Keeping a Well Maintenance Log: What to Track & Why

A simple maintenance log is one of the most valuable tools a well owner can have—yet few homeowners keep one. Good records help you catch problems early, give service technicians crucial information, and can save you thousands in repairs. Whether you use a paper notebook, spreadsheet, or app, consistent tracking pays dividends.

This guide covers what to track, how often, and why each piece of information matters. We've also included a printable template to get you started.

Why Keep a Well Log?

Catch Problems Early

Many well problems develop gradually:

• Water quality slowly declining (you don't notice day-to-day)
• Pump run times gradually increasing (efficiency dropping)
• Pressure slowly decreasing (tank or pump wearing out)
• Water level trends showing aquifer changes

Without records, you won't notice these changes until they become serious. A log showing "pump ran 2 minutes to fill tank last year, now takes 4 minutes" is actionable information.

Help Service Technicians

When we arrive at a service call, the most common question is "What's normal for this well?" If you can tell us:

• Static water level historically
• Normal pump run times
• Typical pressure readings
• When equipment was installed
• What changes preceded the problem

We can diagnose faster and more accurately, saving you time and money.

Support Warranty Claims

Equipment manufacturers may require:

• Proof of installation date
• Evidence of proper maintenance
• Documentation of operating conditions

Property Value

When selling a property, well records are valuable:

• Shows responsible ownership
• Documents well history and performance
• Provides confidence to buyers
• May be required for some transactions

Essential Documents to Keep

Well Construction Records

• Well driller's report: Shows depth, casing size, screen placement, geology encountered
• Well permit: From county health or water resources
• Pump test results: Original yield and drawdown data

If you don't have these: Check with your county's environmental health department—they often have copies on file.

Equipment Information

• Pump: Brand, model, HP, installation date, depth setting
• Pressure tank: Size, brand, installation date
• Control box: Model, installation date
• Treatment equipment: Filters, softeners, UV—models and install dates

Service Records

• All service invoices (keep forever)
• Repair descriptions and parts replaced
• Technician observations

Test Results

• All water quality test results
• Pump tests and flow measurements
• Electrical tests

What to Track Regularly

Weekly/Monthly Observations

Water Quality (Visual)

• Clarity: Clear, cloudy, particles?
• Color: Any tint (yellow, brown, green)?
• Smell: Any odors (sulfur, metallic, earthy)?
• Taste: Any changes?

System Performance

• Cut-in pressure (when pump starts)
• Cut-out pressure (when pump stops)
• Pump run time to reach cut-out
• Any unusual sounds

Periodic Measurements

Monthly

• Check pressure tank air pre-charge
• Note electricity usage (if separately metered)
• Inspect for leaks, corrosion, unusual conditions

Annually

• Professional inspection
• Water testing (bacteria, minerals as appropriate)
• Amp draw measurement (compare to spec)
• Measure static water level if possible

Event-Based Recording

• Power outages (date, duration)
• Lightning storms in area
• Flooding or heavy rain events
• Nearby construction or drilling
• Any equipment malfunctions
• All repairs and service calls

Sample Log Template

Well System Information Sheet

WELL INFORMATION
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Well Permit #: _________________
Drilling Date: _________________
Total Depth: _______ ft
Casing Diameter: _______ inches
Static Water Level: _______ ft
Yield (GPM): _________________

PUMP INFORMATION
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Brand/Model: _________________
Horsepower: _________________
Installation Date: _________________
Setting Depth: _______ ft
Control Box Model: _________________

PRESSURE TANK
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Brand/Model: _________________
Size (gallons): _________________
Installation Date: _________________
Pre-charge PSI: _________________

NORMAL OPERATING PARAMETERS
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Cut-in Pressure: _______ PSI
Cut-out Pressure: _______ PSI
Normal Run Time: _______ minutes
Rated Amp Draw: _______ amps
            

Monthly Observation Log

DATE: _________________

WATER QUALITY
□ Clear   □ Cloudy   □ Particles
□ No odor □ Sulfur   □ Other: _______
□ Normal taste   □ Change: _______

PRESSURE READINGS
Cut-in: _______ PSI
Cut-out: _______ PSI
Run time: _______ minutes

TANK PRE-CHARGE: _______ PSI

UNUSUAL OBSERVATIONS:
_________________________________
_________________________________

ELECTRIC METER: _______ kWh
            

Service Record Entry

DATE: _________________
COMPANY: _________________
TECHNICIAN: _________________

REASON FOR CALL:
_________________________________

WORK PERFORMED:
_________________________________
_________________________________

PARTS REPLACED:
_________________________________

COST: $_________________

TECHNICIAN OBSERVATIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS:
_________________________________
_________________________________
            

Tracking Water Levels

If you can access your well for water level measurement (some wells have air lines or access ports), tracking water levels over time is valuable:

Static Water Level

The water level when the pump hasn't run for several hours (best measured in morning before use):

• Indicates aquifer condition
• Seasonal variations are normal
• Long-term decline may indicate aquifer stress

Pumping Water Level

How far the water drops during pumping:

• Larger drop than before may indicate declining well
• Helps determine if pump is set correctly

Recovery Time

How long after pumping stops until water returns to static level:

• Slower recovery suggests aquifer issues
• May indicate need for well rehabilitation

Digital vs. Paper Logs

Paper Notebook

Pros:

• Simple, no technology needed
• Keep near pressure tank for easy access
• Can't accidentally delete

Cons:

• Can be lost or damaged
• Harder to spot trends
• No backup

Spreadsheet

Pros:

• Easy to graph trends
• Searchable
• Can backup to cloud

Cons:

• Requires computer access
• Need to remember to update

Best Practice: Both

Keep a quick paper log near the well system for immediate observations, then transfer key data to a digital spreadsheet monthly. This gives you the convenience of quick paper notes plus the permanence and analysis capability of digital records.

Using Your Log for Problem Detection

Comparing to Baselines

Once you have several months of data, you can spot changes:

When to Call for Service

Your log can help you know when to act:

• Run time 25%+ longer than baseline
• Pressure readings changed significantly
• Any sudden water quality change
• Unusual sounds or behavior

Frequently Asked Questions