Well water questions, answered for Stockton.

Check the breaker for the well pump. If it has tripped, reset it once. If it trips again, leave it off and call a licensed well contractor: a repeat trip means an electrical or pump fault.

Never open the pressure switch, the pump control box or the wiring at the wellhead. They are live at 240 volts even when the pump isn’t running. Note what you saw (a clicking sound, a gauge reading, when it stopped) and call (925) 518-0442.

You can’t tell for sure from the house. A pump that won’t run can be a failed pump, but it can also be a burned pressure switch, a bad start capacitor in the control box, a damaged wire down the well, or a water level that has dropped below the pump.

That’s why we test before we pull: voltage and amp draw, the switch, the tank and the water level. Pulling a pump that didn’t need replacing is expensive for everyone.

Many submersible pumps run 8 to 15 years, and some much longer. Life depends mostly on how often the pump starts and stops, the water quality (sand and scale are hard on it) and whether it ever runs dry.

A waterlogged pressure tank that makes the pump cycle every few seconds is the most common reason pumps die young. Protecting the pump with a healthy tank and a dry-run control is cheaper than replacing it.

Yes. That’s short cycling, and it wears out the pump, the pressure switch and the motor starter quickly. The usual cause is a pressure tank that has lost its air charge or has a failed bladder.

Other causes are a leaking check valve or a leak in the line. Call before it burns up the pump; the fix is often a tank recharge or replacement rather than a new pump.

It depends on the well depth, the pump size, how much pipe and wire need replacing, and whether the controls or pressure tank are part of the job, so we give a price after diagnosing the system rather than over the phone.

Deeper wells need bigger pumps and more pipe and wire, and some jobs need a hoist truck. In San Joaquin County a pump replacement also needs a county permit. We explain all of that up front, and you approve the price before work starts.

Spitting air usually means the pump is drawing air because the water level in the well has dropped near the pump intake, or there’s a leak in the drop pipe or a failed check valve.

In dry years, falling water levels are a common cause in the valley. Cut back to essential use and call; we can measure the water level and tell you whether lowering the pump is an option.

A pressure tank stores water under air pressure so the pump doesn’t have to start every time someone opens a tap. It gives the system a cushion, steadier pressure, and far fewer pump starts.

Most modern tanks have a bladder or diaphragm that keeps the air and water apart. When that air charge is lost, the tank stops doing its job and the pump short-cycles.

Many bladder pressure tanks last somewhere around 10 to 15 years, depending on water quality, sizing and how hard the system works. A tank that is too small for the pump wears out faster.

Signs it’s going: rapid pump cycling, pressure that swings quickly, water spitting from the air valve on top of the tank, or a tank that sounds full of water when you tap the top.

Sudden low pressure is usually a failing pump, a pressure switch problem, a clogged filter, a leak between the well and the house, or a falling water level in the well.

If you have a whole-house sediment filter, check whether it needs a new cartridge first; it’s the easiest fix. Otherwise, call for a diagnosis before the pump runs itself dry.

Usually, yes, and it’s one of the best upgrades an older well can get. A larger tank, or a second tank, means longer pump runs and fewer starts, which extends pump life.

One of our customers asked us to upgrade their well to include a pressure tank after we’d repaired it years earlier. The tank has to be matched to the pump’s flow and the pressure switch settings, so it’s sized, not guessed.

A constant-pressure system uses a variable-speed controller that speeds the pump up or slows it down to hold steady pressure, so a shower doesn’t fade when a sprinkler kicks on.

It can be worth it for larger homes and properties running irrigation from the same well. It costs more up front and adds electronics, so for a simple house a correctly sized standard tank is often the better value. We’ll tell you honestly which fits.

At minimum, test for total coliform bacteria and nitrate. Around Stockton it’s also wise to test for arsenic, and on property with a farming history for the fumigants 1,2,3-TCP and DBCP. Use a lab certified by the California State Water Resources Control Board.

In the U.S. Geological Survey’s sampling of domestic wells around Stockton, about 18 percent of domestic groundwater had total coliform present, about 11 percent had nitrate above the limit, about 9 percent had arsenic above the limit and about 9 percent had high 1,2,3-TCP. Most wells were fine on most measures, but you can’t tell which group yours is in without a test.

Nitrate above the drinking-water limit (10 milligrams per liter as nitrogen) is a particular risk for infants under six months and during pregnancy, because it reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. Don’t use high-nitrate water to mix baby formula, and boiling does not remove it.

In the valley, nitrate mostly comes from fertilizer, animal waste and septic systems. Reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap is a common treatment for drinking water. Test once a year, more often if there’s an infant in the home.

Some wells have it. USGS studies found elevated arsenic in public-supply wells along a band that follows the San Joaquin River through the Stockton area, and arsenic above the 10 microgram-per-liter limit in about 9 percent of domestic groundwater in the area.

Arsenic in valley groundwater is mostly natural, released from the sediments. It has no taste or smell, so a lab test is the only way to know. If it’s high, treatment options include point-of-use reverse osmosis or adsorption filters chosen for your water’s chemistry.

1,2,3-TCP is an industrial chemical that was an impurity in soil fumigants once used widely on Central Valley farmland. California set a strict drinking-water limit for it in 2017 because it is a likely carcinogen.

USGS found it at high levels in about 9 percent of domestic groundwater around Stockton. It needs a specific lab method to detect, so ask for it by name. Granular activated carbon is the standard treatment.

A rotten-egg smell is hydrogen sulfide gas; orange or brown stains are usually iron, and black stains manganese. USGS found high iron or manganese in about 13 percent of domestic groundwater near Stockton.

