Source of water supply opinions sought

[Rich P]

Having lived most of my adult life in an area supplied by a "local water company" and now on the verge of moving to the hinterlands, I am wondering what folks here think about the pros and cons of having your own well versus sourcing from a local, rural, community (communal) water system. Seems to me if the community source is well run and not too expensive it is less of a headache than running pumps and worrying about all the other stuff one seems to need to do to have a on site source. Of course with the "community source" comes the potential political baggage. I would like to know what folks here think about this...

[twistsol]

Well maintenance is pretty minimal. Our well was put in in 1962. We had an underground pressure tank that leaked and needed to be re-pressurized a couple of times a year until we finally had it removed and a new pressure tank installed in the house this summer.

Our old high maintenance well took up half an hour twice a year. With the new pressure tank and upgraded pump and wiring we should be good for another 40 - 50 years with no bills other than electricity ... and the $2300 it took to have it all replaced. Factoring that in, the cost of repairs is about $50 per year.

City/Public water supplies often add chlorine, and or fluoride. Some people don't care about this, for others it's a major issue. We can water our lawn any time we want without restriction. Cold water from the tap is really really cold; after it has run for a few minutes it comes out at around 42 degrees.

[Uncle Cracker]

Domestic water is usually cleaner than well water (but not always), and maintenance needs are non-existent, but you are at the utility company's mercy. Your decision to go to a well would depend largely on the following factors: cost, water quality, and availability of local service...

Much of the cost factor will depend on the size and depth of well you would need, the level of treatment you would need to provide, the amount of water you need, and how readily available the power is.

The quantity of water you would need is a function of how big your house and household is, what your usage habits are, whether you need water for things like a sprinkler system or a water/air heat pump, etc. (Running a sizable sprinkler system from city water can be costly, particularly if your sewer charges are based on water consumption... Often better to get an irrigation-only meter in this case).

The well depth (and resulting water level depth) will also affect the size and type of pump you will need.

To summarize, this is not a decision you should make without thoroughly analyzing your particular situation, and consulting a reputable local well driller, as well as any neighbors that might already have wells.

[BobSch]

I'd check with others in the area that have wells and get their opinions. Some well water is almost undrinkable.

[Ed62]

We've had both. City water, around here, is fairly costly. The amount of usage also determines the cost for sewer fees.

For close to 25 years, we've had well water, and we're satisfied. The downside of it is:
1. if you need a pump replaced, that money comes out of your pocket.
2. Need a new pressure tank? That's out of your pocket too.
3. Probably the biggest downside is that you can't control what people dump into bodies of water, and that can affect the quality of your water. Since there is no filtration system like you would have with city water, there is a better chance of picking up something bad from drinking the water.
4. Depending on your well, you might have water that has a bad odor. That can usually be taken care of by dumping bleach in the well, when needed.
5. If you have a well, and you lose electric power, you only have the water that's available in your pressure tank. When the electric power is restored, you're back in business.

The upside is:
1. cost savings.
2. That equals more or better tools. Even if you have to put in a new pump or pressure tank, that will pay for itself in a short time. The only cost for the water is the electricity it takes to run the pump. So if you want to wash your car every day, the monetary cost is practically nothing.
3. Do you have a garden? It won't cost an arm and a leg to water your plants. Filters to handle just about anything (if you need them) are available for use at the kitchen sink or for the whole house.

I agree that it's a good idea to talk to others in the area about the type of well they have, and ask if there is a problem with the quality of the water. It's also a good idea to get a water analysis yearly.

Ed

[RAFlorida]

Bob, as you noted

"Some well water is almost undrinkable.", that is very true where sulfur is found. As Uncle Cracker posted, it all depends on size of home, family plus other factors. You may need to check for chemicals in the ground, and a well driller will usually do the test for that. I live in the swamps and we have to be tested for EDB, a chemical that was used in field application of a soil fumigant, ethylene dibromide (EDB), to control nematodes in citrus groves. That chem. causes cancer. So it is important to use a repitable (?) well driller.

