When the power goes out in a city, people lose lights and air conditioning. When it goes out in rural Texas, people also lose water. Your well runs on electricity. No power means no pump, and no pump means no water.
Texas has given us plenty of reminders about how long the grid can stay down. If you are on a rural well and you do not have a plan for power outages, you are one storm away from dry faucets, empty toilets, and no way to water livestock. The plan is not complicated, but it does need to exist before the lights go off.
How long will you have water after power goes out?
If you have a pressure tank, you have some water stored. A pressure tank holds water under pressure so your plumbing has supply between pump cycles. When the pump stops, you can still draw from whatever was in the tank at shutoff.
How much that is depends on the tank size and the pressure when power cut out. A standard residential pressure tank might give you ten to twenty gallons of usable water after the pump stops. Enough to flush the toilet a few times. Not enough to get through a day of normal use.
Pressure tank storage alone is not a plan. It is a buffer. If the taps are already dry and the power is on, that is a different problem covered in the no-water emergency checklist. Your plan needs to account for outages that last hours or days.
Option 1: a portable generator
A portable generator is the most common solution for rural Texas well owners, and it works well when you know how to use it. The generator powers the well pump long enough to fill your pressure tank and any storage containers you have on hand.
Sizing matters. Your well pump has a horsepower rating, and your generator needs to be able to start and run it. Pump motors draw several times their running wattage on startup, so a generator sized at the running wattage alone will fail to start the pump. Check the nameplate on your pump motor or pressure switch, or ask us, and choose a generator with starting wattage that comfortably exceeds the startup draw.
For most residential wells, a generator in the 5,500 to 8,500 running watt range covers a submersible pump with room to spare. Larger pumps for irrigation or high-volume applications need more. When in doubt, go bigger. A generator that cannot start the pump during an ice storm is a useless piece of equipment. We go deeper on the whole setup in generator backup for a rural well pump.
Running the generator safely is non-negotiable. Generators produce carbon monoxide. Never run one inside the house, in an attached garage, in a shed, or anywhere the exhaust can reach the living area. Outside, away from windows and doors.
Option 2: a standby generator
Standby generators are permanently installed, connected to your electrical panel, and start automatically within seconds of a power outage. You do not have to go outside, you do not have to pull a cord, and you do not have to remember to fill a gas can before the storm hits.
They run on natural gas or propane, so fuel storage is not a concern as long as your tank is maintained. They are sized to run the whole house or a critical circuit subset that includes the well pump, the refrigerator, and the HVAC.
The upfront cost is higher than a portable generator. Installation requires a licensed electrician for the transfer switch and a fuel line connection. But for families living full-time on rural land, the reliability and hands-off operation often make the investment worth it. You do not have to be home for it to work.
The transfer switch: manual or automatic
Whether you use a portable or standby generator, you need a proper transfer switch. This is the device that disconnects your home's wiring from the utility grid before connecting the generator. Running a generator without a transfer switch, or backfeeding power through a household outlet, is dangerous and illegal in most areas. It can injure or kill utility workers who do not know power is running on the line.
A manual transfer switch has a panel with switches you flip by hand to connect the generator circuits. It costs less and works well for portable generator setups. You have to be home when the power goes out to flip the switches.
An automatic transfer switch senses the outage and switches circuits over without any action from you. Standby generators use automatic switches. If you travel or the property sits empty at times, automatic is worth the extra cost.
Have a licensed electrician handle the transfer switch installation. This is not a homeowner connection. Done wrong, you can damage equipment, start a fire, or endanger utility workers on the line outside your home.
Water storage: a backup that does not need power
Some rural landowners keep a few hundred gallons of stored water in food-grade tanks specifically for power outages. When the pump cannot run, they draw from storage for drinking, cooking, and toilet flushing until power is restored or the generator takes over.
A 55-gallon food-grade barrel holds enough water for a small family to get through two to three days if used carefully. A larger tank gives more runway. Store water in a shaded, cool location, rotate it annually, and treat it with a small amount of chlorine if it is stored more than six months.
Storage does not replace a generator. It is a second line of defense for the gap between when the power goes out and when you get the generator running.
What to do right now during an outage
- Conserve what is in the pressure tank. Do not run the dishwasher or wash laundry. Use the toilet only when needed.
- Fill every container you have while there is still pressure: pots, jugs, bathtubs. Do it now, not after the tank drains.
- If you have a portable generator and a transfer switch, connect it. If you have neither, make a note to sort that out before the next outage.
- For livestock, prioritize. A full stock tank can last your animals a day or two if you are careful about it.
Your septic system has its own answer during an outage, and it depends on whether you have a conventional or an aerobic unit. We cover that in using a septic system during a power outage.
When power comes back on
When the grid power returns, do not assume everything is fine. Power surges during restoration can damage pump motors and pressure switches. Give the utility a few minutes to stabilize, then restore your circuits.
Check your pump. Turn on a faucet and let it run for a minute while you listen for the pump to cycle normally. If the pump cycles short and fast, the pressure tank may have lost its air charge. If the pump will not start at all, check the pressure switch and the breaker before assuming the motor burned out. Our article on telling the pressure tank from the pump walks through how to tell which component is causing the problem.
If you had an extended outage, consider testing your water. Pressure loss during a long outage can, in rare cases, draw surface contaminants into the well if the casing has any vulnerability. A quick bacteria test after a major outage is worth the peace of mind.
If your pressure has dropped noticeably after power restored, or if the water looks or smells different, call J4 Water Works before you keep drinking it. Call or text 979-320-4940 any hour, and see how emergency service works.
Plan before the storm
The best time to sort out backup power for your well is before a storm is on the radar. Getting a generator sized to your pump, having a transfer switch installed, and keeping a few days of stored water on hand takes a weekend when there is no pressure. It takes much longer when everyone else is trying to do it at the same time.
If the water is not right, nothing else on the land works. That includes water that stopped flowing because the lights went out.