Well, Well, Well… What to do When Your Well Runs Dry in Winter

Recently we had to figure out what to do when your well runs dry in winter!  It’s been over a year since we moved out to the sticks and I have to say that, other than close proximity to grocery stores for late night ice cream runs, I don’t really miss living in the city.  That’s not to say that country living doesn’t have some pitfalls – like our well running out of water in the winter!

A small part of me was hoping it was actually chocolate milk…

Here’s What Happened When Our Well Ran Out of Water:

My Mummu and Mom were visiting me when I consumed the last drops of water from our well.  I was washing dishes when the water started to come out in spurts – like there was air in the lines.  Was the water pump failing?  Were the lines frozen?  Was the well dry?  All of these were questions that I was ill-equipped to answer.  I scampered into our 5 foot tall basement to investigate.  The pump was working overtime and making angry noises, but I didn’t spot anything else out of order.  I wasn’t standing knee-deep in water, so that was a good sign.  I tried calling Hubby (who was out of town), but I couldn’t reach him.  It was getting dark and I didn’t like the prospect of a water-less evening, so I tossed some clothes in a duffel bag and booked it into town, actually “blowing the doors off” my Mom’s Jeep as I passed her on the highway (I don’t speed, she drives slow).  I was able to reach Hubby shortly after rolling into town.  He asked if I’d thrown the breaker on the pump before I left.  Nooo….?  At 10pm my Dad and I drove the hour back to the lakehouse.  I threw the breaker and then we drove another hour back into town.  At least I could sleep easy, knowing the pump wouldn’t overheat and catch fire.  The next morning I drove back out to our house to meet my father-in-law, who kindly drove out from his rural house (in the opposite direction) to investigate.  His official diagnosis: our well was dry!  I also learned that the well cover is ridiculously heavy concrete and likes to freeze ONTO the well.

Why Do Wells Run Dry in Winter?

We suspected that because of our really, really cold winter, coupled with very little snowfall, the three sources that feed our well had frozen?  That’s the problem with less snow: it doesn’t provide the insulation we country folk need so water sources that feed a well can freeze.  If the ground is frozen, water sources (like melted snow) also can’t get into the ground, so you may experience a dry well around the time the ground is thawing/freezing.  Shallow wells are also more vulnerable to running dry in winter.  Too little snow can also cause spring well problems!

Every since having our well run dry in winter, I’ve been HOPING for winters with nice, deep snow coverage!  Not only does the snow insulate the well, it also insulates the sources that feed our well.  And then in the spring melt, the wells stays nice and full too!

Perfect amount of snow!

What to Do When Your Well Runs Dry in Winter?

So the big question, what to do when your well runs dry in winter:

1. Turn off the water pump (throw the breaker), so it does not overheat
2. See if the well recovers overnight
3. Get a water delivery – it could “fix” the problem!*

Fortunately the lines to our house weren’t frozen, so we were able to pay for a water delivery.  Water delivery can be expensive: a truckload was $225 in 2015 and just over $400 in 2026.  Getting water delivery is nice, because you can get a LOT of water in one shot.  I know other folks who use those large IBC water tanks in a truck bed, or on a trailer, and get their own water.  But those tanks usually come in 110 gallon to 550 gallon tanks, so you will have to make many trips to equal one large truck delivery.  Something else to consider: with local water delivery companies, you pay the same whether you use all of the truck or not.  So the size of your well, and how much and how quickly it can accept water, will determine if a truckload delivery of water is cost effective for you or not.  At first, the water level kept dropping so the whole truck ended up getting pumped into our well.  We had no idea if the water would stay or disappear overnight because, unlike a water reservoir, a well won’t just hold water indefinitely.  I started melting snow to flush the toilets and we crossed our fingers.

