Well pump failure and private well contamination emergencies¶

More than 43 million people in the United States, over 4 million in Canada, and hundreds of millions of rural homeowners worldwide depend on a private residential groundwater well for drinking, cooking, bathing, and sanitation. Unlike municipal water utility customers whose water pressure and purification are maintained by city treatment plants, private well owners operate their own miniature water utility. When a well system suddenly loses all water pressure, cycles rapidly on and off, pumps muddy or foul-smelling water after a flood, or suffers a lightning strike or freeze-up, your household is immediately cut off from running water or exposed to waterborne pathogens and agricultural chemicals.

Roughly half of all sudden "no water" emergencies on a private well are not caused by a dead pump deep underground, but by an inexpensive, accessible component inside your basement, crawl space, or wellhouse: a tripped 240-volt double-pole circuit breaker, burnt or ant-fouled contacts inside the pressure switch, a failed starting capacitor inside the pump control box, or a ruptured rubber bladder inside the pressure tank. Understanding how to safely diagnose the electrical and hydraulic components above ground, protect a rapidly short-cycling submersible motor from burning out, and perform a full shock-chlorination disinfection after floodwaters submerge your wellhead can save you thousands of dollars and protect your family from severe illness.

Učinite to sada¶

1. Shut off the well pump circuit breaker immediately if the pump is running non-stop or clicking rapidly on and off. Walk to your pressure tank and listen closely. If you hear the pressure switch clicking every few seconds (short-cycling) or hear the pump running continuously without building pressure on the gauge, switch the double-pole well pump breaker OFF at your main electrical panel immediately. Leaving a pump short-cycling or running dry in a low-yield well or behind a broken underground pipe will melt the pump impellers and burn out a 2,500-dollar submersible motor in minutes.
2. Switch immediately to safe bottled or boiled water if floodwaters reached your wellhead or the tap water turns cloudy, muddy, or odorous. If river or surface floodwater came within 15 meters (50 feet) of your well casing, or if your tap water suddenly changes color, turbidity, taste, or smell after heavy rain or a nearby septic system failure, stop drinking the water immediately. Follow our water safety and boil notices guide by bringing clear tap water to a rolling boil for 1 full minute (or 3 minutes above 2,000 meters / 6,500 feet elevation) for microbes, or use bottled water exclusively if you suspect fuel oil, pesticide, or nitrate contamination (boiling concentrates nitrates and chemicals rather than removing them).
3. Turn off the power or fuel supply to your electric or gas hot water heater if your pipes lose water pressure. If your house loses water pressure completely and water drains backward down the supply line, the upper electric heating element inside an electric water heater can become exposed to air and burn out like a dry toaster filament in seconds (dry-firing). Turn off the 240-volt circuit breaker labeled "Water Heater" (or turn a gas water heater control dial to the "Pilot" or "Vacation" setting) until well water pressure is fully restored and air is purged from the hot water taps.
4. Read the water pressure gauge on your pressure tank tee before touching any switches. Look at the round dial gauge mounted next to the pressure switch at the base of your pressure tank. In a standard residential system set to 30/50 psi (2.⅓.4 bar) or 40/60 psi (2.8/4.1 bar), a gauge reading 0 psi tells you the pump is not turning on or a pipe has burst between the pump and tank, whereas a gauge stuck at 40 to 60 psi while no water comes out of your indoor faucets points to a clogged whole-house sediment filter, a frozen supply pipe, or a jammed water softener bypass valve downstream of the tank.
5. Inspect the double-pole breaker, GFCI, and low-water cut-off lever. Check your main electrical breaker panel to see if the two-pole well pump breaker has tripped to the center position; if tripped, flip it fully OFF and back ON once (if it trips again immediately, leave it off because there is a dead short in the motor or underground wiring). Next, look at the side of your pressure switch on the tank tee: if it has a small metal lever sticking out of the side (a low-pressure cut-off switch), a sudden pressure drop below 20 psi (1.4 bar) during heavy garden hose use will trip the switch off automatically; hold that little metal lever upward at a 45-degree angle until the tank pressure climbs past 20 psi and the pump stays running on its own.
6. Preserve emergency water sitting inside your pressure tank and water heater. Even after the well pump stops working, a functioning pressure tank still holds 15 to 45 liters (4 to 12 gallons) of clean pressurized water, and a standard residential hot water heater holds 150 to 300 liters (40 to 80 gallons) of potable water that can be drained safely from the bottom brass drain valve after shutting off the water heater breaker and opening an upstairs hot faucet to break the vacuum.

