Home well systems?

[tranquility]

Since my septic tank thread went well and I learned a lot of stuff, I figured why not start one about well systems?

I've been curious about some new houses/landplots where there doesn't seem to be any access to city water or sewers, so I'd like to know more about well systems. There are so many questions for a newb like me, for example:

1. how accurate are the hired professionals who will probe the land to see if there's a viable well underneath? If they say it will last 50 years for a family of 4, how believable is that?

2. what kind of systems are good? I assume most ppl are going to have a drilled well?

3. will Canadian winters affect these systems and what precautions need one take?

4. I assume power generators as backups are a must?

5. how clean is the water vs city water? any additional health risks?

I'm sure that I'll have more questions. Anyway, tx in advance!

[iminhell1]

City water = chemically treated recycled piss.
Well water = rusty mineral infused goodness

You'll be able to spot well water vs city easily. Just look for the folks with orange tinted undershirts. LOL


The quality of well water is very regional based. The depth they need to drill to get good water and flow is very regional based also.
My well is roughly 280 feet deep. Tons of flow. It's fine rust, the kind that's very fine and plugs everything. A fair whole house filter does an adequate job and reduces the need for salt (you'll want to ask about water softening next, LOL).


The well pipe should last quite a while. The pump won't last as long, generally. Reason being is they work very hard and are never maintained. But the pump stuff is affordable to replace vs having to dig a new well.

Figure the cost of a new well to be around $6,000 on the high end all said and done.


Cold isn't a big deal. It won't affect anything in the ground unless you have an above ground hydrant or a pressure tank outside the house.

[BMWCCA1]

We lived in our last house for over 35-years and only once did we have to replace the well pump and that was due to a lightning strike. That well had been there for years before we moved in and was only 75-feet deep and had an endless supply of water.

Our new house we had to drill a well. In our county you can't even get a building permit before having your well in and tested. Ours came in at around 300-feet with a huge gusher when it hit the aquifer on the first attempt. Make sure your installer uses plastic spacers on the wiring so it won't rub itself raw from overuse, especially when your pressure tank fails (which it will). And make sure your pressure tank is properly sized for your useage so your pump won't have to run excessively. Often times these tanks go by the brand-name WellSaver, which is very appropriate to their function. We've always used a whole-house filter for sediment, and change it whenever the refrigerator wants me to change its filter, just as a reminder.

We had a full water test done prior to construction and my wife wanted another done about a year ago. Clean bill of health. If you're in an area with a large presence of legacy underground oil tanks, there are specific tests for petroleum contamination you should have done.

The positives are we know the water is safe and tastes the way it should. We, of course, pay no water bill and the only cost in five-years on the new well was a replacement pressure tank which was done under warranty (I think they undersized it from the start and we took that opportunity to get a bigger one.) We've lived with well-water for over 50-years in our area. The only major cost at inception could be drilling dry holes. No one can guaranty success but it they know your area they can estimate the success rate. I can remember someone building a home maybe 15-miles from us drilling three unsuccessful wells and calling in a dowser to choose the next spot. It was pretty amazing to watch and proved successful, too! I wasn't a believer until the dowser (also often called a Water Witch) let me hold the dowsing rod and scan the same area. Very strange!

We now have a whole-house generator but in the past have simply stored water for drinking and flushing or, if the forecast was really bad, filled a tub with water. Since installing the generator we've had no outage. Go figure. It really depends on your area utility and weather.

[unluky]

I have been on a well since 2007 - if you live in an area with decent water - a whole house water filter and a water softener will provide you with some of the best water you can hope for.

Depends on the water you start with of course, but I miss my water when I travel.

[R BMW]

Make sure the pump is a VSD type. It will only run at a speed needed to keep the water pressure at demand.
The other style pump will run at full speed every time it turns on. Also you can get by with a smaller pressure tank with a VSD.

[tranquility]

Tx for the comments, keep them coming!

Once you go well water, you'll never go back to city water? I wonder if you can describe the difference?

So, well water is pretty much 'virgin' and never touched at all, or could there be contamination somehow if another house tapped into the same source or something else (someone mentioned nearby oil fields, etc)?

