Well Water Line Leak Detection

A large share of Kitsap County is on private wells: Olalla, Seabeck, Lofall, the Hansville uplands, most of Bainbridge outside Winslow, and acreage parcels everywhere in between. On a well there is no utility bill to warn you about a leak. The signs are a pump that cycles constantly or runs without stopping, a pressure tank that won't hold, pressure that drops at the far fixtures, a power bill that climbs, or in a bad case a pump that burns out. The buried line from the well house or pressure tank to the house is usually long, usually polyethylene, and usually decades old.

We locate on well systems from the pressure side. First we separate the possibilities: a leak on the buried line, a problem at the pump, check valve or pressure tank, or a leak in the house. That takes some gauge work and isolation at the tank and the house shutoff, and it saves a lot of unnecessary digging. If the loss is on the buried line, we trace its route with locating equipment, then work along it with an acoustic ground microphone and a correlator to pinpoint the break.

Well lines on Kitsap acreage run through dense till, hardpan and boulders, which is slow digging by hand and quick with a bucket. We bring the mini excavator and we open the ground at the break, not along the whole run. Where the polyethylene is old and brittle and has failed before, we'll show you the pipe and give you an honest comparison between another spot repair and a continuous HDPE replacement pulled in one piece.

We work with the well pump companies around the county and we're glad to coordinate if the problem turns out to be on their side of the tank. For the buried line, we handle locating, excavation, repair and restoration ourselves.

When you need well line leak detection

• A well pump that cycles constantly or never shuts off
• A pressure tank that drains down with no water running
• Falling pressure at fixtures farthest from the well
• A rising electric bill with no other explanation
• A soft, green or wet stripe across a pasture or yard between the well and the house
• A pump that has burned out or tripped its breaker

How the job goes

1. Isolate the problem. Gauges and isolation at the pressure tank and the house shutoff tell us whether the loss is on the buried line, at the pump and tank, or indoors.
2. Trace the line. Well lines are rarely where anyone remembers them. We trace the actual route from the well house to the point of entry.
3. Locate acoustically. Ground microphone and correlator along the traced line to pinpoint the break, often within a couple of feet even on a long run.
4. Excavate at the break. The mini excavator opens the ground at the mark through hardpan, roots and boulders. Pumps if the pit fills.
5. Repair or replace. A buried-rated repair on sound pipe, or a continuous HDPE replacement on pipe that is done. We'll show you and talk it through.
6. Restore. Bedding, backfill, compaction, and the pasture or yard put back.

Equipment and materials

• Pressure gauges and isolation fittings
• Acoustic ground microphone and correlator
• Pipe locator
• HDPE and PEX with buried-rated fittings
• Mini excavator and pumps

What shapes the scope

Every property is different, and these are the things that decide whether a job is a quick morning or a full day. We'll tell you which it is before we start.

• Length of the run from the well house to the house
• Whether the line's route is known
• Age and material of the existing line
• Soil conditions: hardpan, boulders, roots, groundwater
• Whether the pump and tank need attention as well