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Well Pump Repair in Oregon

631,538 people in Oregon get their water from a private well rather than a public supply — 15.7% of the state, against 13.1% nationally. Every one of them is their own water utility.

The short of it

Private wells serve 631,538 people in Oregon, 15.7% of the state and against 13.1% across the country. Nobody tests that water or maintains that pump except the household it belongs to.

Source: US Geological Survey, Estimated Use of Water in the United States, 2015.

PumpDepth is a referral service, not a contractor. We connect homeowners with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands. Every state page sets out who licenses plumbers there and where to check, so you can confirm before work begins. We carry out no work, we sell no equipment, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call.

What that means here

Oregon ranks 15 of 38 among the states we cover for the share of its population on self-supplied water. That is above the national figure, so private wells are a larger part of ordinary life here than in most of the country.

	People	Share
On a private well	631,538	15.7%
On a public supply	3,397,439	84.3%

Source: US Geological Survey, Domestic Water Use, and the county-level data release for 2015.

Where the wells are, inside Oregon

A state average hides a great deal. These are the Oregon counties with the highest share of people on self-supplied water, and the spread between them and the state figure is the point — well work is a rural trade even in states that are not.

County	On a private well	Share of population
Lake County	4,424	57%
Josephine County	45,634	54%
Wheeler County	608	45%
Crook County	9,438	44%
Polk County	34,536	44%
Harney County	2,555	35%
Wallowa County	2,416	35%
Grant County	2,516	35%

What goes wrong, and in what order to check it

The fault list on a private well is short, and most of it is above ground where you can see it. Nothing at the tap is usually power or the pressure switch before it is ever the pump. Rapid on-off cycling is almost always the pressure tank. A pump that will not stop is a leak, a worn pump, or a well that cannot keep up — and it is the one to act on quickly, because all three destroy the pump while they continue.

Whether the pump is in the well or in your basement changes what any of that costs in labor, which is why a contractor rules out the easy-to-reach parts first.

Nobody is testing this water but you

A public supply is sampled constantly and reports to its customers once a year. A private well reports to nobody. Penn State Extension recommends testing annually for total coliform and E. coli, adding pH and total dissolved solids every three years, and having the well professionally inspected every ten.

The same guidance treats a fall of 25% or more in yield as the point at which rehabilitation is in order rather than replacement.

Source: Penn State Extension, Water Well Maintenance and Rehabilitation.

Checking a plumber in Oregon

Oregon licenses are issued by the Oregon Building Codes Division, Department of Consumer and Business Services, which publishes a public search you can use before work begins. Plumbing businesses in Oregon must also hold a Construction Contractors Board license, which is a separate search.

On a well, nobody else is going to notice it failing.If the pressure has gone or the pump is cycling, that is worth a call today rather than next week. We route to contractors who work on wells specifically and cover your area, matched on the ZIP code you give, and you are never charged. Nor does it have to be the well; any plumbing work is routed the same way.

Call (888) 493-0912