Question
Hi Jeff, thank you for taking time to answer our irrigation questions, we need more people like you guys that take time out of your schedules to help people with their irrigation problems. Anyway, I have a shallow well that came with my house when we bought in 2003. The well is about 24ft deep with water at about 12 ft. For the first couple of seasons, which is most of the time in Central Florida, the system worked well. Last year the pressure dropped to a steady garden hose type pressure. I have disconnected the well pump from all of the zones and have it sitting directly on top of the well pipe by itself with the output pipe shooting directly out of the pump. After priming I have the same low pressure result, even after applying a little back pressure. I also swapped pumps with my buddy who has the exact same brand new Flotec 1.5 hp. Still no change. Being a single income father of 2 1/2 year old triplets, I can not afford to pay someone to come and tell me I need a new well. I work in the construction industry so I am fully capable of handling any type of job, therefore hopefully you can give me some tips on how to unclog this well so I can get my grass back instead of the dirt that has now become my lawn. Thank you so much for your time.

Answer
Since there was no change with the new pump, lets assume that the pump is OK.  So it must be a well line problem.  You will have to pull up the well pipe and inspect it for leaks, and examine the foot valve at the bottom of the line.  It may not be opening properly, or is obstructed in some way.  You should blow out the well pipe when you have it out to make sure that it doesnt have any obstruction in it.