Please explain well water and septic too me (Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda: how much, houses)

[Native2UT]

We are entirely on city water and sewer where we live now so I'm totally unfamiliar with the goods and bads of not having city services. Can you explain? Does well water mean it's gross and dirty? And a septic tank? All I know about those is the awful mess shown on the RidX commercials when you don't use their stuff!

[wpc691]

We've lived in three houses with well and septic (not in Florida), and never really had any serious problems. The big drawback is, of course, that if you do have a serious problem, you're on your own to get it fixed, which could be thousands of dollars. A septic tank will last a long, long time if it is pumped out regularly ($100 -200), but the leach field will probably only last about 20 years, then need to be relocated. If you're buying a 15 yr old house, have a contractor verify that there is a suitable secondary location. Your well will probably have a jet pump at the bottom to move the water, so no electricity, no water. I had one get hit by lightning once, and we had no water for 2 days. Well casings can fail in various ways, although it doesn't happen often. Ask how deep the well is - I've had 100 ft deep wells, and 500 ft deep wells; a 500 ft deep well would be VERY expensive to replace, although I'm guessing Florida wells would be pretty shallow. The upside is no water/sewer bill every month and you're living outside the city where, presumably, you prefer to be. While problems can occur, millions of people have wells and septic systems, and get along perfectly fine.

[wpc691]

Second thought - saltwater intrusion in public water supplies is a big deal on the Southeast coast of Florida. I don't know if it affects the West coast (at least right now), or if private wells (which might be shallower) are affected, but it might be good to get some background info. A reverse osmosis system for your whole house would be a pretty serious investment.

[nphomeowner]

We have well and septic and no issues. The water stinks right out of the hose but that's connected directly to the well. The house water runs through a series of filters and a softener. For drinking we have a R/O under the kitchen sink that hubby installed and it's BETTER than bottled water.

No septic issues at all so far either. We do use the Ridex monthly to help keep it working properly.

[Native2UT]

Thanks for the good information. I'm scratching my head wondering why septic and well systems would ever be used! No water when the power goes out (how often does that happen?)? And no water bill, but you have to replace it after 20 years? With very expensive filtering systems needed and costly repairs should something go wrong... Did you really save anything in the end?

[wpc691]

If you live where water/sewer are available, you're almost always compelled to use them by the zoning laws. And, if they're not available, you have no choice but to use well/septic, at least until you get annexed by the nearest town. Where the cost of water/sewer is high (like Florida) I suppose you might actually come out ahead financially, but I certainly wouldn't pick a house based on that. If you love living out in the country, you'll pick a house based on that, and well/septic will be incidental. BTW, you'll probably want to have softening and filtering whether you have a well or not, so that's a tossup.

[TamRE]

Here is a link to the Septic System Guide for Charlotte County. It should answer any questions you have about septic systems.

http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/BCS...wnersGuide.pdf

Here is the link to the Charlotte County Health Department with information on private wells and water.

Water - Charlotte County Health Department

[629ANTS2687]

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Native

Water Water every where but not a drop to drink. Yep drinking Water is like gold here in Florida. The city of Punta Gorda build the Shell Creek Dam back in the 1960's. The Shell creek water system is fairly clean water with very little run off contamination compared to the Peace River. The city of Punta Gorda's water system was years ahead of it's time and Water in Punta Gorda is not a problem. However 1960 pipe lines are expensive to repair and replace. Punta Gorda water costs a fortune as does Port Charlotte's water.

Port Charlotte Water comes from the old General Development water plant on the Peace River and Kings Hwy. After GDC went belly up Desoto county bought the water plant and has expanded it to sell water to several surrounding areas. They just completed a very large holding lake for the dry season. Once again expansion etc has water costing big bucks.

Most of our well water comes from the Smokey mountains. Wells are generally around 200 ft deep in the Lime Stone layer. Hydrostatic pressure pushes that deep water up the well casing to about 15 ft below ground. in some cases the wells are free flowing or have water coming out with out a pump. The water is Alkaline lime & Sulfur water and very hard at about 450 PPM and a 8 pH. Reverse Osmosis or RO is the best purification system you can buy and produces 7 pH (Netural) and 10 PPM clean water. It is expensive at around $ 3 K. Add in another 3 K for the well and 5K for the sepic system and your up front cost is rather high compare to City water & sewer Hook up. BTW water softeners are around a $ 1,000 and do a fair job on Hard water.

Monthly Water cost with a well is only the electric to run the pump etc and can be as low as $ 10.00 or lower. Heavy irrigation in the dry season might cost you $ 30.00 a month compared to city water at $ 300.00 a month. As a pest control one man band I use enough water that well is the only economic way for me. I also live in a non deed restricted area so I can park my work trucks at my home.


Sepic systems seem to be perfected. Most people don't have trouble with them. But there are several sepic tank pumping companies here. I have not had any problem with my sepic tank so I can say what that pumping cost might be.


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[Big House]

Originally Posted by Native2UT

Thanks for the good information. I'm scratching my head wondering why septic and well systems would ever be used! No water when the power goes out (how often does that happen?)? And no water bill, but you have to replace it after 20 years? With very expensive filtering systems needed and costly repairs should something go wrong... Did you really save anything in the end?

You don't get a monthly water bill of over $100 every month. You might spend $30 a month on average no matter how much water you use. The treatments work very well.

And, don't be scared about the water quality - those comments are posted by people that want to scare you and are not based on facts. Most City water comes from well sources, except in cases of drought - where they will get water from above ground sources and treat it. City water is stored - after treatment in above ground open air reservoirs - that would surprise you - they are open to the public and all the crap that brings. Still the water quality is very safe. Cities often have sanitary surge / overload, and sewage is dumped into rivers and streams - where in cases of drought water is drawn from and treated. In different municipalities all over, that have city water - you will get boil water warnings.

City aquifers and private well aquifers are from the same water sources - water flows between them rapidly - so statements to the contrary are bogus as well...

There are much bigger things to worry about. I'm on city water - I'd switch if it were an option for me.

[Native2UT]

That does make me feel a little better. Being in the Rockies, we're spoiled with great water! Thanks for your replies.