Test a private well for bacteria at least once a year — nobody does it for you.
Herriman climbs toward the Oquirrh foothills, and on the properties out here that still rely on a well, elevation is the complication. Water has to be lifted from the well and then delivered at usable pressure to a house that may sit well above the wellhead, to outbuildings further up the slope, and to irrigation at the far end of a large lot. Each of those is a different pressure requirement from one source. Most of the complaints we hear here are pressure complaints, and most pressure complaints on a well system are about the tank and the controls rather than the pump.
A well system delivers pressure through a pressure tank with an air charge, controlled by a pressure switch with a cut-in and cut-out setting. Most of what people experience as weak or inconsistent pressure comes from that assembly: a tank that has lost its charge, a bladder that has failed, a switch set too low or drifting, or a tank too small for the way the household uses water.
The diagnostic signs separate the causes reasonably well. Rapid on-off cycling while water runs points at the tank. Pressure that is steady but simply low points at the switch settings or at a restriction. Pressure that starts fine and fades after a few minutes points at the well itself — the water level drawing down faster than it recovers.
That last one is the only expensive answer in the list, which is why it is worth having the cheap causes ruled out properly before anyone talks about pulling a pump or deepening a well. Measuring the water level while pumping is how that is established rather than inferred.
Every foot of elevation above the pressure tank costs pressure at the fixture. On a sloping property where the house sits above the tank, or where there are fixtures on an upper floor and a barn further up the hill, the pressure that is adequate at the tank can be inadequate where it is used.
The options are raising the system pressure, which has limits because everything downstream has a pressure rating, or adding a booster pump for the zone that needs it. A booster serving just the upper part of the property is usually the better engineering answer than running the whole system harder, and it is kinder to the plumbing.
Where irrigation is involved on a large sloped lot, separating it from the domestic supply is worth considering. Irrigation wants volume at modest pressure; the house wants steady pressure at modest volume. One system trying to do both means the shower pressure drops when the sprinklers run, which is the single most common complaint on a property like this.
A pressure tank exists to stop the pump starting every time somebody runs a tap, and the right size depends on the pump’s output and on how the house uses water. A small tank on a large pump means frequent short cycles, and frequent short cycles are what wears pumps out — the starting current and the heat are the damaging part, not the running.
Which means an undersized tank is not a minor inconvenience; it is a pump replacement on a shorter interval. Tanks are inexpensive relative to pumps, and sizing up during a service visit is one of the better-value decisions available on a well system.
Constant-pressure systems, which vary pump speed to hold pressure steady, are the other route and they suit properties like these well — they handle elevation and varying demand gracefully and avoid the cycling problem entirely. They cost more up front and have their own electronics to look after, so they are worth discussing rather than assuming either way.
That pattern points at the well rather than the tank — the water level drawing down faster than it recovers. It is the one expensive answer among the usual causes, which is why the cheap ones should be ruled out properly first: tank charge, bladder condition and switch settings. The way to establish it rather than guess is to measure the water level while the pump is running.
Elevation. Every foot above the pressure tank costs pressure at the fixture, so adequate at the tank can be inadequate upstairs or at an outbuilding further up the slope. You can raise system pressure within limits, since everything downstream has a rating, or add a booster pump for just that zone — usually the better answer than running the whole system harder.
More often it is one system being asked to do two different jobs. Irrigation wants volume at modest pressure; the house wants steady pressure at modest volume. Separating them is worth considering on a large sloped lot. Also check the pressure tank size — an undersized tank on a large pump cycles frequently, and frequent short cycling is what wears pumps out.
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