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Maintaining Your Well Water Supply During Drought

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Drought can be a stressful time for people who depend on wells for water. It is common for people to experience severe water shortages during droughts because the water levels in wells go down. The last thing you want is to have a water shortage or no water for your laundry, dishes and showering. In extreme cases, such as when a dry spell lasts for months, your well can dry up completely. Below are tips on how you can prevent your well from drying up, and sustain your water supply throughout the dry season.

Pay Attention to Dry Spells

Most times people wait until it's too late to save the well from drying up.  Ensure you observe the weather patterns early enough. You can check weather updates online or regularly watch weather news.

Another way to know if a dry spell is likely to occur is by monitoring the water levels in your well. Pay attention to the amount of water available. You can check the amount of water using a water level meter. Lower the meter until it lights up meaning it has reached the water level. You should be warned if the levels go down persistently every time you check.

Paying attention to the onset of a dry spell will help you to start conserving your water in good time. Recycling water is a good way to reduce wastage; for example, you can use your bathroom wastewater to water your lawn or flowers.

Another way to conserve your water is by replacing old toilets, which use up a lot of water to flush, with the latest version of toilets that use minimal amount of water. Also, ensure you replace or repair all pipes and faucets that are leaking.

Lower Your Pump

You can ensure you don't run out of water by lowering your pump every time the water levels get lower and lower. Hire a qualified well driller to come and lower for you the pump when water levels fall below the position of the pump.

Deepen Your Well

Lowering your pump may not work in the long-run. Therefore, you can choose to dig your well deeper if the pump, at its lowest possible point, cannot pump any water. Deepening a well is done by a professional well driller. Another option to consider before deepening the well is hydrofracturing. Hydrofracturing involves drilling nearby rocks in your well so as to find new fractures to bring in more water into the well. You can suggest this option to your well driller to see if it helps.

Follow the steps above to help you maintain your well water supply through the dry spells.


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