We are trying to figure out if we should go with a water well or rural water. It seems like rural water its crazy expensive and has a big initial cost as well. The water well we are doing regardless of what we will use in the house because of the sprinkler system and geothermal heat pump so we would just need to get water softener and some sort of reverse osmosis system. The well on my neighbors property works pretty well and has enough volume I’m told, although I don’t think they’ve done a water test which will probably be my next step.
What do you guys think? I am mostly worried about things like mercury I guess but I didn’t know if there were other concerns?
Thanks,
–Carlos
Replies
Your rural water is probably from a well also, so mercury could also be present there.
If you go with the well, you might want to consider an auxiliary power source (i.e., generator) for the well pump so that you can obtain water if your electricity goes out for an extended period.
Steve
Edited 2/17/2009 6:14 pm ET by smllr
Yeah we were considering the generator, at least getting it wired for it.
We have both here in the middle of Kentucky, plus I have a spring. Water is piped from the nearest city, and well worth it when the power goes out or we experiance severe drought as we have the last 2 summers.
The water is tested and always fine. We consume lower amt of the billing , about 12.00 a month for 1000 cuft. I believe, and it has gone 2 dollars more for the next tier at 2500cuft.
We still don't drink it, we get gallons of purifed ( no smell of chlorine) for that. I have yet to even hook a pump to the drilled well, and the spring has dry up issues.
I can't advise the cost install, the 3/4 Poly pipe runs about 150' from the meter to the house..thats it.
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Why are you worried about pulling up mercury? Nitrates and E. coli are usually the culprits people test for.
Have you had your water tested for pH to see if you need a softener? Why do you think you'll need a reverse osmosis system? I drink unfiltered water right from my tap, right out of the well, 150' deep. It's clean and good.
If you have to drill one anyway for other reasons, why not just pack water for drinking or treat it yourself, providing it isn't drinkable, which it may well be anyway. Well water doesn't automatically equal "undrinkable".
Here's a site that may be useful to you:
http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/privatewells/index2.html
We are worried about mercury because a friend told us that's a possibility. We haven't done any testing yet, we don't even have a well yet, but our future neighbor does and we are thinking of asking him if we can have his water tested or if he has done it already.
Sometimes a little knowledge is dangerous. Getting mercury in your well water is rather unusual; you're a lot likely to get it from eating fish, actually. Going to your neighbor is an excellent route, but i'd be looking into what the source is, if you have it. My brother's land was condemned and he was forced to leave it when all sorts of krap came out of the ground from a former Rocketdyne testing site when their buried barrels rusted out. Unless you're located near a sewage plant, concrete facility or similar industrial waste producer, it would be unlikely to have mercury, but it would set your mind at ease to know. You can also test for arsenic, lead, cadmium, and other metals while you're at it.
His Q on mercury made me raise an eyebrow too. Wondering if he is downslope from some contamination source or if his buddy is just breaking wind.
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Not as far as we know.
A friend of mine who lived on a farm told me they switched to rural water as soon as they had it available because well water usually has mercury.
So I don't know anything about our specific lot and the water we'll be getting, I just know what people with wells have told me, and only one warned me about mercury.
That is curious for him to say that. His reasoning seems suspect. All he had to do was test his own well to see if he had mercury, so spending money to switch based on that kind of assumption is a head scratcher unless there is some reason area wells are being contaminated.So I gather that you have some form of water available from a treatment and supply place through lines underground making up a rural distribution network. I would recommend learning the source and quality of that water as well as questioning the well drillers for information.Just that series of interviews will be an interesting learning experience for you. Some of the real 'characters' I have known have been drillers.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin, we will check with drillers soon, like I said this idea didn't come up until very recently and this forum has been pretty much the first place I checked other than asking friends who had well water in their house.
Also the lot we are building at doesn't have a well yet, we haven't started building either, that's why I can't test the water there, but a neighbor does have a well and maybe I can get that tested, but I'll have to ask.
Why not just get a bottle of water from the neighbor and have it tested yourself. I bet the county health department has a pretty good idea of what is coming up out of the ground anyway.
An RO will remove just about everything and they are not really that expensive these days. That is what "purified" water is at the store.
Carlos,
Where are you located??
Have you discussed your well project w a local driller?
Probably get a lot of your questions answered from the folks drilling in the area.
Best of luck, Harry
We are in Wichita, KS. We haven't talked to anyone yet, it was just an idea we had last week while talking to our builder.We'll definitely contact drillers soon. We are also wanting to ask them whether it would be better to drill a lot deeper and how much it would cost.
I do not think you are "in" Wichita if you are looking at a rural water outfit, which area near Wichita are you in? For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
hahahaha good point. We are right on the edge of Wichita, near Benton. Still not sure if its considered Benton or Wichita. Its on Sedgwick County.
I am in Oregon and it is the law here that well drillers keep logs and file a report with the state on any well they drill that produces water. They themselves do not test for contaminants but often note odor, obvious mineral taste or smell. Samples are sent to the labs for testing and the state and owner gets the results I believe.
Might check with a county extension office and see what they have to say.