UPDATE to Our Well Running Dry in Winter (2015):

It looks like topping it up – combined with balmy temperatures that helped things thaw just in time – worked, because we’re back in business.  We check the level daily and, not only did enough water stay in the well, it also looks like water is coming in again because the levels have dropped only a little bit despite us using it.  Whew!  Lucky for us that this didn’t happen earlier in the winter because we might have had to make a monthly, or weekly, appointment for water.  I know people who have gone a month or more without water because their well or water lines froze, and so a water delivery wouldn’t even help.  Just another reason to love spring!

UPDATE to Our Well Running Dry in Winter (2026):

I first wrote this in 2015, chronicling the first time our well ran dry in winter.  At the time, the well bounced back right away.  And then we went many winters with no issues.  Curiously, this winter and last winter (in February and January, respectively) we’ve also “run out of well water”.  But each time, getting ONE fill up “fixed” the problem.  We thought that was strange, since other people we know who have run out of well water in winter have needed repeated top ups.  I started to suspect that the aggressive act of getting water pumped in is fixing a problem that is not necessarily that the well has run dry, but that water isn’t getting to it somehow?  I’ve spoke to a bunch of local well technicians and the general consensus is, “yeah, sometimes just a single load can fix it but we don’t know what’s actually going on”.  Given that our well has run dry in winter a few times and been “fixed” by ONE water delivery, my advice to you is to try getting a lot of water delivered at once.  For the first fill up anyway, skip the small, DIY trips for water and get a truckload.  It is possible your problems could be solved this way too.  The way it was explained (sort of, not really) to me was that this water delivery really packs a punch, so whatever it’s doing may not be achieved by small, slow water trickling into the well.

If Your Well Doesn’t Recover in Winter:

If you still have a long winter to go and a water delivery into your well did not help your well recover, there are some options.  In the summer, a dry well can be solved more easily – especially if you live near a water source or expect a lot of rain.  In the winter, you might need to be patient and wait for the ground to thaw and precipitation levels to be on your side.  In the meantime:

• You can haul water yourself, topping up your well as needed (for ex: 275 gallon water IBC totes in a truck bed or on trailer).
• You can purchase smaller jugs of water (like these refillable 5 gallon containers) and place them around the home.
• You can also build an indoor cistern with indoor water containers plumbed into your home.

A basement cistern is a system that has been suggested to us, but we have yet to need it.  An inground cistern would be ideal, but it’s costly and inconvenient to install in winter.  For now, you can bypass the well and pull your home’s water from a series of smaller containers in a basement, which you could get filled by a water truck or pump yourself from an IBC tote.  Your home’s water system would function the same, which is more convenient than having to use smaller, portable water jugs scattered around the house.

How to Be Prepared for a Well Running Dry:

1. Measure/track your well (we measure it even week or two and track it now)
2. Keep spare water in the house, like in stackable 5 gallon containers
3. Always have bottled water – you can also “can” water in canning jars – handy
4. Know how to throw the breaker on your water pump
5. Set some money aside for a water delivery so you can always afford it!
6. Get an easy to operate well cover (we ditched the concrete and got a plastic one to make filling easier)
7. Connect with local well technicians to better understand your well and water conditions!

Will a Dry Well Come Back?

Yes, a dry well CAN come back – but it really depends on why it went dry in the first place, and what conditions have changed.  When our well has gone dry in the winter, it has recovered every time very quickly (one water delivery and then we’re back in business).  A well running dry in winter may recover naturally when the snow melts and the ground thaws.  If a well goes dry in summer, sometimes just a little more precipitation can help a dry well come back.  Other than these few winter adventures, we did have our well run dry one other time in the 12 years we’ve lived here.  It happened during the summer and we were able to pump water from the lake into our well (well, into the ground, and then it percolated into the well).  We had a well technician come out then and we were told (in 2018) to expect a 7 year drought.  He said our well wouldn’t recover for that time, as water moved in cycled.  It never happened (knock on wood).  So even professionals can’t always predict how a well will behave or if a dry well will recover.  Because our dry well came back!  But for others, a dry well may not come back until the water cycles around – and sometimes, not at all.