Well system emergency diagnostic flowchart¶

Use this step-by-step mechanical and electrical flowchart to isolate the exact cause of a sudden private well outage or pressure failure before calling a well driller or pump technician.

flowchart TD
    Start["Private Well Emergency:<br/>No Water, Low Pressure, Rapid Clicking, or Bad Water"] --> SymptomType{"What is the primary symptom?"}

    SymptomType -->|"Zero water at taps<br/>Gauge reads 0 psi"| PowerCheck{"Check 240V Well Breaker<br/>and Low-Pressure Cut-Off Lever"}
    SymptomType -->|"Zero or trickle water at taps<br/>Gauge reads normal 40 to 60 psi"| DownstreamBlock["Blockage Downstream of Tank:<br/>Check clogged sediment filter cartridge,<br/>frozen pipe, or stuck water softener valve"]
    SymptomType -->|"Pump clicks ON/OFF<br/>every 2 to 10 seconds"| ShortCycle["Waterlogged Pressure Tank:<br/>Turn off breaker immediately<br/>Test Schrader valve at top of tank for water"]
    SymptomType -->|"Floodwater reached wellhead<br/>or water is muddy/smelly"| FloodContam["Contaminated Well:<br/>Switch to bottled water immediately<br/>Shock-chlorinate and lab test before drinking"]

    PowerCheck -->|"Breaker trips instantly<br/>when reset"| DeadShort["Shorted Submersible Motor or Wire:<br/>Leave breaker OFF<br/>Call licensed well pump specialist"]
    PowerCheck -->|"Prekidač drži UKLJUČEN,<br/>i dalje 0 psi"| SwitchInspect["Turn Breaker OFF, Remove Pressure Switch Cover:<br/>Check for burnt pitted contacts, ants/earwigs,<br/>or plugged 1/4-inch nipple tube under switch"]

    SwitchInspect -->|"Kontakti čisti i zatvoreni,<br/>240V prisutan na žicama opterećenja"| ControlBoxCheck{"Does system have a<br/>wall-mounted Control Box<br/>(3-wire pump)?"}
    ControlBoxCheck -->|"Yes, 3-wire system"| CapacitorRelay["Test or Replace Start Capacitor<br/>and Start Relay inside Control Box"]
    ControlBoxCheck -->|"No (2-wire pump) or<br/>Control Box is good"| UndergroundFault["Pump, Check Valve, or Drop Pipe Failure:<br/>Broken pipe in well, dry aquifer,<br/>or seized submersible pump"]

Anatomy of a residential private well system¶

To troubleshoot a well emergency accurately, you first need to know which type of pump system serves your property and how water travels from the aquifer to your faucets.

1. Submersible well pump systems (Deep wells: 8 to 150+ meters / 25 to 500+ feet)¶

Most modern drilled wells with a 10- to 15-centimeter (4- to 6-inch) steel or PVC casing use a cylindrical stainless-steel submersible pump suspended near the bottom of the well shaft on polyethylene or threaded steel drop pipe, submerged permanently beneath the water table:

• How it moves water: A submersible pump pushes water upward rather than sucking it. A brass check valve at the top of the pump prevents water in the vertical drop pipe from draining backward into the well when the pump stops.
• The pitless adapter: Roughly 1.2 to 2.4 meters (4 to 8 feet) below the top of the wellhead (safely below the local winter frost line), a brass slide-together fitting called a pitless adapter turns the water flow 90 degrees horizontally through the side of the well casing and routes it through a buried pipe into your basement or crawl space, keeping the upper well casing dry so it cannot freeze.
• 2-žične u odnosu na 3-žilne potopne pumpe: Zanemarujući golu zelenu žicu za uzemljenje, 2-žična pumpa ima prekidač za pokretanje ugrađen izravno u potopljeni motor na dnu bunara (tako da nema kontrolne kutije na zidu vašeg podruma). 3-žična pumpa postavlja startni kondenzator i startni relej unutar metalne kontrolne kutije pumpe postavljene na zid tik uz vaš unutarnji tlačni spremnik, čineći električne popravke lakima bez izvlačenja pumpe iz zemlje.

