I have a cabin with a surface well and need some advice...

The surface well has always met our water needs. We also use rain barrels and have water rights
from the river that runs along the property. Due to Climate Change we are experiencing an unusually
long period of dry weather and the well is not performing as well as it has in the past. i have to change
the filters frequently and it has been suggested I might want to dig a traditional well or even put in
some sort of filtering system I frankly do not understand.

Can someone explain to me in laymens terms the difference between surface wells and traditional wells
and things I could do to make the current well function at it's best.