Well water - how do you pay for water? (Albuquerque: flat fee, for sale)

[PaddyMac]

I see a lot of homes for sale in the East Mountains (Tijeras etc) that have well water. Assuming these resale homes have paid the initial permit fees to drill for the well etc, what are the water fees after that? I'm assuming it can't be free, so do you pay for the water you pull out of your own well? (i.e,. is it metered or monitored by a city inspector?) Or is there an annual flat fee based on the square footage of the house? (Yes, we've always had city water...so basically clueless....!)

I also notice some sellers tout that a water softener is "leased" or "owned", and some say "none". I already know I want a water softener in a 3/4 bedroom house, and I'm trying to assess what "value" to place on a leased or owned one as we house hunt, compared to installing a new one from scratch.

thanks for any tips!

[sjbasin]

You don't pay for the water once the well is permitted, drilled, and producing. There are different rules for different uses also. The process for an agricultural or commercial use is different than the process for domestic use.

[Nil]

After the drilling is done and plumbing is setup the only thing you have to pay for is the electricity used to pull the water out of the ground. I've heard that Edgewood has meters installed on domestic wells to monitor usage for a time(could be wrong though) so I wouldnt be surprised to see that elsewhere. Normally electricity and routine maintainence will be the only costs you experience. Get a pumper windmill and you would have even less monthly cost.

[nmguy]

Adding to what Nil has to say, I would add that it's possible to share a well, as I do, with my closest neighbor.

The meter is inspected once a month and we both receive the bill, which averages somewhere around $6-$7. Every July (the month I moved in), my neighbor gives me a check for 1/2 of the yearly bill.

[PaddyMac]

Thanks for the info, I'd no idea well water itself was free once it was up and running!

I plan to look into solar power once settled. But that will be a whole other thread!!

[nmbound]

One word of advice----------be prepared for when you have well trouble. It tends to get expensive!

[PaddyMac]

I just exchanged emails with someone who used to live in Cedar Crest (East Mountains). They also mentioned the sewage/septic issue:

"Sewage is another issue, as percolation is very poor, and a new home must either be hooked up to a system (available in the larger subdivisions such as Paa-Ko and Campbell Ranch, or have a high-tech septic system that pre-treats the wastes and may even produce clean water that can be used for irrigation. If you look at an older home, be sure that it complies with the new Bernalillo County septic ordinance (I think it is effective in 2010 and will not permit grandfathering of older systems)."

I found a PDF online that I'm trying to decipher, but it seems to say that if a city line is "available" (meaning within 200 feet) a home must hook up to it. There are no maps to indicate where the line is now or where it intends to go, but it will be something to look into for sure.

[BBFARRAR]

PaddyMac. One side note. If you do buy land in NM be absolutely that you are also buying the water rights that go with that land. Folks from other areas of the country are not aware of how water is handled in desert areas. If water rights are not included, do not buy the land.

[PaddyMac]

Thanks for all the tips on well water etc. As it happened, we flew to Albuquerque last week for a couple of days, and fell for a lovely home in Paa-ko in Sandia Park - where there is natural gas and piped-in water! Whoo-hoo!

(We figure in our next home we can get a bit more rural and have a well and propane tank, but for now we like the conveniences of Paa-ko - not to mention the paved road!)

Looking forward to getting the packing and moving out of the way, and settling in to our new home in late July, all going well. Thanks to all for all the info and tips on New Mexico over the past year.