Replacing your Barrington well pump isn’t fun and how to avoid it as long as possible

There are probably a lot of things you'd rather do than
replace your Barrington well pump. Replacing your
well pump just isn't fun.

Here’s a great idea – why not replace your Barrington well pump this weekend? You can shut the water off while the job is done. And, you’ll get to spend the money for that new well pump, as well as the cost of installation. What fun!

Of course, no one in Barrington replaces their well pump for the fun of it; they replace their well pump because they need a new well pump. For fun, they go out to dinner and a show, they go to a concert, to see a stand-up comedian or visit an art show. There are all kinds of things they can do for fun but replacing their well pump isn’t even on the list.

People don’t replace well pumps for fun because they don’t like it when the water doesn’t flow in their Barrington homes. They don’t like to replace their well pumps because it’s an inconvenience and an expense they’d rather avoid.

So, since you won’t replace your well pump for fun, replacing it at all is something you’d rather avoid. And, still, people do deal with the inconvenience and expense; they do replace their well pumps.

They replace their well pumps, not because they shut their water off but because the well pump shuts the water off. That’s the opposite of what a well pump is designed to do. A well pump is designed to make the water flow on demand. That’s it. That’s all a well pump does – turn the water flow on and off when you want it.

Considering how little enjoyment is found in the replacement of a well pump, other than the relief people feel when a bad well pump is replaced, it’s amazing people don’t put more effort into ensuring that they don’t have to replace their well pumps as often. Often, of course, is a relative term.

A well pump should last 15 years or more. Some well pumps have lasted two or three decades. But, the longer a well pump lasts, the more likely it is that someone made some effort to maintain that well pump.

Maintenance involves having a professional take a look at the pump annually to make sure that the well tank has the proper pressure. That professional will also check out the well system, in general, to make sure everything is as it should be. Of course, while checking the well system, a professional will also test and chlorinate the well. That way, you know that the water that flows from your Barrington well is also safe to drink.

Your Spring Grove well is capped and sealed – why worry about contaminants?

That well cap is vital to your Spring Grove
well and the safety of the water you and
your family drink.

There’s a sealed cap on your well out behind your Spring Grove home. The cap sits on top of a pipe that extends down into the ground to your well. Why would you need to worry about water quality?

The truth is that contaminants can find their way into your well in more ways than you might imagine.

Generally speaking, Spring Grove has groundwater that is as good as anyone’s – better than some. But contaminants are insidious in the efforts to invade and contaminate your well. Contaminants include various types of bacteria, radon, organic particles, hazardous waste and chemicals, such as pesticides, fertilizers, and petroleum products.

To keep contaminants out of your Spring Grove well, or detecting them if they get in, there are a few procedures you should follow:

• Make sure your well cap isn’t cracked, loose or has a bad seal
• Have well casing (the pipe extending down to your well water) inspected to ensure it isn’t cracked or otherwise ruptured
• Ensure that your well is a safe distance from septic systems, landfills or other systems using elements that would contaminate your well water (it’s a bit late to consider this if your well and other systems are already in operation in close proximity to each other)
• Don’t install a well in a floodplain as flood waters can seep into the well (also a bit late to consider if the well is already in operation)
• If your well was installed in a floodplain, the well needs to extend higher than the floodplain. If you have an older well, you’ll want to have it checked that it’s of sufficient height while ensuring that the water level didn’t rise higher than the well cap so that contaminants could get in.

The last point is really a key principle in general. Well maintenance is a great way to ensure that your well system is operating at peak performance with the greatest durability. Having the well water tested annually, along with having your well chlorinated each year, is the best way to ensure that your Spring Grove well water stays healthy and clean. It’s also a good idea to have the charge checked in your well tank.

A qualified well technician can chlorinate and maintain your well, while testing your well water in the winter, as well as the warmer months. Spring is also a good time to have your well maintained and your well water tested.

Where does groundwater come from? Can you say, ‘Hydrologic Cycle?’

This USGS diagram shows the Hydrologic Cycle. If you want to know where the groundwater in McHenry comes from,
look here.

Where does groundwater come from? The obvious answer is ‘from the ground.’ But, where does the ground get it? That well out behind your Bull Valley home extends down into the ground and pumps groundwater up so you and your family can use it. It would be nice to know where the groundwater comes from, wouldn’t it?

The first thing to know is that the groundwater is there as part of the hydrologic cycle. Assuming you haven’t remembered all the particulars from your 5th-grade lesson, that cycle works like this:

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

1. Evaporation: the water in lakes, rivers, oceans and on the surface of the ground is evaporated into the air …
2. Where it condenses to form clouds.
3. While trapped in the clouds, it moves with the wind.
4. Then, the moisture returns to the earth in the form of precipitation: rain, sleet, snow
5. A portion of the water runs off back into lakes, rivers, and oceans – another portion seeps into the ground. Through gravity, much of this water goes lower and lower until it reaches an area that is resting on an impervious surface.
6. When that area is saturated, your well has the ability to gather portions of the water and pump them back to the surface and through the pipes into your home.

Keep in mind that water can also move in the ground through aquifers. Governments have come to recognize the importance of aquifers. You can even look up a map of aquifers in the area called the “McHenry County Sensitive Aquifer Recharge Areas.”

This map shows areas in two shades of green where aquifers are considered sensitive. On that map, you’ll find that much of Bull Valley is covered by dark green – the most sensitive areas of the map.

This means that groundwater is moving under your feet. Your well’s job is to catch portions of the groundwater and pump them up into your Bull Valley home.

What are you putting down your McHenry County drain?