[bagekko]

Would prefer well in most cases, not feasible currently and in UT ground water rights on your property are not free.

Filtration is necessary and this system with UV is good for wells.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XAJK52Q...lig_dp_it&th=1

Have similar on my city water cause yeah never trust city water.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by tranquility

So, well water is pretty much 'virgin' and never touched at all, or could there be contamination somehow if another house tapped into the same source or something else (someone mentioned nearby oil fields, etc)?

That was underground oil TANKS, like for heating oil. These days they must be above ground but many are over 50-years old still in the ground.

And no water is truly "virgin". The best you can get is water held in a glacier for a millennium but most ground water has had the benefit of being filtered through the Earth's natural purification process. I just can't stand the smell or taste of chlorinated "city" water and many would prefer to Fluoridate their water by choice—or not.

I suppose it was once all "virgin" until Man messed it up, but remember "Fish f*ck in it".

[vreihen16]

A cycle stop valve and smaller pressure tank was one of our best investments without going to a VSD.

There is no magic pool of water underground. It all comes from the surface, trickling down through the dirt/rocks. Yes, the same dirt/rocks that your septic leech field dumps into. The regional geology determines the water taste and composition. In Fiji and Iceland, their volcanic rocks make acidic water that people here pay five bucks a bottle to buy. In our area, the deeper aquifer has sulfur-smelling water and the shallower one has a nuisance iron bacteria.

Most local well drillers have records for their drillings in an area, and can give you an idea about the type of water and about how deep it is. Many county health departments have well records for every home/business, if you want to spend a few hours poking around those documents.....

[spicyB48]

If you have well water you are essentially running your own water treatment plant.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by spicyB48

If you have well water you are essentially running your own water treatment plant.

Yup, so I wonder how many owners are up to the task and do it better (safer, cleaner, better tasting, etc) vs the city?

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Yup, so I wonder how many owners are up to the task and do it better (safer, cleaner, better tasting, etc) vs the city?

My DW was a municipal water plant operator both for a small town and the largest city in the country (known for its awesome tap water). We have more filters on our well than a water plant, and our water tastes great...because the well is still crap and we have water cooler jugs delivered weekly.....

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

My DW was a municipal water plant operator both for a small town and the largest city in the country (known for its awesome tap water). We have more filters on our well than a water plant, and our water tastes great...because the well is still crap and we have water cooler jugs delivered weekly.....

So what %age split usage of well vs bottled water?

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by tranquility

So what %age split usage of well vs bottled water?

We use the spring water cooler for drinking and cooking, and of course OCD psycho dog's water bowl. On weekdays, we go through a gallon per day. Weekend use is around 2.0 - 2.5 gallons, since we're home.

The well provides water for bathing, washing, toilet flushing, etc. It is more or less safe to drink after passing through our basement water treatment plant, but my DW says that it still has a funky taste so we drink the bottled water.

Note that our treatment system does *not* have a reverse-osmosis filter. My DW says that those filters are ineffective against bacteria.

One of our regional grocery chains carries 4-gallon water cooler jugs for less than the home delivery company, so my DW picks up a jug or two (weigh ~35 pound each) while shopping to supplement the delivered jugs.....

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by spicyB48

If you have well water you are essentially running your own water treatment plant.

We have one whole-house sediment filter on our well which we change maybe four-times per year, and the one built-in to the water server on the door of the refrigerator which is where most of our drinking water comes from. It tastes great because we live where groundwater is safe and clean. We've had the water tested for contaminates twice since the initial test required for the building permit about six-years ago. The health department gave us a clean report just last year.

Again, this is my 50th year of drinking well water in this area. My kids are smart and normal. I'm 71 and have no health problems attributable to tainted water, and I still can't stand the smell or flavor of processed city water in the area. And I've never paid a water bill and only replaced one well-pump and that was due to a lightning strike.

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Note that our treatment system does *not* have a reverse-osmosis filter. My DW says that those filters are ineffective against bacteria.
....

Yes, I don't believe the filters in reverse osmosis system will be overly effective against bacteria, but your UV light system should destroy those no?

