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Drought and Dry Wells in Chesterfield County: 2026

Chesterfield County spent most of 2026 under drought advisories, first a warning and then a watch. For homes on private wells in the south and west of the county, that raises an obvious worry: is the well running dry? This page lays out the year's timeline, how the state measures drought and where its nearest monitoring well sits, how a contractor tells a dry well from a failed pump, and what lowering a pump, deepening a well or drilling a new one involves here.

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Chesterfield's 2026 drought, date by date

Virginia DEQ rates drought by region, and Chesterfield is in the Middle James region. Here is how its status moved this year, from DEQ's own bulletins:

  • April 17: DEQ put the Middle James region, Chesterfield included, under a drought warning advisory. DEQ uses a warning to say the onset of a significant drought "is imminent," while a watch is meant to help people prepare for one.
  • June 11: DEQ reported that all of Virginia was under a drought warning except Isle of Wight County and five cities in the southeast.
  • August 6: Chesterfield was eased from a warning to a drought watch.
  • August 27: Still a watch. Statewide, DEQ described groundwater levels as mixed.
  • October 2: Chesterfield remained under a watch, grouped with Hanover, Henrico, Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg. Next door, Amelia and Powhatan were under a warning. DEQ wrote that groundwater levels had generally declined.

October 2 is the latest update we found. Before you rely on it, check DEQ's drought page or its drought dashboard for the current status.

What DEQ watches, and where

DEQ weighs four indicators: precipitation, groundwater levels, streamflow and reservoir levels. For the Middle James region, its groundwater indicators are two monitoring wells, one in Buckingham County (41H 3) and one in Colonial Heights (51G 1), and its streamflow indicator is the Appomattox River at Farmville. None of those sits inside Chesterfield. The nearest is the Colonial Heights well, in the independent city that borders the county.

The practical point: a regional drought status describes a wide area. Your own well depends on its depth, its construction and the rock it draws from, and can do better or worse than the region suggests.

County water rules aren't well rules

On July 1, Chesterfield asked its utility customers to conserve voluntarily, with odd-even watering days and no watering on Mondays. By August 17, the Utilities director said those voluntary measures had ended. Both were aimed at people on county water, not at private wells, which draw on groundwater rather than the James River, Lake Chesdin and Swift Creek Reservoir supplies the county system uses.

For well owners, the guidance comes from VDH: in areas under a declared drought warning or emergency, stop non-essential water uses. Chesterfield's watch is a step below that, but if your well is showing strain, cutting back on lawn watering, car washing and long showers buys time while the system gets checked.

Dry well or dead pump?

From inside the house, the two look the same. Penn State Extension's drought fact sheet is direct about which is more common: "The most frequent cause is a malfunctioning or worn-out submersible pump." That is why a contractor checks the power, the switch, the tank and the pump before telling you the well itself has failed. Give them the history: when the trouble started, whether the water faded over days or quit at once, whether faucets sputtered first, and whether it recovers after the house sits unused for a few hours.

Some wells are more exposed than others. Penn State notes that shallow, hand-dug wells are often the first to dry up in a drought. VDH describes bored wells as generally shallow, usually 45 to 70 feet deep, against drilled wells that can be shallow or deep. If your well was dug or bored, a dry year deserves extra attention.

Why the rock under you matters if you drill deeper

Chesterfield's geology splits in a way that changes the math on deepening a well. Virginia Energy places part of the western county on the Richmond basin, a Triassic basin of sandstone, siltstone and shale, and the central county on Petersburg Granite. The 1985 USGS report on Piedmont groundwater draws a sharp line between the two. In crystalline rock like granite, a well's supply "is not likely to be increased by drilling deeper than about 300 feet." In sedimentary rock, "yields of wells in sedimentary rocks increase with deeper drilling."

Those state sources don't map exactly where the basin's edge falls property by property, so don't assume which side you're on. Ask the contractor or driller what rock nearby wells are in and what that means for going deeper.

Options when the well can't keep up

Setting the pump lower

If there's room below the pump, moving it deeper puts it back under the water. Penn State's assessment is blunt: "In most cases this will only provide a short-term solution to the problem." It may carry a household through a dry season while a longer fix is planned.

Deepening the well

Penn State counts deepening, along with a new well, among the more permanent fixes. Increasing a well's depth needs a VDH construction permit under 12VAC5-630-220. The state fee is $300 (12VAC5-620-70), the Chesterfield Health District's fee table matches, and the permit is good for 18 months with one renewal. The rock question above decides whether it's likely to help.

Drilling a new well

A new well needs the same permit and must meet the state's setback distances, such as 50 feet from a septic tank and 50 or 100 feet from a drainfield depending on the well's class. Changes that took effect November 6, 2024 help when a drinking-water well has failed: the sanitary survey for an emergency replacement can now be done by a licensed onsite soil evaluator, a professional engineer or a water well systems provider. The old well doesn't simply get left behind; see well rules for how Virginia defines and closes abandoned wells.

County water, where it reaches

Some homes may have a county line nearby. Chesterfield Utilities answers availability questions at 804-748-1864. The county's published connection fees and the rule against tying a well into the county system are covered on the cost page and in well rules.

Who else to call

When Chesterfield moved to a watch in August, WTVR's report pointed private-well owners with low or no flow to their local health department. Here that's the Chesterfield Health District's environmental health office, 804-748-1691, at 9501 Lucy Corr Circle.

Drought and well questions

Chesterfield is only under a watch. Should I still go easy on water?

If your well is struggling, yes. A watch is DEQ's way of telling people to prepare, and VDH's call to stop non-essential use kicks in at a warning. A well that's already sputtering doesn't wait for the official level.

Would drilling deeper get me more water?

It depends on the rock. The USGS found little gain past about 300 feet in crystalline rock, but rising yields with depth in sedimentary rock, which underlies part of western Chesterfield. Ask what nearby wells have found.

Can I keep my well and hook it to county water as a backup?

Not connected together. Chesterfield's cross-connection and backflow manual says auxiliary supplies such as wells "shall not be interconnected" with the county's drinking water system.

My well is old and shallow. Is it more at risk?

Likely. Penn State says hand-dug wells are often the first to dry up, and VDH describes bored wells as generally shallow. The health department's well records may show how yours was built.

Does a pump that failed in the drought need a permit to replace?

No VDH permit is needed to replace a pump. A permit comes in only if the well itself is deepened, altered, replaced or abandoned.

How this site helps

Call or send a request, and one independent local well and pump contractor will check whether it's the pump or the well and quote the fix; the referral is free.

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