Consultant raises the alarm about contaminants in our drinking water supply

What is in the well water you drink? The number of
potential contaminants are alarming.

Recently, John Matthesius attended an event for well-maintenance technicians in Nashville. What he heard at one of the break-out sessions was alarming. It has to do with the quality of the water we drink, including the water we drink here in McHenry County.

The presentation was given by Peter S. Cartwright of Cartwright Consulting from Minneapolis, MN, who points out that an almost limitless number of contaminants are going into our water supply – into the water we drink.

As Cartwright points out, “Every time water goes down the drain, whether to a sewer, a septic system, a storm drain, or wherever, it carries contaminants with it, which usually end up in someone’s drinking water.”

He said the list of contaminants in our drinking water include “unmetabolized pharmaceuticals” and other chemicals. When we wash our hands, the soap and dirt, or whatever was on our hands, goes down the drain. He said there are more than 85,000 chemicals that make their way into our water supply.

He described how “the average adult uses nine products per day containing 126 different chemicals.” In the farms, they add fertilizer to the soil that then makes its way into our water supply. Whatever we put down the drain tends to make its way to our water supply.

Manufacturing contributes to the toxic recipe in our drinking water. For instance, plastic, with 300-million tons of plastic manufactured each year, is a major contributor to toxins in our drinking water.

Cartwright sites a 2008 Canadian study that found that, in 20 industrialized nations, birthrates for boys has dropped, as a result, for each of the last 30 years, there has been a 200-percent increase in abnormalities to male sex organs, sperm count among North American college students has dropped by 50 percent over the course of the last 50 years, 85 percent of sperm in healthy males has damaged DNA and testicular cancer is up 300 percent in that same 50-year period.

The address the concerns, Cartwright recommends legislative activity and water treatment technologies. But, he also says that individuals can make a difference. He refers to personal stewardship where people are more conscious of what they are putting down the drain in their homes and workplace. In that regard, education is essential (Cartwright’s thesis is available in its entirety by following this link or visiting the McHenry Water Well & Pump blog page).

The Next Drinking Water Contamination Issue: By Peter S Cartwright, PE

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Have you shown your Spring Grove well a little appreciation with some timely well maintenance?

It's not the snowman who is standing sentry; it's your
Spring Grove water well that is dutifully waiting for your
call and responding with the flow of water you request.
Thank your water well for its
dedication with some maintenance.

Looking out the back window into your Spring Grove backyard it’s hard to imagine that, under that blanket of snow is a champion working tirelessly on your behalf. Patiently, he waits for your call. No matter how many times you beckon him for help, he responds.

Reliable. Uncomplaining. Industrious. These are all words that aptly describe this hero hiding beneath the snow. When the need arises, he jumps to your aid. He is your well pump only visible by the wellhead that extends less than a foot above the ground. But, even that is invisible when he is buried beneath the snow.

The cold, the snow, even rain and blowing winds – none of these deter him as he steadfastly meets your need to access fresh water. When you wash your hands, fill a pot to cook some dinner, wash the dishes, the clothes, yourself: his commitment is equal to the task.

Few in Spring Grove, or beyond, are nearly as loyal. But, in return, you hardly ever think of him. Even when you turn on the water to give your baby a bath, you don’t spare him a thought. The only way you’ll ever think of him is if he fails in his task.

If he doesn’t follow through meeting your demands, you’ll curse him. But, will you thank him for his dedication over the years – year after year, month after month, day after day and from one minute to the next. When the water flowed, he was quietly ignored for his trouble.

To show your appreciation, you would call out a qualified well technician before he ever needs your help. Take care of him and he’ll almost assuredly continue to care for you. If you perform timely well maintenance, you’ll have even greater reason to continue to trust him to provide water from your Spring Grove well whenever you need it. Ignore him and, one day, though it won’t be his fault, he’s liable to let you down.

Button up your Wonder Lake house for winter, but don’t forget your well water

There's a well cap under that snow somewhere. All goes to
show that winter is no time to find out that your well, well
pump or other parts of your Wonder Lake well system
need servicing.

It’s time to button down the house. Another Wonder Lake winter is coming. Time to take down the screens and put up the storms, drain the hoses and outside faucets, check the furnace and change the furnace filter, check if you need some caulking to keep the cold at bay. Make sure your gutters are clear so icy water doesn’t back up under your shingles. But don’t forget your well outside, either.

You want to eliminate the leakage of warm air to the outside while the cold air has a chance to get in. You want the furnace to keep you warm on cold winter nights. And you want the water to run when you turn on a faucet; you want the water it dispenses to be safe and pure.

Why worry about your well water now? The answer comes in layers – layers of ice and snow.

If something goes wrong with your well or well water, you’ll probably want a qualified well technician to come out and put things right. But, if your well cap is under a couple of feet of water, well, the first thing they need to do is to locate the well cap.

How much of your yard will they have to shovel clear to find the well cap? Will ice make it difficult to open the well cap? These issues can delay the process when the water is off, or when the water isn’t safe.

Well, actually, if the water isn’t safe, you’re liable not to know it. You’ll bathe in the water without knowing your well water has dangerous bacteria or viruses. You’ll wash your dishes and clothes without knowing that the well water can make you sick. You’ll drink the water and, if you knew it was bad, the mere thought would make you sick.

So, get out the storm windows on the house (Northern Illinois Windows can clean and install those storms for you and give you a clear view out the window to see the fresh-fallen snow, and they can also clean your gutters). Clean the gutters. Check the furnace. Caulk those leaks. Put the outside hoses away. But, don’t, don’t, don’t forget to check your Wonder Lake water well.