MINNEAPOLIS — As much of the state continues to remain in the extreme or severe drought category, well drillers are working overtime to keep up with depleted water tables for both residential and city wells.
"In some areas residents are seeing a lack of water in their private water systems and it's just simply that the water table may have dropped below where their pump resides, in some instances I've heard 20 feet lower," said Dave Schulenberg, Executive Director for the Minnesota Water Well Association.
"This is the busiest year that I have seen for our industry in the 20 years that I've been doing this for the association," said Schulenberg. He went on to say, "whether it's their pump system has failed, needs to be lowered, they want to drill a new well.”
It’s a year where well experts say the little water we do have is being used much more than it’s being replenished.
"The majority of my members are out scheduling things out anywhere from 30 to 40 wells" said Schulenberg.
During these current conditions, many shallow and hand-dug wells have taken a direct hit from the drought.
"If the well has dried it could be just a matter that the pump needs to be lowered down farther into the well," said Schulenberg.
Deeper wells may take much longer to recover from the impacts of the drought.
"They may need to have a new well drilled, they’ll want to make sure that their system is up to date, if something just doesn’t sound right or seem right, you want to have somebody come out and take a look," said Schulenberg.
If you own a well, experts say regular testing of your water table and investing in more water storage will keep your residential wells in the best shape during these dry times.