2. Mlazne pumpe za plitke i duboke bunare (nadzemne pumpe)¶

Starije kuće, kolibe i imanja s visokim nivoom vode često imaju električni motor i pumpu od lijevanog željeza pričvršćene vijcima izravno na pod podruma, prostora za puzanje ili vanjske crpke:

• Mlazna pumpa za plitke bunare (dubina do vode manja od 7,5 metara / 25 stopa): koristi jednu usisnu cijev koja ide od kućišta pumpe do bunara. Budući da atmosferski tlak na razini mora usisavanjem može podići stupac vode visok oko 7,6 metara (25 stopa), mlazna pumpa s plitkim bunarima oslanja se na unutarnju venturi mlaznicu i impeler koji mora ostati potpuno napunjen vodom (napunjen) kako bi stvorio usis. Ako mjedeni nožni ventil na dnu cijevi bunara čak i neznatno curi, voda iscuri iz usisne cijevi preko noći, pumpa se napuni zrakom (gubi snagu), a motor se beskorisno okreće ne pumpajući ni kapi.
• Mlazna pumpa za duboki bunar (dvocijevna) (dubina do vode 7,5 do 35 metara / 25 do 110 stopa): koristi dvije paralelne cijevi koje prolaze između nadzemne pumpe i bunara. Jedna manja cijev potiskuje vodu pod visokim pritiskom dolje u potopljeni sklop mlaza u bušotini, što tjera veći volumen bunarske vode gore u drugu usisnu cijev.

3. Tlačni spremnik, mjehur i tlačni prekidač (Srce i mozak iznad zemlje)¶

Budući da je voda fizički nestlačiva, otvaranje slavine ako je vaš vodovod spojen ravno na pumpu bunara prisililo bi teški motor pumpe da se uključi i isključi svaki put kad isperete četkicu za zube. Umjesto toga, pumpa puni tlačni spremnik od čelika ili stakloplastike:

• Unaprijed napunjeni spremnik s mjehurom ili dijafragmom: Unutar modernih spremnika, čvrsti mjehur od butilne gume ili dijafragma dijeli spremnik na dvije polovice: komprimirani zrak na vrhu (napuhan kroz biciklistički Schrader zračni ventil na vrhu spremnika) i vodu iz bunara na dnu. Dok pumpa tjera vodu u spremnik, zračni jastuk se komprimira sve dok tlak ne dosegne postavku isključenja (obično 50 psi / 3,4 bara ili 60 psi / 4,1 bara), u kojem se trenutku tlačna sklopka otvara i isključuje pumpu.
• Drawdown cycle: When you open a kitchen faucet or flush a toilet, the compressed air cushion pushes 20 to 60 liters (5 to 15 gallons) of stored water out to your fixtures without the well pump even turning on. Only when the tank pressure drops down to the cut-in setting (30 psi / 2.1 bar or 40 psi / 2.8 bar) does the pressure switch snap closed to restart the pump.

Dijagnosticiranje i otklanjanje 6 najčešćih kvarova pumpi bunara¶

Use the comparison matrix below to match what you see, hear, and read on the pressure gauge to the exact mechanical or electrical fault, followed by step-by-step safe troubleshooting instructions.

Step-by-step fix 1: Inspecting and cleaning a fouled pressure switch¶

The small grey square box (typically a Square D Pumptrol switch) mounted on a 6-millimeter (¼-inch) brass or galvanized pipe nipple at the bottom of your pressure tank controls all electrical power to your well pump. It fails in three common ways that any cautious homeowner can check:

