The Problem Index → Water
My well runs low or goes dry in late summer
Before spending anything, find out what the well actually does at its worst. Then the fix is almost always storage rather than a bigger pump — a tank lets a slow well fill all night for a demand that happens in ten minutes.
What actually works
◆ Proven
Run a recovery test in LATE SUMMER
Test when the water table is lowest, not in spring when it flatters you. Draw it down, time the recovery, and you have the real number.
◆ Proven
Storage tank + a slow fill
A 1,000-gallon tank filled slowly overnight beats a bigger pump on a well that can't supply it. Pumping a well harder than it recovers is how pumps burn up.
◆ Proven
Current clamp on the pump circuit
$12–25. Run time creeping up over a season is the well telling you about itself long before it fails.
Run the numbers
- Water storage: how long it lasts → — free calculator, works offline.
- Livestock water demand → — free calculator, works offline.
Also searched as
well runs dry · low well yield · pump sucking air · not enough water in august · well recovery rate · water pressure drops summer