No Water From Your Well? What To Check First

You turn the faucet and nothing happens. Before you panic — and before you call anyone — here's the checklist we'd walk you through on the phone anyway. Five minutes of safe checking can tell you (and us) a lot.

1. Check Every Faucet, Not Just One

If only one fixture is dead, your well is fine — you have a plumbing problem (or in a Prescott winter, a frozen pipe on an exterior wall). If the whole house is dry, keep going.

2. Check The Well Breaker

Find the breaker labeled for the well pump. If it's tripped, reset it once. If it holds and water returns, note it and mention it at your next service — one random trip can be a storm surge; repeat trips are a warning. If it trips again immediately, stop resetting it. A breaker that won't hold means an electrical fault in the pump, wiring, or control box, and forcing it risks real damage.

3. Read The Pressure Gauge

Find the gauge near your pressure tank. Zero pressure: the pump isn't delivering — could be the pump, switch, or power. Normal pressure but no flow: the problem is between the tank and your taps — often a frozen or blocked line, or a failed valve. That distinction is the single most useful thing you can tell us when you call.

4. Look And Listen At The Pressure Switch

The small gray box near the tank. Is it clicking rapidly? That's short-cycling — usually a waterlogged tank. Buzzing but no pump sound? Possibly burned contacts or a stuck switch. Nothing at all? Could be the switch, could be power. Don't open it — there's live voltage inside — just note what it's doing.

5. Think About What Happened Recently

• Storm last night? Monsoon surges kill control boxes and motors all over Yavapai County every summer.
• Hard freeze? Unheated pump houses in Chino Valley and Paulden produce split fittings and frozen switches every January.
• Heavy water use? Filling a stock tank or irrigating on a low-yield granite well can pull the water level below the pump — some systems need an hour or two to recover.
• Gradual decline first? Weeks of weakening pressure before failure points at a worn pump, not a sudden fault.

What NOT To Do

• Don't keep resetting a tripping breaker.
• Don't open the pressure switch or control box — live voltage.
• Don't pull the well cap or drop anything down the casing.
• Don't run the pump if you suspect it's pumping air — dry running destroys motors fast.

Armed with what you found, you're ready to make a smart call. Tell us the symptoms and we'll tell you honestly what it sounds like and what it'll take to fix — see our emergency well service page, or read about how we diagnose well pump problems.