We moved to the Ranch in December of 1996. Everything was brand new and shiny. The well had gone in a few months before as part of building the house, so by now it was about 15 years old. Most folks thought well pumps would last about 10 years, and so we had beaten the odds. Although it hadn’t failed completely, I had watched water output decline, and the ongoing drought hadn’t helped much either. It was time to get it serviced. I crossed my fingers, held my breath and hoped for the best.

A frame for the hole in the roof

The well service  company could come a few days later. Since we had built the Garden Shed over the well, we were going to need an opening in the roof for the crane they would use replacing the pump. I didn’t want them to simply take a circular saw to it, and decided it would be better to frame a hole before cutting. This didn’t take long, and in a couple of hours I was ready. I would cut the hole on the day they came, and then put it all back together.

Extracting the old pump

They were there by 9 am and I cut the hole. It didn’t take long to remove the well controller, and begin extracting the pump. Since it was 382 feet down and they had to remove sections of pipe as they came out, I expected it would take awhile.

382 feet of pipe

It was out in 20 minutes. An examination of the pump and wiring was next, and I got the bad news. We would need a new one. One consolation: the wiring was ok and could be re-used. A trip to the shop was needed for parts, and they would be back after lunch.

A brand-new 1 1/2 horse pump

The new pump was wired before 2 and lowered to the Trinity River at 382 feet by 3. The well was producing water by 3:15 and everything was back in the Shed by 4:30. The speed of completion was impressive and the well was producing water like 1996.

6 gallons per minute

What a relief. There was one fly in the ointment however. Water levels had dropped by about 10 feet since the well was dug, and likely to decline further with all the development in the area. Good thing we hedge our bets here with a rainwater system!

Just like new (almost)