Spring is the ideal season to take a good look at your private well. As things thaw out and melt away, problems that developed over the winter or were simply harder to notice during the snowy season often reveal themselves.
With that said, spring cleaning offers an excellent opportunity to take care of some of those annual responsibilities you have as a well owner, including having your system inspected by professional well experts once a year.
When it comes to well experts, you can’t do better in Connecticut than Greco & Haines! Since 1963, we’ve served as a reputable, responsible, and well-equipped well water company for customers all across the state. Let’s take a closer look at well-maintenance you should consider in the springtime and how Greco & Haines can help:
1. Inspect the Wellhead
With warm weather arriving, you now have an excellent window to conduct a thorough visual inspection of your wellhead. This is both a vital seal in your well system and an aspect that’s easy for you as a well owner to keep tabs on.
Ensure that the well cap is tight and secure, and look for any cracks, corrosion, or other damage. A loose cap or a degraded wellhead or casing can introduce contamination to your system, so it’s important to check on this component regularly — not just in the spring!
2. Assess the Area Around the Wellhead
Look beyond the wellhead itself to identify possible problems in the area around it. Make sure the ground slopes away from the wellhead; frost heaving, runoff, and other winter and early-spring conditions may degrade that optimum slant, necessary to ensure surface water drains away from the well. Keep an eye out for any potentially hazardous chemicals or materials in the vicinity of the wellhead that could contaminate your water supply, such as motor oil, pesticides, paint, and the like, too.
This is also a good opportunity to make sure that all chemicals and hazardous waste stored anywhere on your property is contained within an appropriate and secure container and that there aren’t any leaks. That includes both above- and below-ground oil or other storage tanks, leakage from which could compromise the safety of your well water supply.
3. Pursue Proper Landscaping in the Well Zone
Set yourself up for success during the warm season by establishing and maintaining the right kind of landscaping around your wellhead. You want the wellhead to be easily accessible, so tackle the requisite mowing and pruning right off the bat.
All things considered, low-cut grass is the ideal ground cover around your wellhead, not only because it allows for ready access but also because it reduces the attractiveness of the area to critters. Flower beds, shrubbery, and other dense plantings around your wellhead may draw in animals, which does open a potential avenue for contamination of your well supply.
When mowing around your wellhead, take extra care: it’s all too easy to damage the cap or casing if you aren’t paying close attention.
4. Get Your Well Water Tested
As a private well owner, you don’t have the luxury of a municipality regularly testing your water supply and vouching for its safety.
You should have your well water tested at least once a year, and spring is a great time to do it. Regular water testing doesn’t just screen for potentially hazardous microbial life, chemicals, and other contaminants; it also helps you establish a baseline for the mineral and chemical makeup of your well water, making it easier to identify shifts in composition across time that can reveal changes or threats to your groundwater source.
Although spring cleaning presents a fine opportunity to get your annual water-quality testing out of the way, it’s important to remember that testing multiple times a year may be warranted in some situations. A few include if you have a new infant in the household or intensive agricultural activity in your vicinity.
5. Have a Professional Inspect Your Well System
Beyond testing water quality, have your well system thoroughly inspected by a professional. There’s a lot to well inspections and basic servicing that’s beyond the expertise and capability of a well owner, which is why an annual checkup is necessary. From flow tests to thorough assessment of the casing, pressure tank, and other components, these annual professional inspections help ensure everything’s functioning properly and identify any small problems that, left unaddressed, could become big (and pricey) headaches.
Greco & Haines for Spring Well Inspection, Maintenance, and Water Quality Testing
For annual well inspections, essential maintenance, and water quality testing in Connecticut, look no further than Greco & Haines! We offer service 365 days a year — with no extra charge for weekends and holidays. For more information about our well water services in CT, contact us today via our online contact form or call any time! 203-735-9308 or 203-777-2256 or Call Toll-Free from any CT Area Code 1-800-922-2958