Living on land with well water instead of city water
Hey there--
so I'm thinking about moving onto a small plot of land that is in a somewhat rural neighborhood, meaning outside the city limits and not getting any city utilities.
What should I expect?
It's on a septic tank but the realtor thinks its the old kind that doesn't have to be maintained with tabs or the newer stuff because the house is from the 80s.
Also, it has well water-- how icky is that? I normally drink bottled water anyways, but should I put filters on my faucets and showers? On the one hand I think, yay-- no chlorine. On the other, I think....what's at the bottom of that well that's in my water?
Also, I have to figure out how much trash costs since that's normally a paid city utility.
Any advice? Thoughts? unforseen pluses aside from escaping suburbia and the apartment clusters?
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
If your well is done right, the bottom is in a nice limestone formation and the water standing there is perfectly filtered. Next best is it's in a sandstone formation and again naturally filtered. Only way to find out is to test it. Also, well water may taste different from city water, though probably not by much as it is coming from the same formation. (If your city water is from wells. If it is from a lake or river, then your well water is probably cleaner.
HTH
Z
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Yeah it all depends on the well. Well water can be amazing or disgusting. I had the disgusting kind, stained everything including clothes and tub, toilet, and would never want to tolerate that again. Some well water is so tasty and pure it's heavenly though. My gramma's was, never tasted water so good.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
The water will certainly taste funny to you without the chemicals or the other treatments. After drinking from a well then the city water will then taste funny to you.
I would get some samples yourself direct from the house taps. There should be a county water commission or health commission that will test the water for purity, minerals, and hazards.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
I have been on well and septic since 1979. It is not a problem. Remember though if there is a problem with either, you have to pay someone to fix it, no calling the Bureaucrats to come take care of it.
Bear in mind, municipalities are fond of adding "fees" to your water bill whenever they want money. Then they claim they are not raising taxes. The water bill in town may have little or nothing to do with the cost of supplying water.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
My water comes from a well.....gotta add salt and change the filters.
If you forget to change the filters/add salt...our water pressure gets low and the water smells funny.
Other than that, no problems. Nice to not have a water bill...
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Quote:
Originally Posted by
_Avery_
My water comes from a well.....gotta add salt and change the filters.
If you forget to change the filters/add salt...our water pressure gets low and the water smells funny.
Other than that, no problems. Nice to not have a water bill...
Yep, pretty much the same here. Get the water tested to be sure. When my son was a baby, we got it tested to see if we could use the water for his bottles. Technically, we could have, but we still used bottled water. Our water doesn't smell, but the water pressure kind of sucks. And it tastes normal, never had anyone notice anything, and I have outspoken friends that would let me know if our water tasted like shit.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Avery_
My water comes from a well.....gotta add salt and change the filters.
If you forget to change the filters/add salt...our water pressure gets low and the water smells funny.
Other than that, no problems. Nice to not have a water bill...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Arianna419
Yep, pretty much the same here. Get the water tested to be sure. When my son was a baby, we got it tested to see if we could use the water for his bottles. Technically, we could have, but we still used bottled water. Our water doesn't smell, but the water pressure kind of sucks. And it tastes normal, never had anyone notice anything, and I have outspoken friends that would let me know if our water tasted like shit.
Ditto this for me as well. For our well the water is fine as long as we keep the salt/filters/pump stuff working right. Biggest thing for me isn't the taste (if you don't like it there are filters just like for city water) it was the fact that you have a limited amount of water depending on your well. We have only ran out of water ONCE and it was about 15 years ago when we attempted to fill a pool lol.
Other than that it's better because no chemicals, no water bill, and (my best friends favorite) if the world goes nutso you can be more self sustaining.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
I just know that I grew up on well water. My parents still live there - I lived there for 17 years on well water. It tasted decent, like normal water I guess. Never got like diseases and stuff aha!
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Quote:
Originally Posted by
_Avery_
My water comes from a well.....gotta add salt and change the filters.
If you forget to change the filters/add salt...our water pressure gets low and the water smells funny.
Other than that, no problems. Nice to not have a water bill...
You often have to do that with municipal water supplies. Cities don’t normally take out the minerals that eventually clog the plumbing. If you want “soft” water, you either pay for it or live where the water is naturally “soft”
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
You might want to keep a few gallons of drinking water on hand in case the power goes out. Depending on the size of your reservoir, and how well it's pressurized, you could run into some problems. One of the drawbacks of living out in the country, is that you're usually pretty low on the list when it comes to getting the power restored.