1. Shut off the 240-volt double-pole breaker at your main electrical panel and verify with a non-contact voltage tester or multimeter that the power is completely dead.
2. Unscrew the single brass nut on top of the grey plastic cover and lift the cover off to expose the four screw terminals and two spring-loaded contact bridges.
3. Check for "fire ants, earwigs, and carbon pitting": Warm electrical fields and vibrations attract ants, earwigs, and small spiders that crawl right between the open copper contact points. When the switch snaps shut, the crushed insect bodies act as an electrical insulator, blocking the 240-volt current from reaching your pump. Even without insects, years of electrical arcing leave black carbon soot or melted metal pits on the four contact pads.
4. Clean the contacts safely: With the breaker OFF, slide a clean business card, a crisp dollar bill, or a strip of fine 400-grit emery paper between the closed contact points and pull it back and forth several times to remove dead insects or black carbon oxidation (never use coarse metal files that strip the protective silver alloy plating).
5. Check the plugged pipe nipple: If the contacts are clean and closed when the tank is at 0 psi, sometimes rust and mineral sludge completely plug the narrow 6-millimeter (¼-inch) vertical pipe nipple underneath the pressure switch, blinding the switch diaphragm so it cannot sense when water pressure drops or rises. A plumber or homeowner can drain the tank, unscrew the switch, and clear or replace that short brass pipe nipple.

Step-by-step fix 2: Testing and temporarily rescuing a waterlogged pressure tank¶

When your well pump kicks on and off every 3 seconds (short-cycling) the moment someone turns on a bathroom sink, your pressure tank has lost its compressible air cushion (waterlogged). Because water cannot be compressed, drawing a single cup of water drops the system pressure from 50 psi to 30 psi instantly, starting the pump, which then slams the pressure back to 50 psi in 2 seconds and shuts off. Submersible pump motors rely on 60 to 120 seconds of off-time between cycles to let cooling water dissipate startup heat from the motor windings; short-cycling will destroy the pump motor within hours or days.

1. The "Knock and Shake" test: Push gently against the side of your pressure tank or tap down its side from top to bottom. A healthy pressure tank feels hollow and light in the top two-thirds and heavy only at the bottom. A waterlogged tank feels solid, heavy as lead, and filled with water all the way to the very top dome.
2. The Schrader air valve test: Unscrew the little black plastic cap on top of the pressure tank (it looks identical to the tire valve stem on a car wheel) and depress the center brass pin for half a second with the back of a pen or a fingernail:
3. If water spurts or sprays out of the air valve: The internal butyl rubber bladder has torn or ruptured completely. The tank must be replaced.
4. If air hisses out (or nothing comes out, no water): The rubber bladder may still be intact, or slowly leaking air over years, and simply needs its air pre-charge restored.
5. How to properly check and re-inflate the tank air pre-charge (The 2-PSI Rule):
6. You can NEVER measure or add air to a pressure tank while there is water pressure inside the system (doing so only reads the water pressure).
7. Step A: Turn OFF the well pump circuit breaker.
8. Step B: Open a nearby faucet or the boiler drain valve at the base of the tank and let all water drain out until the water stops flowing and the pressure gauge reads 0 psi.
9. Step C: Place a digital tire pressure gauge on the top Schrader air valve. The empty-tank air pre-charge must be set exactly 2 psi (0.14 bar) BELOW the pressure switch cut-in setting:
   • For a 30/50 psi pressure switch, inflate the empty tank to 28 psi (1.93 bar).
   • For a 40/60 psi pressure switch, inflate the empty tank to 38 psi (2.62 bar).
10. Step D: Use a bicycle pump or portable tire inflator to bring the empty tank up to 28 psi (or 38 psi), close the drain valve, and flip the well pump breaker back ON.
11. Emergency temporary air injection if the bladder is ruptured and you must wait days for a plumber: If water spurted from the top valve confirming a torn bladder, you can buy 24 to 48 hours of safe pump operation by turning off the breaker, opening the bottom tank drain valve, hooking a tire inflator to the top Schrader valve, and pumping a temporary pocket of compressed air into the top third of the tank while pushing half the water out the drain. Close the drain valve at 28 psi and turn the breaker back on. That trapped air pocket will absorb pump cycles for a day or two before gradually dissolving into the water.

