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This article describes How to Increase the Water Flow Rate or Quantity - Improving Well Yield for Drinking Water Wells. We provide advice about what to do when things go wrong. The sketch at page top, courtesy of Carson Dunlop, outlines what happens during a well drawdown or well flow test procedure. At WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE we outline the first steps to take if you have lost all water pressure. We discuss well flow rate and methods for testing the well yield in detail at How Much Water is In the Well?

Readers should also see Water Tank Types and before assuming that a water problem is due to the well itself, see Water pump and pressure tank repair diagnosis & cost an specific case which offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost.

© 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

What is the Minimum Acceptable Well Yield or Well Flow Rate?

Some wells can produce a flow rate of 20 gallons per minute (gpm) or more. But for a single family home, 5 gpm is good, and 3 gpm is livable. In some communities the health department or building department will require at least 3 gpm (or more) to approve a new well for new construction.

These are general flow rates, but a more accurate answer to the required well yield flow rate for a specific property depends on the anticipated water quantity need for a given home, number of occupants, types of water usage, and thus the anticipated daily water usage, factored against the well yield (and possibly well recovery rate).

A risk with a well that already has a low yield is that the yield is at risk of dropping still further seasonally or permanently (common), or possibly failing entirely (less common). Therefore in buying such a property it would be prudent to presume that you will face additional costs to provide more or better water quantity. You might want to consult with local well drillers to get an idea about their experience in success in drilling wells in your immediate neighborhood as well as the typical well depth, yield, and cost. See WATER USAGE TABLE for a table that will help calculate the water flow rate or daily water usage for a property.

In the worst case with a slow or low yield well people install additional water storage/holding tanks to collect water at the low rate available from a well and provide water and then deliver it at the needed rate.

If a well yield is too low, in addition to reducing unnecessary water usage (conservation), increasing the onsite storage quantity (holding tanks), making sure equipment is working properly (no leaks), and the option of drilling a new well and hoping for a better yield, there are various methods to increase well yield.

Just below we explain How to Improve Well Yield or Improve the Quantity of Water Available. Other Related articles:

How to Test Well Flow Rate & Quantity

How to get more water from a well - increasing well yield.

How to diagnose loss of water pressure or flow from a well (or municipal supply)

How do We Get Enough Water From a Well with a Poor Recovery or Flow Rate?

Before drilling a new well to get more water, some plumbers or well installers will try these things:

• Check for clogged piping or well piping leaks: before doing something costly when you think that the well yield is too low, check that there is not a simpler problem such as a leak in the well piping inside the well casing or between the well and the building.
  
  A leak in the well piping lines will result in less water reaching the building than is being sent up by the pump. Next, if water pressure in the building is poor, the problem could be clogged pipes, perhaps by rust or mineral deposits.
  
  Other problems with the well pump, water pressure regulator, or water pressure tank can also cause bad water pressure in a building. To diagnose these causes of insufficient water pressure or flow, See WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE.
  
  
• If the well has a very large static head inside the building the occupants may never notice that the well flow rate is poor. However a very poor well flow or recovery rate might mean that the well has a limited future life if minerals are also clogging up the rock fissures through which water is flowing into the well.
  
  
• If the well has a small static head and a poor flow rate the installer may place a very large water holding tank inside the building and control the rate at which the water pump will draw water out. Building occupants live off of the water tank itself and the pump and well recover slowly, pumping water back into the tank and recovering during periods when occupants are not drawing water out. A large water storage tank is not the same thing as a typical well water pressure tank:
  
  At WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME we describe the water quantity stored in typical water pressure tanks.
  
  At BIG WATER STORAGE TANKS we describe large holding tanks used to accumulate a large volume of water supply when a well suffers from a low flow rate.
  
  
• Well yield increase methods are used when a well's yield has dropped too low or if a well has "gone dry" entirely (due to sediment-clogged rock fissures and unconnected water-bearing cracks which are preventing water from entering a well).
  
