How many gallons can a well pump a day?

When customers ask me questions like this, I actually love chatting with them through the answer, since it means a lot of ground needs to be covered and they’re always going to come away more educated about wells and pumps. The reality is that a lot of people don’t realize just how diverse American (and global) aquifers are in their production levels and depths, as well as how different wells can be in terms of those metrics.

As a primer, a well is a hole in the ground in which water stored in the soil aggregates into. For regions with no or little access to large bodies of freshwater, they have been the historical method humans have used to obtain drinking water. Wells were previously hand-dug, and so pale in comparison to today’s modern small-diameter high depth drilled wells in terms of their engineering. 

If you don’t have access to water like below, a well is your best bet!

How much a well pump produces is a byproduct of depth of the well, as well as the quality of the aquifer it’s in. As well drillers dig deeper into the earth, there is a greater amount of surface area allowing for water in an aquifer to drain into the well. Well drillers often describe this process as ‘hitting water’. They may ‘hit water’ at 100’ for example, but drill deeper to increase the water production capacity of the well. In a similar vein aquifer depth is dependent from region to region. The famous Ogallala Aquifer which provides water for much of West Texas for example has Static Water Levels anywhere from 80-500’ in this study. In contrast southern Louisiana and Florida are swamps; you can basically just drive a piece of pipe into the ground 15’ and have plenty of water for pumping. 

In terms of actual production levels, ranges are anywhere from less than 1 Gallon Per Minute (GPM) to hundreds of GPM, depending on how dry the aquifer is. I’ve had customers particularly in Southern California who drill over 1000’ into the earth without hitting water, or only end up getting 1-2 GPM. The Sacramento Valley by contrast has a much higher aquifer with good water that often gets used in intensive agricultural operations like the farming of almonds.

The flip side of all of these numbers is that across the U.S., aquifer levels are decreasing. For our rural customers, it can be disheartening watching a big overseas corporation buy up farmland and run the aquifer down into the ground by pumping out hundreds of thousands of gallons a day. A well that produced 50 gallons per minute ten years ago may now only be able to maintain 50% of that production (these numbers depend highly on location, but demonstrate what some of our customers have directly experienced). Or, the production rate is similar but the static water level has dropped significantly from drought or regional over-pumping.  

At RPS our whole business is centered around wells, water pumping, and aquifers. We empower the DIY Well Technician to reap the benefits of installing their own well pumps. We’re all about sharing knowledge and expertise to make sure our customers are on the right track both pre and post-sale. You can call us at (855)-560-5670 or email us at help@ruralpowersystems.com. We look forward to chatting with you more about your well and production levels, as well as how you’d like to keep your water pumping for you and your family for as long as y’all live on your property!