[nspa]

Hi all.. We're moving to Mansfield later this year and will begin life with well water. (it will be our own well) Since we're used to city water this will be a new thing... so some questions:

1.) If it's a new well, is the builder required to put filters on to get rid of things like iron, partic., bacteria or is this our job?

2.) do most people do the water softener thing?

3.) how does keeping your lawn watered work? is it so moist you don't have to water much or do people use sprinkler? we didn't see many sprinkler systems when we looked at houses.

thanks in advance, i'm sure we'll have more questions!

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by nspa

1.) If it's a new well, is the builder required to put filters on to get rid of things like iron, partic., bacteria or is this our job?

Not necessarily. The builder is required to supply water to the house. The town will usually determine "x gallons per minute" as the minimum requirement. Water quality varies depending on weather and geological conditions. Quite often during inspections, wells receive excessive coliform counts after heavy rains. They often pass during a re-test.

Originally Posted by nspa

2.) Do most people do the water softener thing?

This depends on the hardness of the water and one's preference. Often, the water softener can be connected for certain sources (showers) and not others (outside hoses).

Originally Posted by nspa

3.) How does keeping your lawn watered work? Is it so moist you don't have to water much or do people use sprinklers? We didn't see many sprinkler systems when we looked at houses.

Well water versus city water has nothing to do with greener (or wet) lawns. The water is often pumped from several hundred feet below the surface.

[nspa]

what I meant by the lawns was that no one had sprinkler systems... how do people water their lawns or is it even necessary b/c of the climate?

[JayCT]

You will need to water your lawn regularly particularly during the warmer summer months (say June to August). If you do not have a sprinkler system you just buy a sprinkler and hook it up to your hose. I use to run mine about an hour for each area but we have very sandy soil so you may get away with less time. I would do this a couple of times a week. Our lawn looked okay but you could always tell which houses had a sprinkler system and which did not. Now our sprinkler system runs 20 minutes per zone each morning before we get up. hope this helps. Jay

[glxyman21]

Normally, people with well water do not water their lawns, especially during hot summer months for running the risk of having the well dry up and wasting water. Some people have two wells dug, one for the house and the other for the sprinkler system.

[nspa]

Seriously... wells drying up? wow! Do most people drink their well water or get some delivered (i.e. arrowhead, culligan)? Do they use filter systems like Brita or Pure or fridge ones? Are these enough to filter out some of the toxic stuff I've read can be in wells? Also, what do you guys know about contaminated groundwater in Mansfield? Thanks again for replying it's super helpful!

[JayCT]

Wells drying up are not that common here in Connecticut unless the wells are shallow. I am not saying that it deos not happen but we do have a good amount of precipatation during the summer to help recharge the groundwater. Also most people I know on wells do water their lawns in the summer unless there has been a really long dry spell.

As for filtering the water, it depends on the water. There are some that have issues but most do not. The people I know with wells do not use bottle water at all because their water is actually better tasting than that found in the bottle. They do have their water tested occasionally though just to be sure it is within potable water standards. While it may be a concern, I wouold not worry about being on a well. Just make sure you have the water tested and you know that it is a deep well with a good flow rate. Jay

[hoppybunn]

My parents live in Storrs (Mansfield) and they have a private well. They don't use a sprinkler system for the lawn since it rains fairly often and the grass doesn't seem to ever go brown from dying. Water is also not filtered and it tastes perfectly fine (it's actually pretty cold from the tap since the water is from underground). For flowers though they have a hose attached to the house that they just use to water the flowers.