  Patented processes such as AquaFreed™'s "hydrofracking" or similar attempts to open rock fissures in the existing well may be tried using special equipment and gases or ice such as frozen CO2. (We no longer use dynamite to increase well yield but we used to.) AquaFreed, a water retrieval specialist, claims a 95% "success rate" at improving residential well yields.
  
  
• Limit water use in the building such as by use of gray water recovery systems, low water or no-water flush toilets, general water conservation. Shower with a friend.
  
  
• Drill a new or auxiliary well this more costly solution may be necessary - though first we'd ask the well driller's experience with cost and necessary well depth for the neighborhood and we'd ask for typical costs for nearby successful wells.

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Technical Reviewers & References

• InspectAPedia.com^® - Daniel Friedman
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
  

Water Tank Maintenance & Repair Chapter Index

Use links just below or at the left of each of the pages at our website to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

PLUMBING TOPICS
APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS
OIL TANKS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
WATER PRESSURE & FLOW MEASUREMENT
  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL REPAIR
  WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
WATER PUMPS & WELL TANKS
WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES
  IDENTIFY WELL PUMP TANK COMPONENTS
WATER PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
  WATER PUMP, ONE LINE JET
  WATER PUMP, ONE LINE JET OPERATION
  PUMP, TWO LINE JET
  PUMP, TWO LINE JET OPERATION
  PUMP, SUBMERSIBLE
  PUMP, SUBMERSIBLE OPERATION
  PUMP, WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER SHUTOFF VALVE LOCATION, USE
WATER SOURCE ALTERNATIVES
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
  CAPTIVE AIR BLADDER WATER TANKS
  STEEL WATER TANKS
  BIG WATER STORAGE TANKS
  OPEN WATER TANKS\
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
  CONTROLS & SWITCHES on WATER TANKS
  INTERMITTENT CYCLING WATER PUMPS
  WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING
  SHORT CYCLING DETECTION
  SHORT CYCLING CAUSES
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
  WATER TANK AIR LOSS SIGNS
WATER TANK BLADDERS & CAPTIVE AIR
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK BLADDER PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK PRESSURE GAUGE
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
  Basement Wells
  Cisterns
  Drilled Wells - steel casings
    Drilled Well with Submersible Pump
    Shallow Well with One Line Jet Pump
    Well with Two Line Jet Pump
  Driven Point Wells
  How Much Water is In the Well?
  How to Test Well Water Quantity
  How to Get More Water From a Well
  Hand Dug Wells
  Springs as Water Supply
  Well Pits  
  WATER PRESSURE LOSS
  WATER TANK TYPES
  WELL CHLORINATION SHOCKING PROCEDURE
  WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES
  WELL PUMP PRIMING PROCEDURE
  WELL, PUMP, TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

Plumbing Diagnosis & Repair: Water supply, drainage, septic systems, water testing, water contamination, defective plumbing materials & products.

• Water pump and pressure tank repair diagnosis & cost an specific case offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost
• Water pressure tank failures & water pump short cycling diagnosis and repair
• Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
• Drinking Water Testing Advice for home buyers home owners home inspectors
• Interpreting Drinking Water Test Results and Correcting Unsatisfactory Water
• Drinking Water Contaminant Levels - Maximum Allowed
• Lead Contamination in Drinking Water: Testing & Correction - Advice (This Article)
• Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from Lead Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
• Water testing for Pesticides: comprehensive and pesticides-example parameters
• Water Testing: background comments on classes of water contaminants, & links to home buyer advice about water testing, drinking water, water supply
• When and How to Shock or Chlorinate a Well - Procedure for Shocking a Well to (temporarily or maybe longer) "Correct" Bacterial Contamination
• Water Requirements, Home & Outdoor Living
• Typical Water Tests & Fees this water test fee schedule applies when testing is combined with other onsite building inspection services
• Drinking Water testing, contamination, correction - all topics
• General water testing and corrective measure advice: contact your local health department.

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