I agree with most others here, mercury isn't a likely issue unless your specific area has proven it to be so.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Kansas Geological Survey has log info for wells listed by county and township- you can google it.most well water can be made safe to drink with proper equipment, and ph balancing is easily doneyou will need to be sure your gallons per minute from the well will accommodate peak demand from the geothermal during peak demand from domestic use (like showering and running a load of laundry and toilets flushing etc. think potential) if you are using an open system. Twenty gallons per minute or more would not be a stretch. That makes a single well for both a bit more of a daunting proposition.a closed loop geothermal probably can not share the same well with domestic usage- check with your health department- the circulating fluid is toxic.with a 3.5 acre lot you should have plenty of space for a horizontal loop independent of a well. Might be something to think about.I would lean towards a hydraulically drilled well. More depth/less time than a ground pounder. No Tag
Edited 2/18/2009 1:37 am ET by hubcap
I lived in Tallgrass from 87-97. Cannot believe the sprawl both East and West. Have not visited for a few years, used to get back about every other year. Worked at Jabara 87-93, remember Benton well. Nice area then, really out in sticks.
Cheers, Bob
For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
Edited 2/18/2009 12:49 am ET by rasconc
Cool! yeah we will be about 1 block north of Jabara (assuming you are talking about the airport), and 4 blocks east. There is still nothing nearby, which is why we could get a 3.5 acre lot, deep in Wichita that would have been crazy expensive.
Little hijack here.
Bob,
Did you work with Harry Dettweiler at Jabara?
He's one of my best buds.They had been on well water until Wichita ran the water into their area and they hooked up to it.Before, they had terribly hard water and had to have a softener. The water also discolored anything the sprinklers hit when they watered.They are happy to be on city water.Pete
Yup, Harry is one of the hardest working, nicest guys I have ever known. We both got "reorganized" out of MCA on the same day. I was Exec VP and Gen Mgr and he ran line service for me. Real kick in the ***** but we are both probably better off for it in the long run.
I had one of the early phones that showed what extension called. I would answer "Hi Harry", he would say how did you know it was me? Told him I was all knowing and seeing, that is why I was the boss. We had great chuckle when he saw the phone.
Tell Harry HI, tell him that Bill Hendrix (another really nice guy) showed up here asking a question a while back, he used to keep a C-210 with us.
For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
Edited 2/18/2009 9:41 am ET by rasconc
What a small world, I'm pretty sure I know the same Bill Hendrix. A friend of mine works with him, I actually bought my miter saw from him.
Bill is an investment counseler/fund manager, lives in Red Brush or Wilson Farms just below Tallgrass. The only customer who ever brought thank you gifts to us at Christmas.For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
Yeap thats the same Bill, really nice guy although I've only met him 2 or 3 times.
Really a small world. He is great guy. When I first visited Wichita before I retired and moved there my former employer and friend introduced me to the pro from the Wichita CC at the Candle Club. Turned out he was a distant cousin of sorts, his sister was married to my 2nd cousins father.
Good luck on the well thing. We are on a well and I need to do some maintenance. Our water is hard on copper. The well was drilled in the late 50's and has steel casing. I have a city water tap at the highway waiting for me to pay an exhorbitant fee to attach to. Their service is down quite frequently. Besides, living outside the city limits I would pay double.
BobFor those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
Ahhh the candle club, sounds very familiar, is that a restaurant behind the dillons on woodlawn? my wife's boss took us there one time.
Yup used to drink with the Carneys (Pizza Hut founders) Dan Taylor, Jack DeBoer, and Rose Stanley and a host of other notables in that place. One of the few remaining private clubs after open liquor in KS. Kind of a smoke filed room like you would see in the Sopranos that mated with a Cheers Bar. Killed a bunch of brain cells there. Great food usually.For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
I have heard from landscaping companies here that you should never hit your house walls with sprinkler water from a well or they will stain badly. We are just a little far for city water, it will probably be a few years before they get there.
Not sure of your terms here. Any water in rural properties I have known came form wells.
Knowing your location is important in this discussion too.
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
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Odd terminology to me, too, but i think Carlos was just differentiating between a communal water supply, presumably overseen by knowledgeable folks, compared to drilling his own well on-site.He's a newbie...we got us a fresh one we can train up right! <G>
<<..He's a newbie...we got us a fresh one we can train up right! <G>..>>Alrighty! Hand out the bats.
Who you callin' an old bat???
Not sure of your terms here. Any water in rural properties I have known came form wells.
That's what they call it around here. The "city" water that the people in the country get is called "rural water". Whereas the "well water" is something you drill on your own property.
But you can further confuse everyone if your 'rural water' comes from a well :)
jt8
lotsa worse things happen to better people than me every day. --Snort
Yeah, we call it city water, but it comes from the river, eeck.
I can get R/o UV treated drinking water AFTER the city water..for 30cents a gallon BYO jugs, which we sterilize w/ peroxide and bleach.
