No Water From Your Well in Chesterfield? Start Here
When the taps go dry on a private well in Chesterfield County, there are only a few things a homeowner should check, and a longer list of things to leave alone. This page covers both, plus power outages and storms, why wells most often stop delivering water, how much drinking water to set aside, and what to tell the contractor so the first visit starts with good information.
Safety comes before the checks
A well system runs on household-voltage electricity next to water, which is why the Virginia Department of Health puts it plainly to well owners: "do not make your own adjustment to well pumps." It lists electric shock and the loss of limbs among the risks. The NEHA and CDC fact sheet on power outages adds that you should never touch damaged electrical wires, under any circumstances. The checks below involve looking, reading a gauge and, at most, one breaker.
What you can check
- Is the whole house without power? If so, the pump is too. Dominion Energy's outage map shows whether the outage is wider than your house.
- Is the pump's breaker tripped? Find the breaker marked for the well or pump. Reset it once. If it trips again, turn it off and leave it.
- What does the tank gauge say? The round gauge on or near the pressure tank shows system pressure. Write down the number, and whether it holds or keeps falling with every tap closed.
- Is water showing up where it shouldn't? Look at the tank, the pipes you can see, and the ground along the line between the well and the house for wet or soggy spots.
- What happened just before? A thunderstorm, an outage, a flood or work on the house are all worth mentioning.
Hands off
Keep the pressure switch cover on, the control box closed and the well cap in place. Don't tap the switch to make it start, open wiring, or try to prime or pull a pump. If something smells burned or looks scorched or wet around the electrical parts, shut the well's breaker off and leave it off.
After a power outage
The NEHA and CDC Private Water Network's outage fact sheet gives a short sequence for well owners: make sure the power to the well is off before inspecting it, leave any damaged wiring alone, and if the pump won't start once power is back, turn the electricity off again and call a well contractor. Report downed lines to Dominion Energy at 866-366-4357; outages can also be reported online or in its app.
If outages are a regular thing on your road, NEHA suggests considering a generator connection for the well pump. That hookup is electrical work, so talk it over with the well contractor or an electrician rather than improvising with extension cords.
After a storm or a flood
Storms do two kinds of damage. Lightning can damage a submersible pump outright, according to a July 2026 risk guide from the insurer Glatfelter Public Entities, and surges can take out switches and control boxes. Flooding is the other risk: VDH warns that storms and floods can leave water from private wells unfit to drink. If floodwater reached the wellhead, drink bottled water and ask the Chesterfield Health District's environmental health staff (804-748-1691) about disinfecting and testing before you use the well again.
Why wells stop delivering water
During a dry spell it is natural to blame the well. Penn State Extension's drought fact sheet, which Virginia Tech's well-water program posts, points the other way: "The most frequent cause is a malfunctioning or worn-out submersible pump." The rest of the list is familiar from any well call:
- A tripped or failed breaker, or a storm-damaged switch or control box.
- A failed pressure switch that never tells the pump to start.
- A leak in the line between the well and the house.
- A well partly clogged by sediment or iron bacteria, which the same Penn State sheet also mentions.
- A water level that has dropped too far in the well.
On the drought side, Chesterfield was under a drought watch in Virginia DEQ's October 2, 2026 update, which also said groundwater levels had generally declined. When Chesterfield was moved from a warning to a watch on August 6, WTVR's report carried advice for private-well owners with low or no flow: contact the local health department. Drought and dry wells explains how a contractor tells a dry well from a dead pump.
Getting by until it's fixed
VDH recommends a three-day supply of bottled water and suggests one gallon per person per day for drinking and hygiene. For a family of five that's 15 gallons. Flushing toilets takes more, so a few filled buckets help. If the outage drags on, a friend or relative on county water can be a place to shower and fill jugs.
When the water comes back
If the fix meant opening the well, such as pulling a submersible, Virginia's rules require the well to be disinfected afterward (12VAC5-630-410). Testing is on you, not the state: VDH says it "does not have authority to test private well quality" and that once-a-year testing is a good idea. Virginia Cooperative Extension's Chesterfield office runs household water testing through the Virginia Household Water Quality Program; its 2026 Chesterfield sample day was July 29, and nearby clinics in Dinwiddie and Prince George are listed for November 11, 2026.
What to tell the contractor
- When the water stopped, and whether it quit suddenly or faded first.
- The gauge reading, and whether the breaker had tripped.
- Any storm, outage or flooding just before.
- Whether you have a submersible or a jet pump, if you know, and roughly how old it is.
- The well's depth and age, if any paperwork shows it.
- Your road and ZIP code, and how a truck gets to the wellhead.
If you're on county water
This page is for private wells. If your home is served by Chesterfield's water system and the water stops, that's the county's to handle: Chesterfield Utilities answers water emergencies at 804-748-1310, 24 hours a day.
No-water questions
Should I keep resetting the breaker?
No. A breaker that trips a second time is telling you something is wrong on that circuit. Leave it off and let the contractor find out what.
Has the drought dried up my well?
It's possible but less likely than a pump problem. Penn State Extension names a failed or worn-out submersible as the most frequent cause of a well that seems to have gone dry, so have the system tested before deciding the well is the problem.
Can I run the well pump on a generator?
NEHA suggests a generator connection for homes that lose power often. How it's wired matters for safety, so have it set up by someone who does electrical work.
Is it safe to drink the water once it's back?
Repairs to the switch, breaker or control box don't open the well, so the disinfection rule doesn't come into play. After work inside the casing, or a flood at the wellhead, the well should be disinfected and the water tested before you drink it.
How this site helps
Call or send a request, and one independent local well and pump contractor gets it, works out why the water stopped and quotes the fix; there's no charge for the referral.
Related pages
Sources
- VDH, Responding to Emergencies Affecting Your Private Well, updated July 23, 2026; Private Well Program, updated July 28, 2026; private well water
- VDH Chesterfield Health District, contact information
- NEHA and the CDC Private Water Network, Power Outages fact sheet
- Dominion Energy, report an outage or emergency
- Glatfelter Public Entities, Submersible Pump Lightning Damage, July 31, 2026
- Penn State Extension, Managing Your Well During a Drought (Water Facts #7), 2005
- Virginia DEQ, drought update, Oct. 2, 2026; WTVR, Aug. 6, 2026
- 12VAC5-630-410, private well construction
- Virginia Household Water Quality Program, clinic schedule; Chesterfield Extension, well water testing
- Chesterfield County, Utilities
Checks done and still dry?
Call or send a request and it goes to one independent local well and pump contractor. The referral is free.