Sanitation and Hygiene When the Water Is Off
How to set up a bucket toilet, mix bleach correctly for each job, wash hands with a jug of water, and handle trash when the taps go dry.
03Water
Well Pump and No Power: The Water You Still Have, and How to Get More
No power means no well pump, and no water. How much is left in the pressure tank and pipes, how to stretch it, and what it takes to run a well pump on backup power.
- Read
- 2 min
- Updated
- October 5, 2026
City water keeps flowing in most outages because the pumping stations have backup power. On a private well, when the power goes out, so does your water.
01What you still have
- The pressure tank. Most homes with wells have one in the basement or utility room. When the pump stops, the tank still pushes out some water, often a few gallons, depending on its size.
- The water heater. A full tank of clean water. See your water heater is an emergency water tank.
- The pipes. A little more.
That's it. Use it for drinking and cooking first.
02Stretch it
- Don't flush with tank water. Use a bucket of non-drinking water to flush instead.
- Fill pots and jugs with what's in the pressure tank right away, before someone runs it dry washing hands.
- Stored water first. See water storage: how much and how to rotate.
03Running the pump on backup power
Well pumps are hard on backup power:
- Many are 240-volt. You can't plug them into a regular generator outlet.
- Big start surge. Often several thousand watts for a second. See starting watts vs. running watts.
- They're wired to the house, not plugged in.
The safe way is a generator big enough to start the pump, connected through a transfer switch or interlock kit installed by an electrician. See transfer switch vs. interlock kit. Then run the pump for a short time to refill the pressure tank and fill jugs and the tub.
Most battery power stations can't run a well pump.
04In winter
- Well pits and wellheads can freeze in a long outage. Some people use a heat lamp in a well pit; never leave one unattended, and keep it clear of anything that can burn.
- Pipes in a cold house can freeze. See frozen pipes during an outage.
05Plan ahead
If you're on a well, water is your biggest outage problem, bigger than lights. Store more water than city folks, and talk to an electrician about a transfer switch before the first ice storm.
Photo by lyh6910 on Pixabay.
Keep going
Related guides
When the Toilet Won't Flush: Sanitation in an Outage
No water pressure means no flush. How to flush with a bucket, when to stop flushing entirely, and the simple bucket-and-bag setup that keeps a house sanitary.
Your Water Heater Is an Emergency Water Tank
Most homes have tens of gallons of clean water sitting in the water heater. How to get it out safely when the tap goes dry or the town's water is contaminated.