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

We use the spring water cooler for drinking and cooking, and of course OCD psycho dog's water bowl. On weekdays, we go through a gallon per day. Weekend use is around 2.0 - 2.5 gallons, since we're home.

The well provides water for bathing, washing, toilet flushing, etc. It is more or less safe to drink after passing through our basement water treatment plant, but my DW says that it still has a funky taste so we drink the bottled water.

Note that our treatment system does *not* have a reverse-osmosis filter. My DW says that those filters are ineffective against bacteria.

One of our regional grocery chains carries 4-gallon water cooler jugs for less than the home delivery company, so my DW picks up a jug or two (weigh ~35 pound each) while shopping to supplement the delivered jugs.....

Tx for the info. Haha re your dog, I had a rabbit like that, only gave her bottled water but one day I ran out and tried to give her tap in the meantime, she stopped after two slurps, simply REFUSED to drink further so here I was throwing on some clothes to run to the nearby grocers to fetch her favorite brand. It was a LMAO moment. Fancypants bunny. I miss her.

Ok, so does it suck having to arrange bottled water since you have well access? It would bother me but I guess it's not feasible at all where you live to make the well water drinkable?

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Tx for the info. Haha re your dog, I had a rabbit like that, only gave her bottled water but one day I ran out and tried to give her tap in the meantime, she stopped after two slurps, simply REFUSED to drink further so here I was throwing on some clothes to run to the nearby grocers to fetch her favorite brand. It was a LMAO moment. Fancypants bunny. I miss her.

Ok, so does it suck having to arrange bottled water since you have well access? It would bother me but I guess it's not feasible at all where you live to make the well water drinkable?

That's the thing I'm not sure about though - I would think it is feasible to make his well water drinkable - unless it is just situated in an area where the water is too contaminated to do anything about.

I know when we moved in, the water wasn't potable, because the owner hadn't realized her UV light was out, so her water filtration system wasn't doing a whole lot for her. But they then shocked the well, and got the UV working again and it was fine and has been for the last 9 years.

All we have is a sediment filter, UV light, iron filter and water softener, and then we added a reverse osmosis system just because we liked the idea of it, but that doesn't change the potability of the water really.

The water is great, our kids hate drinking city water whenever we are in the city and complain if we throw the water from home in their travel water bottles down the drain whenever we are out somewhere because they know the new water is going to taste funny. Realistically, its just heavily chlorinated, but it truly doesn't taste great after you get used to well water.

[spazzyfry123]

What whole-house filtration systems are you folks running?

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Watching The World Burn

Yes, I don't believe the filters in reverse osmosis system will be overly effective against bacteria, but your UV light system should destroy those no?

Funny misconception about UV lights. It doesn't actually kill the little buggers, just neuters them so they can't reproduce. AFAIK, we are the only house on our street that has a UV filter. Some use chlorine tablet injectors.

It bears mentioning that our SC retirement tree farm on the motorboat lake has municipal water and gigabit Internet fiber sitting at the curb when we decide to build. My DW is tired of working the private water plant in our basement dungeon.....

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Funny misconception about UV lights. It doesn't actually kill the little buggers, just neuters them so they can't reproduce. AFAIK, we are the only house on our street that has a UV filter. Some use chlorine tablet injectors.

It bears mentioning that our SC retirement tree farm on the motorboat lake has municipal water and gigabit Internet fiber sitting at the curb when we decide to build. My DW is tired of working the private water plant in our basement dungeon.....

If they can't reproduce (either in water or in you), I wonder if that makes them less of an issue then? I mean, we all deal with a certain amount of bacteria every day and it keeps our immune system up in all likelihood which is a good thing.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

What whole-house filtration systems are you folks running?

Urban Defender from Sweetwater. Primary sediment filtration that I change the filter about every other month and it comes out all red and nasty. The main tank is full of carbon mini balls. Can replace those, but generally I replace the whole system about every decade.

The wife complains when I don't replace the pre-filter often enough. She starts to detect water spots. We have pretty hard water.

It's not a personal well, about 150 of us share the system. At teh well head, we only inject chlorine to CA-mandated standards. The Defender filters that out, and would protect from the MTBE, should that cloud ever reach our aquafer.