After having Giardia, and still feeling the effects yrs later, I take no chances.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Just set up a still do distill your own. Then run it through the RO. Take no chances!
jt8
lotsa worse things happen to better people than me every day. --Snort
Rural Co-op water companies have to get the water, treat it, have a pipeline to get it to you and pay to pump it...their costs will affect future prices. Around here, it's about $1,000 for a tie on fee and meter, not counting trenching, pipe and hookup to your house. You might check to see where you are in the distribution line. If you're toward the end of the service, sometimes those less use sections have trouble with bacteria buildup in the somewhat stagnant pipeline...
Check your development's restrictions. Some do not allow wells to be drilled. One guy did it anyway and was taken to court and had to plug the well. Another nearby incorporated area won't allow wells on lots smaller than an ACRE!! They have their own Water Co-op!!! Back in 2003, it cost $21.00 a foot for a turn-key waterwell that included PVC casing, pump, pipe in the well and to the house, copper wire, trenching, and pressure tank hookup to the house. Some drillers don't guarantee to hit water, so you'll pay and still get no water...
If you have a neighbor on a well, check to see how deep his well is. That will give you an idea about your cost and to consider going another 30'-50' deeper if there isn't a fear of hitting saltwater. When lots of people get on the same aquifer, the table drops at prime times of the day or evening, or during weekend watering times for their shrubs and yards. You can find yourself all soaped-up and the water may pulse for a second or two and then quit altogether. Pumps usually last 6 to 10 years, but it may cost at least .50 cents a foot to pull the pipe to replace the pump.... Having your own water is nice, but there are some regular glancing maintenance checks like watching water pressures as you water with many sprinklers or light bulbs placed in the above ground well covers when temps drop below freezing....
Bill
Edited 2/17/2009 10:42 pm ET by BilljustBill
Wells are allowed everywhere here as far as I know, several people I know have them and on recently built homes.
We are on a fairly large lot, 3.5 acres, and our across the street neighbor is the one with the well. I think they dug 120 feet I think. We are hoping to go deeper if there is a possibility for more and cleaner water.
deeper is not always better.There is a strata in your geology that will be holding the water. Thing is, you don't ever know if it is 10' across or 50'deep underground lake.If there is just a thin film of water, once you hit it, drilling deeper will do nothing but cost more. but this is more common in other places than Kansas.Out there, you are more likely to hit a deep aquifer. Driling deeper can help assure that in the future it won't go dry as the water level goes down.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
One more thing, we did check and its about 4k for the meter, don't know how much more for the digging, etc.
If this was 10 years ago, I'd say go with the Rural Co-op water, but with the economy the way it going, being self sufficent with your own water will be a positive thing. Even an old Aero Motor windmill will get it to the surface from 120 to 160 feet deep....
Take time to read this...it will keep you up at night!! If it turns out to become true...time isn't on your side or mine!!!
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/
Bill
Good lord, what a writer! Thanks for that link, Bill."...we were building a brave new world where the Chinese made things out of plastic for us, the Indians provided customer support when these Chinese-made things broke, and we paid for it all just by flipping houses..."
chat with the local well drillers. groundwater can come from any number of different aquifiers, each with its own distictive characteristics. Meaning, mineral content (affects tastes and hardness), radium (measured in pico curies), and iron contnet (results in staining and possible iron bacteria and sulphur, a by-product of the bacteria).
while this all sounds bad, you are in control and no muncipal public water supply can jack up your rates every year.
Yeah we'll check with local drillers.
Our builder did say there is a danger of sulfur smell which tells me there is probably a good amount of sulfur.
I meant to address this earlier about the sulfur smell.There are two sources of sulfur smell in water. One is actual sulfur-bearing rock that the water flows through, and there's not much you can do about that except treat the water with filter or aerate it. The other is sulfur-producing bateria, which you can often eradicate by shocking (disinfecting with chlorine) your well. If this is the case, there's a method to doing it properly. It's not a bad idea to do this for a well before using it anyway, IMO. In my case, the sulfur-producing bacteria was introduced by leaving drip irrigation lines attached to the hose bib. A vacuum breaker prevented it from happening again.Good luck.
Interesting. I have no idea how the sulfur happens here. I know they always say thats why all the petroleum wells smell bad but I have no idea if thats related to the well water smell our builder was talking about.
I love the smell of Oklahoma Crude, lightly wafting by on the wind. The smell of money
Shocking a well is a simple, inexpensive procedure using a couple gallons of laundry bleach, but it does need to be done in a specific manner to get all the bugs eradicated. I wrote it up one time here in detail, if you find you need to do it.I don't know anything about the sulfur in oil production and its relation to well water; sorry. I think i'd be happier if my well produced oil, though... <G>
Like Splinty mentioned, Mercury is very unlikely a concern. Nitrates and hardness will likely be your greatest concerns. The idea of having a nearby well tested is not a bad idea. I found a comprehensive testing facility online and purchased a test kit. Don't remember the company, but it was worth the few $$ it cost.
We have a well in a rural area, "liquid rock" with high levels of nitrates. I soften all household water (hose bibs are unsoftened) and use RO for drinking and aquaria. This is due to the 40 plus ppm of nitrates.