Before severe weather
- Store safe water for people and pets.
- Photograph visible equipment and labels.
- Record normal pressure and pump type.
- Keep the wellhead accessible.
- Save well-pump, electrician, health, and lab contacts.
Save or print before hurricane season
Florida private well storm and no-water checklist.
Private-well owners face two separate questions after severe weather: is the pump system operating, and is the water safe? This Treasure Coast checklist helps homeowners prepare, recognize electrical and contamination hazards, and collect the details a qualified technician or health official will need.
This page summarizes public guidance from the Florida Department of Health, the St. Lucie County health department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the CDC. Follow current instructions from local emergency and health officials when they differ from general guidance.
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One-page quick reference
Private well storm checklist.
Print this section before hurricane season and keep it with your household emergency information.
After flooding
- Stay away from flooded electrical equipment.
- Do not turn on a flooded pump.
- Use a safe alternative water source.
- Arrange qualified equipment inspection.
- Follow current health guidance for testing and treatment.
When power returns
- Listen for humming, clicking, or continuous running.
- Check whether pressure recovers.
- Stop if a breaker trips again or wiring smells hot.
- Record changes in water color, odor, or sediment.
- Call (772) 271-5024 for pump help.
Safety summary only. Follow current instructions from emergency, health, electrical, and water-testing authorities. Source page: treasurecoastwellpumprepair.com/florida-private-well-storm-checklist/
Before the storm
Prepare the water supply and system information.
Confirm your water source
Know whether the home uses a private well for household water, irrigation only, or both. If you are unsure, check the utility bill and ask the property owner or responding technician before assuming that every faucet depends on the well pump.
Store safe drinking water
Keep a safe alternative supply available for drinking, cooking, ice, brushing teeth, infant formula, and pets. A power outage can stop a working well pump even when floodwater never reaches the well.
Document the system
From a safe location, photograph the visible pump, pressure tank, control box, pressure switch, gauge, disconnects, labels, piping, and wellhead. Save the property's address and the phone numbers for a well-pump technician, electrician, health department, and certified water-testing laboratory.
- Keep the wellhead accessible and visually check that its cap is present and undamaged.
- Do not open electrical covers, remove a well cap, or improvise a generator connection.
- Note the normal pressure-gauge range and whether the system uses a jet, submersible, irrigation, or constant-pressure pump.
- Save this page offline or print it before internet and power service become unreliable.
After flooding
Treat pump safety and water safety as separate decisions.
EPA guidance says to stay away from a flooded well pump because of electric-shock risk and not to drink or wash with water from a flooded well. Floodwater can carry bacteria, sewage, fuel, pesticides, and other contaminants into a private system.
Do not assume that clear water is safe. Use bottled water or the emergency method currently recommended by health officials until the water can be evaluated. A qualified well or pump technician may need to inspect the well, pump, controls, and wiring; water testing determines whether the supply is safe for its intended use.
Florida health guidance recommends private-well testing for bacteria and nitrate at least annually and after events that may introduce contamination. Disinfection does not correct every chemical, construction, septic, or flood-related problem, so use the local health department and a certified laboratory for the current testing path.
Power loss without flooding
Record what happens when power returns.
If the wellhead, pump, tank, controls, and wiring stayed dry, a loss of water may simply follow the electrical outage. When power is restored, note whether the pump starts, whether the breaker remains set, whether the gauge rises, and whether water returns to every fixture. Stop and request service if a breaker trips again, wiring smells hot, the pump only hums or clicks, the system leaks, or pressure does not recover.
A return of pressure does not answer the contamination question. If floodwater reached the well, the wellhead was damaged, water changed color or odor, or the system was opened for repairs, follow health-department guidance about testing and disinfection.
Official Treasure Coast starting points
Use local and federal sources for current safety instructions.
St. Lucie County private wells
The Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County permits and inspects water wells in the county and lists Environmental Public Health at 772-873-4931.
Florida well testing
Review the state guidance for routine testing, possible contamination, certified laboratories, and well disinfection.
Flood response
EPA and CDC guidance explains electrical hazards, safe alternative water, inspection, testing, and recovery after a private well is affected by flooding.
When to request help
Call when the problem is electrical, mechanical, or unclear.
Treasure Coast Well Pump Repair can review no-water symptoms, a pump that will not start, repeated breaker trips, pressure-tank problems, short cycling, loss of prime, control-box faults, damaged equipment, and replacement questions. Tell the responder about any flooding or suspected contamination so mechanical service and water-safety follow-up are not confused.
For urgent well-pump help in Port St. Lucie or a nearby Treasure Coast community, call (772) 271-5024. Service availability, scope, testing, pricing, and service terms must be confirmed directly.