FAQ’S

We use radio detection equipment to locate your well. If you choose, we can find your well, dig it up, and make the necessary repairs, all in one visit.

Generally it depends on the number of people in the household and how much water they use. NS Environment recommends a well to yield 4 igpm (imperial gallons per minute) for the duration of one hour (this assumes daily usage for a family of four happening within that hour). If you have a new well drilled and the well is generating 3 igpm, this doesn’t mean that your well will not sustain the house at the required rate. The biggest factor is that your well can serve almost as a holding tank. Example: Your well is 240 feet deep with 6 inch casing, water level is 10 feet from the top of the casing, yielding 3gpm. The well water reserve is 276 igpm. This means that the storage capacity of the well plus the rate of recovery would allow this to exceed NS Environment recommendations. Keep in mind; if you are installing geothermal heat, you will require more water.

All licensed drillers and pump installers carry a certification card with them. Ask to see it and check the dates; they expire.

We have in stock Mock Rocks that sit over the top of the casing. This allows you landscape around it. And yes, they look real.

In order to comply with NS Environment regulations, all new wells must be above ground in order to minimize contamination risk. If you have a buried well now, we can raise it above ground to allow easier access for repair and avoid contamination. Don’t forget: This should be done by a licensed pump installer.

We drill wells all year. The only thing that stops us from drilling is Spring Weight Restrictions on the highways. Because the driller is such a large piece of machinery, both of our drillers are too heavy to be on the road. In the event of an emergency during the road closure, we can apply for special permits.

Although we base our estimates on our knowledge and geographical location, there is no way we can see the water seams below the surface of the ground. We try to base our estimates on wells in the area and our experience with drilling in that area. We cannot guarantee the depth we will need to go in order to find water. Cape Breton as a whole has many different geographical regions with drilled wells from about 50 feet to over 500 feet. That is where experience is important and we can make our most educated estimate. We work very hard to ensure you have a working, viable well.

We service any type of equipment related to your well. We are licensed to work on anything from your well to your storage tank. We have a huge network of suppliers allowing us access to most or all types of parts necessary for repair.

When thinking about buying a home, we offer what we call a Quantity & Quality test. We visually inspect anything we can see with regards to the water system, checking for leaks and wear on your pump, tank, fittings, etc. (anything we can see). We take raw water and treated water samples, if applicable, and test it for iron, pH, hardness and manganese. This generally tells us the water quality with regards to minerals and tells us if the water treatment is working properly. We run the water for one hour at 4 igpm to ensure there is enough to sustain the household, and we collect a bacteria sample to ensure drinkability. This has a set cost for the local area and we try to work with local realtors and homeowners to ensure it is convenient for all parties involved.

We have specialized cameras just for checking sewer lines, but the line must be free of debris. Call for rates in your area and more information.

You should first locate your power supply to your pump and shut it off. There should be a disconnect or switch near your pump equipment in your home. If you can’t find that, turn it off with your breaker or fuse in the electrical panel. Then give us a call and we can send out one of our licensed pump installers to get your water back up and running again.

There are a number of things this could be. You may have some leaks in your plumbing such as dripping faucets or a running toilet. Look for these things first. If everything in the house looks ok, call us. When a pump runs with no water usage, it could indicate a leak in your pumping system. Leaks in your pumping equipment can lead to costly repairs if not looked after in a timely manner.

I turn on my tap and: My pump cuts in and out My lights dim and get bright again The water flow speeds up and slows down Yes, it would appear from any or all of these symptoms that your pressure tank has lost its pre-charge of air. In today’s systems, the most common types of tank to have are bladder and captive air cell. These tanks are supposed to contain a volume of air; if they lose this air, and because you can’t compress water, your pump does what we call short cycling. Again, this requires a service call before you damage the motor in the pump. It can eventually lead to burning out your pump.

You need to know your property boundaries, septic system location, location of the home, and location of power lines and/or poles from NS Power. All of these items have distance requirements for your well. Once you have this information, give us a call and we’ll help you pick a location for the well.

Yes. Although, we try our very best to find water on your property, occasionally we have a difficult time. Our drill crew works very hard for you to have a successful well. We offer a discount on the drilling if we don’t get water.

There are a couple of things you can do in this case. You can try chlorinating the well; if it is a persistent problem, you might want to think about an ultraviolet system. Here are instructions on how to chlorinate a well properly. If after chlorinating you still have bacteria in your water, give us a call for more solutions, or we can go to your home and chlorinate for you. Click Here for more detailed instructions

Don’t panic yet! Perhaps you’re not using your entire well. If your well is 150 feet deep and your pump is set down only 100 feet, you still have 40 feet of well not being used. We may be able to drop the pump lower, utilizing more of the storage capacity in the well. We recommend pumps be left 10 feet from the bottom of the well; placing your pump closer to the bottom may change the result of your quantity test.

Over time the amount of water a well yields can decrease; this is one reason the water can be dirty. You may also have sediment build-up in the bottom of the pressure tank. Sometimes it is because the water table is decreasing. Other times it can be caused by mineral build-up on the pump or pipes or filling the openings from where the water flows. No one solution addresses these problems. Give us a call.

This can be caused by a number of issues – some simple, some more difficult. The simplest would be dirt in the aerator on the sink with low pressure or, if you have a sediment filter on your water line, the filter could be dirty and plugged. Some more serious problems could be a worn-out or plugged-up pump, low water level in the well, or plugged waterlines to the house. If you are unsure, give us a call to speak to one of our technicians.