Step-by-step fix 3: Replacing a blown starting capacitor in a 3-wire control box¶

If your basement has a metal Franklin Electric, Goulds, or Pentair pump control box mounted on the wall beside the pressure tank, and your well suddenly stops working after a summer thunderstorm, power surge, or brownout, listen to the box when the pressure switch calls for water. If you hear a momentary 2-second electrical hum followed by a loud metallic click (the internal thermal overload breaker tripping), wait 60 seconds and open the control box safely:

1. Switch the 240-volt well pump breaker OFF at the main electrical panel.
2. Loosen the bottom screw on the pump control box and swing the front lid down and off its top hinge. On most modern Franklin Quick-Disconnect (QD) boxes, pulling the lid off automatically disconnects all components inside the lid from the live wall wires.
3. Discharge the black cylindrical start capacitor safely: Even with the breaker off, the black tubular capacitor inside the lid can store 250+ volts DC. Hold a screwdriver by its insulated plastic or rubber handle only and bridge the metal blade across the two brass spade terminals on top of the black capacitor cylinder for 3 seconds to discharge any residual electricity.
4. Look for physical capacitor failure: If the top of the black cylinder is bulged upward like a swollen soda can, if the small round rubber blow-out plug on top has popped open, or if sticky electrolyte oil has leaked out, the $15 starting capacitor has failed. You can either swap the entire plug-in control box lid (sold at hardware and farm supply stores matched by horsepower rating, such as ½ HP, ¾ HP, or 1 HP) or slide the two spade connectors onto a matching replacement MFD/voltage motor-start capacitor.

What to do when your well runs low or dry during a drought¶

During extended summer droughts or after filling a swimming pool or running lawn sprinklers continuously, the local groundwater table can drop down to the intake screen of your submersible pump (drawdown cone).

• Warning signs of a dropping water table: Faucets sputter violently with blasts of air, cold tap water looks cloudy gray or brown with fine silt, gritty sand settles in the bottom of toilet tanks and clogs faucet aerators, or water flows normally for 10 minutes in the morning and then cuts out completely.
• How to calculate and manage well recovery:
• Immediately turn off the well pump breaker for 3 to 6 hours to allow groundwater from surrounding rock fractures to percolate back into the well bore column (static water recovery).
• When you turn the breaker back on, let the pressure tank fill completely (which takes only 1 to 2 minutes) and then restrict household water use to small bursts separated by 2-hour rest periods.
• Install an automated electronic pump protection / dry-run monitor (such as a PumpSaver or Cycle Sensor) inside your control box. These devices monitor electrical current draw in real time; the instant the well water drops to the pump intake and the impeller spins in air (underload), the sensor cuts power automatically for a programmable recovery timer (such as 60 to 120 minutes) so the pump never burns up dry.

Private well contamination emergencies: floods, septic leaks, and chemicals¶

Because private wells are not regulated or monitored by municipal water utilities under the US Safe Drinking Water Act or equivalent national utility rules, nobody tests your well water unless you do. When floodwaters cover your yard, when a heavy spring rain washes livestock manure or septic effluent toward a cracked well seal, or when an underground heating oil tank leaks, your tap water can become acutely toxic overnight.

Identifying well water contaminants and which treatment works¶

Different groundwater contaminants require completely different emergency responses. Crucially, boiling water ONLY kills living biological organisms (bacteria, viruses, and parasites); boiling water that contains nitrates, arsenic, lead, or fuel chemicals actually boils off pure steam and CONCENTRATES the poison in the remaining water.

Step-by-step protocol: how to shock-chlorinate a contaminated well¶

If floodwaters submerged your wellhead, if you opened the well casing to replace a pump or pressure switch, or if a laboratory test returned positive for Total Coliform or E. coli bacteria, you must disinfect the entire well bore, casing, pressure tank, and household plumbing lines using shock chlorination (bringing the entire water column to a concentration of approximately 200 parts per million [ppm] free chlorine for 12 to 24 hours).

