To cap it off, the well cap was full of bugs

The well that provides water for your Bull Valley home silently operates day after day until, one day, it doesn't. The water is safe to drink until, one day, it isn't.

In both instances, the solution is to maintain the well supplying fresh water to your Bull Valley home. This means chlorinating the well annually. It also means checking the well pump, motor, electrical connections and water quality on a timely basis – also suggested on an annual basis.

While checking your well, one part you don’t want to leave out is the well cap.

Now, you might be thinking, “Well, the well cap is just a well cap; what’s so important about that?”

Think about it – what does the well cap do? The answer is in the name – it caps the well. Imagine if you didn't put a cap on your well. What would happen?

Without a well cap, your Bull Valley well is open to the elements, as well as to wildlife. Contaminants can freely flow into the well. Now, having the water tested is something you may want to do on a daily basis.

What this all comes down to is that the well cap is as vital as any other part of the well. If it doesn't properly cap (seal) the well, you’re inviting unsafe water into your home and, from there, into the bodies of you, your family and friends.

How does a well cap go bad? Have you hit it with the lawn more, kicked it while running across the yard or dropped a log on it? Any of these activities can jar the cap sufficiently to break the seal.

If the well cap is bad, you may open the well and turn the cap over to find a colony of bugs on the inside. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to assume this isn't good for the water quality.

Of course, you don’t just want your well cap checked; you also want your well checked in general. The point is to make sure this vital step isn't missed.