Well Pump Repair in Brandywine, MD

What happens when you call

The number on this page reaches a free referral service, not a plumbing company, and connects you with an independent plumber who works in Brandywine. Expect to be asked whether you get a WSSC water bill or have a well, whether you have any water at all, how old the pump is if you know, and whether a breaker has tripped. Those answers tell the plumber whether to bring pump and tank parts or valve and leak-detection equipment.

For a well, the visit usually starts at the pressure tank: reading the gauge, checking the air charge, and testing the pressure switch and the power reaching the pump. If the pump itself has failed, a submersible has to be pulled up the casing on its drop pipe. Plumbers handle many of these jobs and will tell you when a deep well, a falling water level or a casing problem calls for a well drilling contractor.

Cost factors

• Which part failed: pressure switch, tank, control box, wiring or the pump
• Well depth and pump size, which affect the labor to pull and reset it
• Whether the pressure tank is undersized and should be upsized
• Water treatment equipment that has to be bypassed or reconnected
• For WSSC homes, the length and depth of any buried service line repair

Local conditions in Brandywine

Brandywine is a primarily rural community in southern Prince George's County, about 17 miles from downtown Washington, with a suburban and commercial center along US 301 and MD 5 around Brandywine Crossing. More than half of its housing units were built since 2010, alongside a pocket of 1950s and 1960s homes and outlying areas toward Cedarville and Baden. The new subdivisions are generally on public water; WSSC Water is responsible for the service line from the main to the property line, with the owner responsible from there into the house. Rural parcels are where private wells come in, and part of the 20613 ZIP code extends into Charles County, outside WSSC's area.

WSSC Water permits and inspects plumbing and all natural gas and propane installations in Prince George's County. DPIE handles building permits.

Checklist before the plumber arrives

• Note the pressure tank gauge reading if you have one
• Check the pump breaker; reset it once only
• Turn the pump off if it runs nonstop with every tap closed
• Write down any recent storms, power outages or new water use such as irrigation
• Clear access to the tank, wellhead and electrical panel