These are mostly nuisance problems rather than health emergencies, though manganese at high levels is a health concern too. They’re treatable with the right filter once a test shows what you’re dealing with. If the smell or color appeared suddenly, stop drinking the water until it has been tested.

Stop drinking it and use bottled water if the well has been flooded, or if the water suddenly changes color, smell or taste. Keep using bottled water until a lab test shows it’s safe, and follow guidance from your county environmental health department.

A flooded wellhead can let surface water and bacteria straight into the well. After a flood, the well usually needs to be inspected, disinfected and retested before it’s used for drinking again.

Yes. In long droughts, groundwater levels fall as more water is pumped and less soaks in, and shallower domestic wells go dry first. More than 1,200 wells were reported dry across California in 2022 alone, most of them in the San Joaquin Valley.

In the 2014–16 drought, the state had counted about 1,900 dry wells by mid-2015, most in Tulare County farther south. Shallow wells anywhere in the valley are the most vulnerable, and knowing your well’s depth and where the pump is set is the best protection.

Turn off the pump’s breaker so it doesn’t run dry and burn out, then call a well contractor to measure the water level. Report the dry well to the state through the California Department of Water Resources’ dry well reporting system; reports help direct emergency assistance.

Options depend on what the measurement shows: lowering the pump, deepening the well, or drilling a replacement well under county permit. Some counties and state programs have offered emergency water or well help during declared droughts.

SGMA, California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014, requires local agencies to bring overdrafted groundwater basins into balance. For most homeowners, it shows up as a more careful review of new wells rather than limits on an existing house well.

Small domestic users, generally pumping 2 acre-feet a year or less, are treated as de minimis under SGMA, though local agencies can still require registration or other steps. Rules differ by basin, so check before drilling a new well.

Yes. The Eastern San Joaquin subbasin, which underlies Stockton, Lodi and Escalon, is one of the 21 basins the state identified as critically overdrafted. Its groundwater sustainability plan was approved by the state in 2023.

The plan relies on projects to recharge the aquifer and replace some groundwater pumping with surface water. Across the Delta, the East Contra Costa subbasin is rated medium priority and is not critically overdrafted.

Only if there’s room below it. If the water level in your well has been dropping toward the pump in late summer, setting the pump deeper can buy margin, but only if the well is deep enough and the pump stays above the bottom sediment.

We can measure your static and pumping water levels and tell you whether it makes sense, or whether the well itself needs deepening.

Yes. San Joaquin County Environmental Health requires a well permit before a well is drilled, repaired or destroyed, and before a pump is repaired, replaced, installed or sealed. The permit is applied for by the licensed C-57 well contractor.

For emergency pump work, the application must be submitted within 48 hours, and work done without a permit carries a double fee. New and replacement domestic wells also have to be sampled as part of the permit.

Domestic wells sampled by the USGS around Stockton ranged from about 60 to 475 feet, with a median around 260 feet. Public-supply wells commonly go deeper.

How deep a new well should go depends on local water levels, water quality at different depths, and what other wells nearby have found. We look at that before recommending a depth.

Depth is the biggest factor, followed by casing size and material, the pump and pressure system, the electrical run from the house, permits and water sampling. A well that needs to go deeper to reach good water costs more.

Because those variables differ so much from one property to the next, we price a new well after looking at the site and the local well records rather than quoting a number blind.

It’s the state record of a well’s construction, including depth, casing, seal and the materials drilled through. California law requires the well contractor to file one with the Department of Water Resources after building, altering or destroying a well.

If you own an older well, its completion report may be on file with DWR. It’s the best way to learn your well’s depth and construction without pulling the pump.

Have it properly destroyed by a C-57 contractor under a county permit. San Joaquin County requires that wells no longer in use be destroyed or properly taken out of service.

An abandoned well can let contamination straight into the aquifer and is a fall hazard for children and animals. Proper destruction fills and seals it to state standards.

Yes. California well standards require an annular sanitary seal around the casing and a concrete pad at the surface, so surface water can’t run down the outside of the casing into the aquifer.

Older wells sometimes have shallow or no seals, which makes them more vulnerable to bacteria and nitrate. Whether that matters for your well is something we can look at during service.

Look up the license on the Contractors State License Board website (cslb.ca.gov) and confirm it’s active and carries the C-57 Well Drilling classification. California law requires a C-57 license to construct, alter or destroy a water well.

Our license is CSLB #1079625, C-57 Well Drilling, active through August 31, 2027. The CSLB record also shows the contractor’s bond and workers’ compensation status.

We’re not aware of a San Joaquin County rule requiring a well certification at sale. In practice, lenders, buyers and escrow often ask for a water quality test and a flow or yield test, so it’s common to do one anyway.

Ask your lender and agent exactly what they need in writing before scheduling. Rules and lender requirements change, so confirm with the county Environmental Health Department if you’re unsure.

A good well inspection covers a flow or yield test, a look at the pump, pressure tank, pressure switch and wellhead, and a water quality test from a state-certified lab for at least bacteria and nitrate, plus arsenic in the Stockton area.

Ask the seller for the well’s age, depth and any Well Completion Report and service records. An older well with a shallow seal or a failing tank is better found before closing than after.

Yes. Se habla español. You can call (925) 518-0442 and talk through your well problem in English or Spanish.

We’re based in Stockton and work across San Joaquin County, including Lodi, Escalon, Ripon and Lathrop, south to Modesto, and west into East Contra Costa: Brentwood, Byron, Knightsen and Discovery Bay.

Customers have also called us from the East Bay and Diablo Valley. If you’re not sure we reach you, call and ask.