How to Monitor the Water Volume for Low-Recovery Water Wells

Check the documentation you have pertaining to your well. Gather documents from the well's initial installation, most recent inspection or work orders for any recent service and repairs.

Determine your well's radius, as well as its total depth, in the documents. The radius is half of the diameter, or width, of the well.

Remove the cover from your well to gain access to the pump mechanism, and the well itself. Remove and set aside any screws that hold the cover in place.

Measure the well's total width with a tape measure, and divide it in half to determine the radius -- if you couldn't determine the radius from your records in step 2.

Insert a battery-operated water-level indicator into the well, inside the casing. Place it between the casing and the air-pressure gauge, if your well is equipped with one.

Lower the water-level indicator until its indicator light illuminates. Note the measurement on the indicator strip where it crosses the top of your well casing.

Record the water level as measured on the indicator strip on a piece of paper, in inches. Note the date, as well as the time of day.

Calculate the well volume using the data you've gathered. Subtract the water level from the well's total depth to determine the water depth, in inches. Square the radius, or multiply it by itself, and multiply the result by the water depth. Multiply this number by 3.14, which is a mathematical approximation for Pi.

For example, if your well is 30 feet, or 360 inches deep, and you measure the water level as being 100 inches, you have a total water depth of 260 inches. If the well is 2 feet wide, its radius is 12 inches. Since 12 times 12 is 144, the total well volume is 144 times 260, times 3.14, or 117,561.6 cubic inches.

Replace the well's cover by reversing the procedure for removing it.

Repeat steps 2 through 9 to measure the well's volume every few days.