Step 1: Calculate the volume of unscented bleach required¶

To reach 200 ppm of chlorine in a standard residential drilled well with a 10- to 15-centimeter (4- to 6-inch) casing, use this reference table based on the depth of water standing in your well (total well depth minus static water depth; if unknown, calculate using the total depth of the well plus an extra 500 milliliters / 2 cups for the house plumbing):

Step 2: Pour and recirculate the chlorine down the well casing¶

1. Store clean drinking and flushing water for 24 hours before starting, because no one in the house can drink, shower, wash clothes, or flush high-chlorine water into a septic tank in large volumes during the process.
2. Switch OFF the well pump circuit breaker at the main electrical panel before removing the metal or plastic wellhead cap so you cannot be shocked by chafed pump wires inside the casing.
3. Odvijte i podignite gornji poklopac sanitarnog bunara (ili odvrnite čep za odzračivanje s navojem na vrhu brtve bunara).
4. Prethodno razrijedite izbjeljivač u čistim plastičnim kantama od 19 litara (5 galona) s vodom (otprilike 1 dio izbjeljivača na 4 dijela vode) dok nosite zaštitu za oči i gumene rukavice, te razrijeđenu otopinu klora polako ulijte niz unutarnje stijenke kućišta bunara.
5. Isperite suho gornje kućište i promiješajte vodeni stupac (Recirkulacija): Spojite čisto vrtno crijevo na vanjski priključak koji je najbliži tlačnom spremniku, stavite drugi kraj crijeva u otvoreni vrh kućišta bunara, ponovno uključite prekidač pumpe bunara na UKLJUČENO i otvorite rukavac crijeva.
6. Pustite da vrtno crijevo cirkulira vodu iz bunara i ravno natrag niz unutarnje stijenke kućišta 30 do 60 minuta dok ne osjetite jak, nepogrešiv miris klora koji izlazi iz vrtnog crijeva (ili provjerite ljubičasto očitanje na 200 ppm test traci za klor visokog raspona). Ovaj korak ispire bakterije s gornjih suhih stijenki kućišta i miješa klor sve do dna bušotine. Isključite vanjsko crijevo.

Korak 3: Uvucite kloriranu vodu u svaku unutarnju slavinu i cijev¶

1. Uđite u kuću i, jedan po jedan, otvorite svake instalacije za hladnu i toplu vodu: kuhinjski sudoper, kupaonske sudopere, kade, tuševe, crijeva za dovod perilice rublja, vanjske hidrante bez mraza i pustite svaki WC jednom.
2. Pustite svaku slavinu samo dok ne osjetite jak miris klornog izbjeljivača koji izlazi iz te specifične slavine (ili testirajte papirnom trakom za klor), a zatim odmah zatvorite tu slavinu.
3. Ne zaboravite ispustiti 20 do 40 litara (5 do 10 galona) s dna grijača tople vode i pustiti ga da se ponovno napuni kloriranom vodom kako bi se sterilizirale bakterije u toplom spremniku.

Korak 4: Držite 12 do 24 sata vremena kontakta¶

Ostavite kloriranu vodu da nesmetano stoji unutar kućišta bunara, tlačnog spremnika i svih kućanskih cijevi najmanje 12 sati, a idealno 24 sata preko noći. Nemojte koristiti vodu tijekom ovog kontaktnog prozora. Pregledajte gumenu brtvu na poklopcu bunara i ponovno čvrsto postavite poklopac na vrh bunara.

Korak 5: Isperite bunar na otvorenom (nikada u septičku jamu) i ponovno testirajte¶

1. Nikada nemojte ispuštati 200-ppm klorirane bunarske vode niz unutarnje sudopere ili zahode u privatni septički sustav. Preplavljivanje vaše septičke jame stotinama litara superklorirane vode ubit će korisne anaerobne bakterije unutar vaše septičke jame i izbaciti ogromne hidrauličke količine koje uništavaju vaše odvodno polje.
2. Umjesto toga, provucite dugo vrtno crijevo iz vanjske slavine do šljunčanog prilaza, jarka ili ravnog travnjaka koji se nalazi najmanje 15 do 30 metara (50 do 100 stopa) udaljen od bilo kojeg potoka, ribnjaka, ribljeg potoka, septičkog odvodnog polja ili cijenjenog vrtnog bilja (visoki klor je smrtonosan za ribe i žabe).
3. Uključite vanjsko crijevo pri umjerenoj brzini protoka (pazite na manometar kako biste bili sigurni da nećete ispumpati bunar; uključite crijevo 30 minuta, 30 minuta isključite ako vaš bunar ima nisku stopu oporavka) dok jaki miris klora na otvorenom ne nestane.
4. Na kraju, otvorite svoje unutarnje slavine na 5 do 10 minuta svaku kako biste pročistili malu količinu klorirane vode koja je ostala u kućnim cijevima, ponovno instalirajte čisti sediment i ugljične filtre, skinite omekšivač vode s premosnice i nastavite kuhati vodu za piće dok ovlašteni laboratorij za vodu ne testira uzorak uzet 7 do 14 dana kasnije i potvrdi nula koliforma i nula E. coli bakterije.

