Wells, septic tanks and trash

[nnme]

I grew up with well water and septic tanks. I now live in Clemmons and have county water and sewer. I prefer having county services. Many people that are still on well water have had problems with the well running dry due to the drought. That would be something you would need to be aware of since drilling a new well can be extremely expensive. When I was on septic tank, I would have to have it pumped out every 2-3 years depending on how many people are in the house. All waste water goes into the septic tank. Also, before buying a house that is on well water and septic tank, ask if the county services are available (many people will remain on well and septic if they are having no problems even after the services become available). If they had paid the fee ask for the receipt. I know several people that prepaid the fee and couldn't find their receipt and the city/county had no record of the payment ( In many instances the time between the paying and hook-up was 10-20 years or more.) If the services are available to that area, but they aren't hooked up, ask if they have paid for the connection fees. Otherwise, when you experience problems and need to hook up to city/county water/sewer, you will have to pay the connection fees in addition to having the lines dug and hooked up. Just an example, in 1988 Clemmons began to lay county sewer and gave the residents the option of paying the connection fee without hooking up. I paid $1000.00 during the promotion period, it was later to go up to $2000.00 (I think that was the amount it could have been more but would not have been less) I don't know what the cost is now, but here is a link that would give you info: [url=http://www.cityofws.org/Home/Departments/Engineering/RecordsCenter/Articles/WAndSRates]City of Winston-Salem, NC :: W&S Rates[/url]
Hope I've been of some help. I didn't intend for this to be this long! If you have any other concerns, I don't mind answering.
Good luck!

[lugubrious]

Count me in as one who likes the taste of well water. I still have a whole-house filter (for sediment), and have another on the refrigerator (because that's what it came with), but in my mind, that puts our water on par with Dasani (Charlotte municipal water; filtered) and Aquafina (Raleigh municipal water; filtered). As for septic, don't plant anything but grass on the septic field, and have someone pump the system if flushes don't seem very robust. We have 3 people in our household, and haven't had to have it cleaned ($160) in 5 years since the last cleaning.

As for disposers, we use the InSinkErator Evolution. It sprays a little micoorganism blast with each activation, and has a larger motor (3/4 HP) than other conventional disposers. It's also surprisingly quiet.

[url=http://www.insinkerator.com/product/product.php?id=205&template=hhd]InSinkErator | Evolution Septic Assist™[/url]

[Dave 1015]

I have had septic for over 25 years with our family of 4. We have never had a problem. We choose not to use a disposal unit as they can harm the system and we have it pumped regularly (about every 3 years).