I would also suggest that you inquire about when was the last time, or if the septic has ever been pumped out. Make sure that you thoroughly inspect the yard for any warning signs. Septic repair bills can be HUGE, so do you due diligence before making any purchase. Good Luck!
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Well water is indeed a huge 'variable'. As Zofia already pointed out, if you have the right ground conditions well water can be of astounding 'quality' ... as is the case for my house in upstate NY. I wish the well water was that good down here way south of the border.
Even if the well water quality isn't all that great, it's getting easier and easier to 'treat' it. The older technology 'salt tanks' for removing calcium etc. is now being challenged by electrostatic systems. Also, well water doesn't dose you ( or your plants and animals ) with flourides and chlorine the way municipal water does.
The only real drawback to a well water system is that any major problem is going to require major bucks to rectify. If an existing well fails / runs dry due to declining water table ... poof, $5000+ to drill a new / deeper well. Pump craps out ... poof $500+ for a new one. Statistically speaking a well is still less expensive than municipal water, but there ARE costs involved and they have a way of hitting you all at once.
Septic tanks generally follow the same formula ... no monthly cost other than a $5 box of RidX, right up until the point where you have to dig up your septic tank and/or leach field at a cost of $10,000. Been there ... done that ... and it stunk like hell besides !!!
As to trash collection, that's typically very cheap. If there is a 'kicker', it's that private trash companies won't take away certain items that municipal trash pickup will usually take for 'free' ... which can then get rather expensive to deal with.
In all of the above cases, if the local gov't isn't downright greedy, your property taxes should be significantly lower as a result of the services the local municipality does NOT provide.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
You should get a very thorough water test; do not stop with the standard public health department tests. Lots of solvents, pesticides to consider besides bacteria. Think of the amount of water people ingest per year, maybe thousands of gallons. Almost any noxious compounds in it will cause health problems in the future.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bennu
You might want to keep a few gallons of drinking water on hand in case the power goes out. Depending on the size of your reservoir, and how well it's pressurized, you could run into some problems. One of the drawbacks of living out in the country, is that you're usually pretty low on the list when it comes to getting the power restored.
I would also suggest that you inquire about when was the last time, or if the septic has ever been pumped out. Make sure that you thoroughly inspect the yard for any warning signs. Septic repair bills can be HUGE, so do you due diligence before making any purchase. Good Luck!
Or get a generator hand have your well rigged so you can plug it into the generator during power failures.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
IMHO well water reigns supreme. It doesn't taste like chlorine. It tastes cleaner than city water I think. But I'm a country girl, born and raised in the boonies so I might be biased. Do keep bottled water in case of a power outage. And I would be super sure on what kind of septic it is and always use rid-X because a backed up septic will ruin your week for sure and its expensive as all get out to get it fixed and cleaned up. Never use bleach or flush anything but waste and TP.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
I grew up on well water back when filters and bottled water werent the rage and it is fine! Make sure it was poured correctly!o its filtered right, otherwise all should be good! With recent data about bottled water, Im fairly sure its healthier.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Droughtmaster is your friend! I just saw this story on the weather channel. This guy from Austin made a machine to take the water out of the air and convert it into drinking water. It works so well that Texas governor Perry and GW and Willie Nelson all bought some. http://www.thedroughtmaster.com/ He's already running low on stock. I would LOVE to invest in this guy's company! His smallest well makes 100 gallons with 60% humidity. Amazing.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lindsknits
IMHO well water reigns supreme. It doesn't taste like chlorine. It tastes cleaner than city water I think. But I'm a country girl, born and raised in the boonies so I might be biased. Do keep bottled water in case of a power outage. And I would be super sure on what kind of septic it is and always use rid-X because a backed up septic will ruin your week for sure and its expensive as all get out to get it fixed and cleaned up. Never use bleach or flush anything but waste and TP.
Yes, be considerate of your septic system.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
My mom use to have well water only at her home. It smelled like rotten eggs anytime anyone took a shower. No way I would of drank that water. She even had a water softner on the side of the house.
Re: Living on land with well water instead of city water
Quote:
Originally Posted by
StripClubSam
My mom use to have well water only at her home. It smelled like rotten eggs anytime anyone took a shower. No way I would of drank that water. She even had a water softner on the side of the house.
That is sulfur water and you dont notice the taste/smell after a few months. I moved into a house with sulfur/well water at about age 14. 2-4 months later I didnt notice.