Saint Clair Co. I'm afraid my well might dry up (Birmingham: travel, work)

[Nancy Ann]

Hey guys, first time poster here... I just hope I can find any replies that I might get...

Here is my story:

I'm live in Pell City AL. I do not live in the city limits. So I get my water from a private well. This summer sure has been dry and looks like it is going to be a dry Winter... Seems like every year it gets worse and worse as far as rain goes... I honestly don't see how anyone can make a living farming here. Anyway back to my story: I don't know what I would do if my well went dry... I couldn't move or pay to have another well drilled...The houses down below me on the Lake have city water and the nicer homes around me have city water. I'm just in a small area that is still considered the County... There are many people that I work with in different Counties that have "County water" This is new to me.... Didn't even know it existed... Can anyone tell me about County water and how to go about getting it ?? I get electricity out here, I can have a phone, get my garbage picked up, what can't I have water ??? Does anyone know what families do when their wells dry up? I'm really getting scared... I welcome any advice or opinions....

[Southlander]

Check with your county government to see if there are water lines out your way. You would have to pay to connect to the lines, which usually run along major routes. If there are no lines, I guess you could have your well drilled deeper...but that may not work either. You might have to have a tank installed and have some outfit fill it out of a truck...I don't think that has had to be done in Alabama in a l-o-n-g time.

[jsherman9901]

If I were you, I would call the Pell City Water Department. They should be able to put you in contact with other water districts in the county, so you could find out if there is a public water line adjacent to your house and who operates it. I had to contact four different water systems in my county, but finally found out who provided the public water in my area. Just to have the tap & meter meter put in cost me $250 (but that is cheap compared to some places).

[Threestep]

Originally Posted by Southlander

Check with your county government to see if there are water lines out your way. You would have to pay to connect to the lines, which usually run along major routes. If there are no lines, I guess you could have your well drilled deeper...but that may not work either. You might have to have a tank installed and have some outfit fill it out of a truck...I don't think that has had to be done in Alabama in a l-o-n-g time.

Wasn't there a long article in the local section of the Birmingham paper the other day about a mayor filling the water tower every morning? Some small community nearby.

[Threestep]

Contact the Pelham Water Works and talk to neighbors to get information about their county hook-up. Please share what you find out with us. Thank you.

[harry chickpea]

You'll get an indication that a well is drying up if you get increasing amounts of sediment in your water, or the well pump runs continuously for a while after a heavy draw of water.

Others have addressed how to contact people to find out if you have a public water line you can tap into. If you don't, then your options begin to get more expensive.

The first line of defense is to minimize water usage. A good dishwasher allows you to use far less water than hand washing unless you have a dog with a clean tongue and the skills of a desert rat. Washing clothes at a laundromat can save even more of your water. Drinking bottled water saves more of your well water, but more importantly may be safer if your well gets to that low a level. Aside from the old axioms of "if it is yellow, let it mellow," there are options like incinerating toilets and composting toilets that use no water at all. Most people who have lived in a travel trailer have quickly learned how to use five gallons or less per shower, and take sponge baths. This summer, we've been living with a weak well, and using only about 30 gallons per day without any real hardship other than having to replace filters too often.

Firefighting is as much a concern to me as the inconveniences of a weak well. I just purchased an 1100 gallon tank from Tractor Supply that will be buried on a slope above our house. It isn't a tremendous amount of stored water, but could put out a fire that was caught early, or provide us with water for a month, and it gives a peace of mind that we won't run completely out of water at an inopportune time.

Other options include capturing the runoff from a roof in a kid's pool for use in the garden, or even for use as home water, provided the roof is metal and the water is filtered and disinfected. Water can be transfered in by truck - this has been done this summer for watering livestock in some areas. If you work at a place that has water, or otherwise have access, you can fit a small transfer tank into the back of a pickup or trunk of a car. A small RV pump will allow you to pump that water out and into a holding tank at your home. Water weighs about 8lbs/gal, so a 65 gallon tank is about the largest practical transfer tank. Again, Tractor Supply has these.

In short, with proper planning, a dry well can be an inconvenience, but life can go on.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by Threestep

Wasn't there a long article in the local section of the Birmingham paper the other day about a mayor filling the water tower every morning? Some small community nearby.

I think that was town close to Chattanooga.

[Keeper]

It was in TN and a city in AL were giving them water