[billwmeyer]

I was raised on a farm with well water as our only source for years. The water was extremely hard but tasted pretty good. We had problems once we got an automatic washer, as our water usage went up and we had trouble with the well running low. We would have water trucked in when this happened. Our pump was in the house to prevent freezing, and I would wake up when it kicked on during the night.

We were one of the first people to sign up when they formed a rural water district. I would never go back to well water.

Bill

[tseavoy]

I live on an island and until two years ago, wells were the only source of water. In some areas the wells were good, other areas the well water was salty, and in other areas there was not enough water. About seven years ago the local PUD (Public Utility District) put forth the possibility of providing water to the island (a bridge connects the island to the mainland). This started a five year fight between the people who didn't want it and those who did, with the result that those who wanted it won. I was one of them. We have been on public water for a year and a half and it is wonderful. Our well is salty and full of minerals. We now have a dishwasher that doesn't corrode after 3 years. The PUD water is tested every month with results sent to the state. It is treated to extract those minerals that can be extracted and with chlorine added to kill and harmful bacteria. The PUD water is also well water and has very little bacteria to begin with.

The cost of drilling a well has gone up significantly since we had ours drilled. A 100 foot well can cost ten to twenty thousand dollars. Our assessment for the construction is $8000, paid over 17 years at a low interest rate. Our average monthly water bill is about 28 dollars.

My advice is if you can get public water, get it. It might not be there when you need it. "You never miss the water until the well runs dry"

Tom on Marrowstone

[HauntedBranch]

We been in our house only a year but have had no problems with our well or water supply. Others nearby have had wells that faltered in the recent drought but a communal water supply might have had the same or worse problem in that situation.
I would certainly want to know the average depth of local wells and the cost to drill them. All the water here tastes great (I live in God's country) but that might be an issue as well.
If you go with a well and have a generator, it makes sense to put the well pump on the generator to avoid the problem of getting water in power outages.
Phil

[Kristofor]

I have city water, but I wish I had a well. Why? It's all about cost. I live in Minnesota (the "cold" land of 10,000 lakes), but in a given year I pay 3-4x more for water than for natural gas used for heat, water heating, and the stove...

A lot of that is due to the city I live in (our rates are 7x the cost of the next city over, and about 11x the cost my parents pay living in a different suburb), but I suspect with the new edicts from the (unelected) Met Council it's far more likely that those cities prices will rise rather than mine decreasing...

[L. D. Jeffries]

We live in a very rural town with no local water supply. So its well water for every one, with its share of pro's and con's.Drilling a well is the worlds biggest crap shoot. Drill and get only 1 gph or drill and get 10 gph! The "short supply" well will cost the same as the good well and at todays prices that can be a bummer or not. Minerals are the other problem, our well has a lot of taste (not good) so we buy bottled water for cooking and drinking. An imperfect world for sure! We don't however run out of water even in dry summers.

[ragswl4]

We live in a rural area of Kalifornia and have only a well, no access to other water supply. Upside is the low and never increasing cost of the water. The down side is that at some point the pump in the well needs to be replaced. Time factor depends on "who knows what?". We had to replace ours 20 years after the initial drilling at the cost of $1500 which also included replacing 150 feet of iron pipe with PVC. Our only other costs have been replacing the pressure pump topside on three different occasions and the local varmints routinely chew through the rubber hose that connects from the pump output to the electrical contactor. Also had to replace the well pump controller twice ($300 each time). All in all it has cost less than what city water would (if it were available). Our biggest problem is that the well will occasionally take a vacation and we run out of water (we have a 2500 gallon above ground storage tank) and we have to pump water from our ajoining lot that has a great well. As someone else posted, drilling a well is a crap shoot. We intend to sell our current home pretty soon so this is an issue we will have to rectify prior to selling. Probably a new well. Best advice is to talk to others in the area to see how their wells perform and of course that's no guarantee you will find a reliable source when you drill. Good luck and in any case, consider what you will do for back up water.