Santa or a well guy: Christmas Eve is no time to lose your water in Johnsburg

There was a note of panic in Virginia’s voice when Dick checked his voicemails – “We don’t have any water!!” There was more, but Dick got the point.

From Dallas, more than 900 miles away from Johnsburg, IL, there wasn’t much Dick could do. He tried calling home but Virginia didn’t answer and he received a message stating that her mailbox was full. So, Dick made one more call and hurried to the plane – the 777 he would pilot to Chicago’s O’Hare Field.

Virginia didn’t receive Dick’s call because, at that moment, she was down in the basement pounding on parts of the well equipment hoping that would somehow make the water flow again. It didn’t and she had no idea that Dick had called in the meantime.

As the sun fell below the horizon this Christmas Eve, Virginia reassured the kids – Billy, 3; and Missy, 4 – that everything would be OK. Mostly, Virginia was just trying to reassure herself, though.

Then she sent the kids up to the playroom to play and watch television while she went downstairs to poke, prod and pound some more. If she had stayed upstairs, she might have heard the knock on the door. She didn’t.

After a while, resigned to the futility of pounding on the well equipment, Virginia came back upstairs and turned on the television in the living room. Time passed – maybe even an hour. Suddenly, she heard the children coming down the stairs like a pack of wild animals. As they ran, she heard them yelling, “He’s out back! He’s out back!”

Virginia met them at the bottom of the stairs and finally quieted them enough to ask, “Who’s out back?”

“Santa,” said Missy as Billy nodded in agreement. “Santa’s out back.”

Virginia gave the children a skeptical frown. Seeing the doubt in her mother’s face, Missy took her by the hand and pulled her towards the kitchen. Reluctantly, Virginia followed.

Standing in the darkened kitchen, Virginia was alarmed to see that, indeed, someone was out in the backyard. The kids were yelling, “See, it’s Santa.”

She quieted the kids again and told them to go up to their rooms. Turning to sneak up by the window, she didn’t even notice that the kids stood rooted in their spots totally ignoring the order. Virginia didn’t notice the kids because she was focused on the shadowy figure moving around out back.

The person had a thick winter coat with its hood up over the back of the person’s head. With the heavy boots at his feet, Virginia could see how the kids might think this was Santa.

She noticed that the figure kept bending over as though they were doing something out there. As Virginia thought to take out her phone and call the police, the shadow stood upright in the backyard and turned towards the house. Virginia stepped back deeper into the shadows.

When she looked again, she couldn’t see him. Then, there was a knock on the backdoor. Virginia jumped a little and then went to the door.  When she opened the door, she looked into a familiar smiling face, though she couldn’t place where she knew him from.

“Hi, I’m John,” he said. “Dick called and told me you didn’t have any water. I knocked before, but I guess you didn’t hear me. I wasn’t sure if you had left.

“Anyhow, I thought I’d take a look. Good thing I did, too. One of the wires to the pump motor broke loose.”

As if she hadn’t quite grasped what he was saying, Virginia suddenly said, “Oh, you’re the well guy.”

John smiled again, “Yes, I’m the well guy. When Dick called, I figured you didn’t want to go Christmas Eve without water so I came over. Do you want to check the faucet?”

Just then, the kids stepped forward and, in unison, asked, “Is it Santa, Mommy?”

Virginia was lifting the faucet handle when she heard the question. She also heard a cough from the pipes and then … the water began to flow. Turning the water off, Virginia turned to the kids and said, “Yes, in a way, this is definitely Santa.”

John smiled again, tipped his hat and as he turned to leave, he said, “You folks have a Merry Christmas.”

Hire a professional to maintain your Spring Grove well – your personal public works department

Jogging is great for the body but, after a

workout, you want to drink water that is

also good for the body. In Spring Grove,

this includes chlorinating your well to

ensure that the water is safe and clean.

Cities, such as McHenry, Woodstock and Crystal Lake, have public works departments that are fully staffed with workers who monitor and maintain multiple water treatment plants. At your Spring Grove home, however, there’s only you to monitor and maintain your private well. Some of your Spring Grove neighbors probably do a fairly good job of maintaining their wells. Many, however, are less likely to be up to date when it comes to chlorinating their wells.

Those who do maintain their wells properly, probably rely on a professional to perform the well maintenance and to chlorinate their wells. This is a very good idea.

Why should you maintain and chlorinate your well?

Nasty things can happen to your water supply if it isn’t maintained. Well maintenance includes ensuring that the well motor, well pump, the well tank and the electronics that make it all work are in good condition. Properly maintained, those well components can continue to supply your home with water for years to come. And they’ll do it more economically as you avoid costly repairs and premature replacement of well parts.

Additionally, well maintenance and timely chlorination of your Spring Grove well will help to ensure that the water you drink, bath in and use to wash clothes and dishes is safe water. Wells are chlorinated to fight off bacteria and foreign matter that can make your water unsafe for consumption. And who wants to bathe in bacteria-ridden water?

Why should you hire a professional to maintain your well?

When it comes to checking the well motor, well pump, well tank and electronics, a professional knows what they’re looking at. They’ve seen what those well components look like when they’re in good shape and they’ve seen what they look like when they’re in bad shape. They know how a properly operating well should function. In other words, they have the experience that provides perspective between a properly operating well and a well that isn’t operating properly.

More than that, a professional knows how to perform well maintenance. They know how to adjust the bladder in your well tank while checking its condition. If something needs attention, they know how to remove, repair and/or replace necessary parts of your well equipment.

When it comes to chlorinating your well, this is a step that many homeowners, including those in Spring Grove, assume they can easily handle themselves. After all, what is there to chlorinating a well? You open the well and dump some chlorine in, right? Not so fast.

Actually, simply dumping chlorine into the well can cause problems down the road. The chlorine is corrosive on the well pump and connections. When you next need to replace the pump, you’ll discover that you can’t take the fittings apart; they were damaged by the chlorine you dumped into the well.

A professional will add the chlorine without getting it onto the pump and connections. In other words, they’ll protect your well so it’s easier to work with later. When they’re done, you’ll be able to use the water – to drink, to wash with and to bathe in – with confidence.

It turns out, you don’t need an entire public works department to maintain your private well. But, you may want to turn to a professional for a little help.