Zaštita vašeg bunara od zimskog smrzavanja i štete od požara¶

• Sprječavanje smrzavanja bunara i tlačnog prekidača: čak i ako se vaša potopna pumpa nalazi 60 metara ispod zemlje, neizolirani bunar ili hladan prostor za puzanje zamrznut će uski 6-milimetarski (¼-inčni) priključak cijevi ispod vašeg tlačnog prekidača na 0 stupnjeva Celzija (32 stupnja Fahrenheita). Budući da smrznuti ledeni čep hvata očitanje tlaka od 50 psi unutar dijafragme prekidača, prekidač nikada ne zna da je u vašoj kući bez vode ili obrnuto zaključava pumpu UKLJUČENO dok PVC cijev ne pukne. Uvijek izolirajte cijevi tlačnog spremnika, držite termostatski kontrolirani pomoćni grijač ili toplinsku traku na izloženim cijevima bunara i nikada ne koristite propanski plamenik s otvorenim plamenom za odmrzavanje PVC ili polietilenskih cijevi bunara.
• Nakon što šumski požar pređe preko vašeg posjeda: Intenzivna toplina zračenja iz travnatog ili šumskog požara često otapa nadzemne PVC otvore bunara, spaljuje upravljačke žice pumpe i uzrokuje negativan tlak u vodovodima koji usisavaju otrovne benzen, toluen i stirolne pare iz otopljenih plastičnih cijevi u vaš sustav podzemnih voda. Nakon šumskog požara nemojte piti niti se tuširati vodom iz bunara čak i ako voda izgleda bistra; neka certificirani laboratorij izvrši skeniranje hlapivih organskih spojeva (VOC) na benzen uz bakterijski test prije nastavka uporabe.

Često postavljana pitanja¶

Izvori provjereni¶

• Agencija za zaštitu okoliša Sjedinjenih Američkih Država (US EPA): Privatni bunari za pitku vodu, Što učiniti sa svojim privatnim bunarima nakon poplave i Protokoli za hitnu dezinfekciju pitke vode.
• Centri za kontrolu i prevenciju bolesti (CDC, Sjedinjene Države): Testiranje bunara, Dezinfekcija bunara nakon hitnog slučaja (šok kloriranje) i Prevencija nitrata/methemoglobinemije u privatnim bunarima.
• Nacionalno udruženje za podzemne vode (NGWA, Sjedinjene Američke Države / Međunarodno): Vodič za vlasnike bunara (WellOwner.org) koji pokriva dijagnostiku potopnih naspram mlaznih pumpi, održavanje tlačnog spremnika, upravljanje sušom i upozorenja o kontaminaciji benzenom od požara.
• Health Canada (Kanada): Budite oprezni: Informacije za vlasnike privatnih bunara i Smjernice o bakterijskim patogenima koji se prenose vodom i nitratima/nitritima u zalihama za stambene bunare.
• Inspekcija pitke vode (DWI, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo) i Agencija za zdravstvenu sigurnost Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva (UKHSA): Privatne opskrbe vodom: Tehničke smjernice za procjenu rizika, zaštitu glave bušotine i dezinfekciju.
• Proširenje Penn State i Sveučilište Minnesota Extension (Sjedinjene Države): Kloriranje bunara i izvora i bilteni za rješavanje problema hidrauličkog tlačnog spremnika / tlačne sklopke.

Povezani vodiči¶

• Obavijesti o sigurnosti vode i kuhanju
• Kvar septičkog sustava i sigurnosna kopija
• Nestanak struje
• Floods