No water on a well.

Check the breaker for the well pump first, then look at the pressure gauge on the tank, then look at the pressure switch. Those three are where most well failures are found, and all three are indoors, dry, and take minutes.

Nothing about a well is the utility’s problem. You own the pump, the tank, the switch, the wiring, and the water quality.

The order

1. The breaker. There is usually a dedicated double breaker for the pump, and often a separate disconnect switch near the pressure tank. Push the breaker fully off, then on. If it trips again immediately, stop and call: a pump tripping its breaker usually means a failed motor, a wiring fault, or a seized pump. Repeated resetting is the wrong response.

2. The pressure gauge. On or near the tank.

• Reading zero: the pump is not delivering. Power, switch, or pump.
• Reading normal but no water at the faucets: the problem is downstream, in the house. Start with the ordinary supply checks.
• Reading high and no flow: a closed valve or a blocked filter.

3. The pressure switch. A small gray box, usually mounted on a tube near the tank, with a cover held by one nut. With the breaker off, look for burnt or pitted contacts, and for ants, which nest in them and are a genuinely common cause of failure. Corroded contacts are a small part and a cheap replacement.

4. The filter. Many systems have a sediment filter after the tank. A blocked one produces exactly the symptoms of a failing pump. Change it, and note how quickly it clogs, because a filter that blocks fast is telling you something about the well.

5. The tank. Faucet the side. A tank should sound hollow at the top and solid at the bottom. A waterlogged tank, where the internal bladder has failed, makes the pump cycle on and off every few seconds, which destroys pumps.

What each symptom points at

Nothing at all, gauge at zero. Power, switch, or pump.

Pump runs constantly and never builds pressure. A leak in the drop pipe, a failed check valve, a worn pump, or the water level in the well has dropped below the pump intake.

Rapid cycling, on and off every few seconds. Almost always a waterlogged pressure tank. Fix it promptly, because the cycling is what kills the pump.

Air spitting from the faucets. The water level may be low and the pump drawing air, or there is a leak on the suction side.

Water runs for a while then stops, then returns later. The well is being drawn down faster than it recovers. That is a yield problem rather than an equipment problem, and it gets worse in dry seasons.

Sand or grit in the water. A failing well screen or a pump set too low.

Power outages

A well pump needs electricity, so an outage means no water, no flushing, and no heating in many systems. That is a real reason to keep drinking water stored and to think about a generator. Where a generator has to be, and why the transfer switch matters.

Wire the well pump into a transfer switch rather than improvising, because it is a hard wired load rather than something you plug in.

Water quality, which is entirely yours

No one tests a private well but you. Reasonable practice:

• Test annually for bacteria and nitrate, and after any flooding, any work on the system, or any change in taste, smell, or appearance.
• Test after a neighbor’s well has a problem.
• Keep the results, because they establish a baseline.

Discolored water on a well is a testing question rather than a flushing one.

If flood water has reached the wellhead, treat the well as contaminated until tested, and use bottled water in the meantime.

What it costs

A pressure switch or a filter is small. A pressure tank is moderate. Pulling and replacing a submersible pump is substantial, because it involves lifting a column of pipe out of a deep hole with a truck. Drilling a new well or deepening an existing one is a different order of expense entirely.

Insurance rarely covers any of it: the pump and the well are equipment, and equipment failure is excluded in nearly every homeowners policy. An equipment breakdown endorsement sometimes covers a pump. Which is the same rule that governs a furnace.

The short version

Breaker, gauge, pressure switch, filter, tank, in that order. Never open the well cap. Rapid cycling means a waterlogged tank and it destroys pumps, so fix it quickly. Nothing here is a utility’s responsibility, including the water quality, which only gets tested if you test it.