Well pump and pressure tank trouble around Corpus Christi

Most Coastal Bend home wells use a submersible pump that hangs down inside the casing, a drop pipe bringing water up, a pressure switch, and a pressure tank that stores water under air pressure so the pump doesn't start every time someone fills a glass.

Diagram: submersible pump in the well, drop pipe up to a pressure switch and bladder tank, then a line to the house

What the signs usually point to

This is a guide for describing the problem, not a repair manual. A pump installer or driller has to confirm the cause.

What you notice	Causes a pro will often check
No water at all	Tripped breaker, a failed pressure switch, wiring, the pump itself, or a water level that has dropped below the pump
Pump clicks on and off quickly	A pressure tank that has lost its air charge or has a failed bladder, a switch fault, or a leak
Weak or falling pressure	Clogged filter, worn pump, a leak in the line, or switch settings
Spitting taps or air in the water	Water level near the pump intake, or a leak in the drop pipe
Sand or cloudy water	Screen or casing wear, or a pump set too close to the bottom
Saltier taste than before	A change in the water zone feeding the well, or a casing problem. Get it tested.
Power bill jumps	The pump running far longer than it should, often from a leak or short cycling

Leave the wiring and the hole to a licensed person

TDLR licenses both water well drillers and pump installers, and a license is needed to install a pump in a water well. The pump sits on its own electrical circuit; if you look at anything yourself, switch the breaker off first and stop at the pressure tank and switch. Pulling a pump means lifting hundreds of feet of pipe and cable out of the casing, and dropping it down the hole can turn a repair into a new well.

Dry spells and falling water levels

When water levels drop, a pump that worked for years can start sucking air. Corpus Christi Water says it runs monitoring wells in its eastern and western wellfields and has a Well Assistance Program that helps nearby well owners with periodic water-level monitoring (City of Corpus Christi, June 9, 2026). If your well is near those fields, that is worth asking about before deciding whether the pump needs to go deeper.

Inside the Corpus Christi Aquifer Storage and Recovery District, registered well owners receive a certificate during drought stages, and it must be posted near the well for code enforcement checks.

What to put in your inquiry

What happens, and since when;
the well depth and age if you know them, or “not sure”;
where the pressure tank is and roughly how old it looks;
whether the well serves a house, livestock, irrigation or a business;
anything done recently: power cut, storm, new fixtures, a long dry spell.

Want a driller to look at your property?

Tell us the location and the job. We pass that one inquiry to a single local driller whose Texas license we have looked up, and they get back to you themselves.

Start a well inquiry

Where these facts come from

Checked October 21, 2026.