; and some wells produce hydrogen sulfide, the rotten-egg smell. None of these mean your water is unsafe, but all of them are fixable with the right filtration. See Hard Water, Iron and the Rotten-Egg Smell.
Georgia does not require routine testing of private wells, so we recommend a lab test every year or two (and any time the taste, color or smell changes). Your county extension office and local labs offer affordable bacteria and mineral panels.
Well maintenance calendar
• Every year:
check tank pressure (it should be 2 psi below the cut-in setting with the tank empty), test the water, inspect the well cap and seal.
• Every 3–5 years:
have the pump amperage and pressure switch checked; replace the switch and gauge if they are corroded.
• Every 10–15 years:
budget for pump replacement. Replacing on your schedule is far cheaper than replacing in an emergency.
Pump acting up or no water?
Call 770-718-1063
or book online.
Learn more about our well pump installation and repair, or go back to the North Georgia Plumbing Guide.
