Straight answers on pumps, drilling and water quality, written by the crew that works on wells across Carter, Stephens and Comanche counties.
This is where we write up the things we end up explaining on the phone two or three times a week.
Most people who own a well never think about it until it stops working, and by then they are trying to learn plumbing, electrical and hydrogeology in the same afternoon. These guides are meant to shorten that. They cover what to check before you call anybody, what the symptoms actually mean, and where the honest line falls between something you can sort out yourself and something that needs a rig in the yard.
We have been drilling, servicing and treating water wells in southern Oklahoma since 1995, for homeowners, farms and commercial properties. Everything written here comes from that work, and where we cite a number it comes from Oklahoma State University Extension, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, or the EPA rather than from a guess.
No water at the tap, weak pressure, a pump that clicks on and off every few seconds, or a pump old enough that you are wondering how much time it has left. Pump problems feel identical at the kitchen sink and cost very different amounts to fix, so most of these guides are about telling them apart before anyone drives out. Short version: check the breaker, read the pressure gauge, then knock on the pressure tank.
What a well actually costs and why it is quoted per foot, how deep you are likely to need to go depending on whether you sit over the Antlers or the Rush Springs aquifer, what happens on drilling day, and what separates a complete well system quote from a hole in the ground. If you are comparing bids, the guides here will tell you which questions expose the difference.
Hard water, orange iron stains, a rotten egg smell, cloudy water, and how to get your well tested properly in Oklahoma. Most of what people complain about is a nuisance rather than a health issue, and the things that genuinely matter for health have no taste or smell at all. These guides cover both, and they are clear about which is which.
The yearly maintenance routine, what records to keep, solar pumping for a pasture with no power to it, and what to look at when a well has been sitting on a property you just bought. Unlike a city water customer, a private well owner is solely responsible for their own water quality. Nobody sends you a report. These are the habits that keep that from becoming a problem.
If you read nothing else on this page, read this. All of it comes from Oklahoma State University Extension fact sheet BAE-1544 and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
Ask us. We would rather answer it on the phone than have you guess, and the on-site water test is free.
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