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We have had a well and a cesspool (not septic) for 35 years. Before that, we lived where we had city water and sewer. I wouldn't let the well and septic be a deal-breaker. Having said that, water quality can vary dramatically from state to state and even county to county. It is essential you have the water tested by an independent lab for bacteria, VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and anything else that is commonly found in the water in your area. And then have it tested regularly. Every 2-3 years is plenty.
We have replaced our well once in 35 years. The original well was shallow (South Jersey has a high water table, and years ago, you could get away with a shallow well). We have a deeper well now, but not as deep as you have to dig in some states. The cost to replace a well will also vary quite a bit from area to area. For example, we didn't have to drill through rock for our new well. In some areas of some states, you have no choice but to drill hundreds of feet down, through rock, to reach water. We also have a water softener system and an iron removing tank, and that system (Rainsoft) has to be maintained yearly as well.
We have our cesspool pumped once a year, but that's because it's a cesspool and not a septic system. Cesspools are no longer legal in New Jersey, and when we move, either we will have to pay for a new system, or the buyer will have to pay for it. Either way, a CO will not be issued until it is replaced. Cesspools are a pretty primitive system (basically, a giant hole in the ground), but ours is very deep and serves our needs. Still, from what I know of septic systems, I wish ours was a septic system. The key is to maintain it and avoid problems.
The advice you have gotten to have the septic inspected and tested is very good advice. In our state, that kind of work has to be done by someone who is certified to do it, and that leaves out most run-of-the-mill home inspectors.
No house and no system is trouble-free. But having lived without city water and sewer all these years, I would not let it be a deal-breaker for me.
Well water varies tremendously from location to location. Some "city water" is well water, but usually treated and purged of stuff like iron. But your own well is going to give you what's there - hard, irony, or just like spring water. And you have to take it just like that. So it depends.
We've had all three setups:
* city water and sewer
* city water but community septic for 14 houses on our street
* well and private septic (currently)
I don't know that it would be a deal breaker next time we look for a house, but I would sure prefer to be on city water. OTOH, we like a large lot (currently 2.4 acres) and that's more often a well/septic system.
What I didn't realize about well/septic when we bought this place is:
When your power goes off, you have no water. No faucets work, no bath or shower, no flushing toilets. The well can't pump, so you have no water. In a multi-day power outage, this is a major deal.
So if there's a way to find out the history of power outages, that could help make the decision.
We finally installed a whole-house generator. We're retired and hope to live in this house as long as possible. At our age, though, we did not want to be without water for five days ever again!
I had never had anything but city water & sewer, so a well & septic were intimidating to me.
When we made our offer, it included that both well & septic be inspected by inspectors who specialized in just well & septic, to be paid by seller. This was independent from the home inspection. You should also get the septic pumped, if recommended by the inspector, at seller's cost.
If you have a septic system, NEVER put anything down it except the "obvious", & toilet paper. Our kitchen sink has a garbage disposer, but I don't ever use it. I also go easy on household cleaners. I try to avoid harsh chemicals, prefer white vinegar.
Technically, you get to flush each toilet exactly once while the power is out...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pocopsonite
What I didn't realize about well/septic when we bought this place is:
When your power goes off, you have no water. No faucets work, no bath or shower, no flushing toilets. The well can't pump, so you have no water. In a multi-day power outage, this is a major deal.
You may have some water in your pressure tank, depending on how the system is configured.
Some (usually very old systems) with very slow-recovering wells may have a gravity storage tank with hundreds of gallons of water, some very modern systems with variable-speed well pumps might have no water stored in the house side of the system at all.
Some water heaters do not require power (standing pilot), usually when the power is out, the water heater is also out, so all you have for hot water may be whatever is still in the water heater tank.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pocopsonite
So if there's a way to find out the history of power outages, that could help make the decision. We finally installed a whole-house generator.
I don't know of any formal way to get a history of power outages in my area; I suppose you could ask the homeowner, or bette yet hang out at the local coffee place and ask their neighbors!
You can sometimes get an idea of the history of extended power outages by checking the archives of the local newspapers for news articles on how to file a claim with the utility for your lost freezer contents...
We have are own well and septic system (leach field). Our water is purer than city water and has a better taste. We are also on propane, 500 gallon tank buried in the ground. We have no problems. Suggest you have the well water tested as well as condition of septic system before buying, to make sure they do not have to be replaced. AFA septic system, we have it pumped out every three years.
We are in this same situation. We built our house ourselves in an unincorporated part of the county and finished it in 2002. There is no water or gas here. Electricity used to be provided by an REA but Xcel took it in a service grab years ago. Every aspect of the build, including the utilities (water, sewer) have had uber-attention paid to those aspects.
Our well is 1,050' deep and the Gould pump set at about 600' for so. It was drilled at the highest point of our property. GPM is around 15 and we only need one pressure tank. We test the water from time to time and it is very clean, though a bit soft. After being on well water for so many years, it is hard to get over the chemical taste of municipal water. One should change water filters regularly (we do ours 4X per year).
Septic is an oversized field (future 4th bathroom rough-in in basement), coming off of a 500 gallon primary tank, into a 250 gallon pumped holding tank at the lowest part of our property. We have a guy come out and pump the first chamber of the 500 tank every other year (which reminds me, time to call him...). There are three of us living here full-time now. The one thing about a leach field in a cold climate is that it will freeze over winter and thaw every spring so moisture will be apparent along the margins. Once it warms up it does it's evaporation thing.
We have propane, we own the tank so we can shop around the gas rates.
We could easily go completely off-grid with a proper PV solar system if we wanted to, but we don't want to put that much effort into it any more since we will be putting it on the market later this year.
Don't be intimidated. I don't know about other states, but here in CO septic must be inspected and pumped, prior to closing. The well is a no-brainer and it is easy to test and change filters.
What I didn't realize about well/septic when we bought this place is:
When your power goes off, you have no water. No faucets work, no bath or shower, no flushing toilets. The well can't pump, so you have no water. In a multi-day power outage, this is a major deal.
This is an excellent point. We installed a gas generator that powers the three-stage pump and controller box when it happens... which isn't often. I can count on one hand in the past 14+ years that we had to run it.
People who have lived in the country for years (before generators!) store water to use in outages. We have a generator too, but we still store water, because it's cheap and silly not to. We have livestock to keep watered, so we have to keep a couple hundred gallons on hand for drinking.... And I fill a large barrel near the house for toilet flushing in a pinch - you can refill the back of the tank manually with a bucket.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 04-18-2017 at 08:35 AM..
You may have some water in your pressure tank, depending on how the system is configured.
Some (usually very old systems) with very slow-recovering wells may have a gravity storage tank with hundreds of gallons of water, some very modern systems with variable-speed well pumps might have no water stored in the house side of the system at all.
Some water heaters do not require power (standing pilot), usually when the power is out, the water heater is also out, so all you have for hot water may be whatever is still in the water heater tank.
I don't know of any formal way to get a history of power outages in my area; I suppose you could ask the homeowner, or bette yet hang out at the local coffee place and ask their neighbors!
You can sometimes get an idea of the history of extended power outages by checking the archives of the local newspapers for news articles on how to file a claim with the utility for your lost freezer contents...
(3rd paragraph).........However, once the electricity is off the well pump quits.
When the well pump quits you only have water psi until the preasure tank runs low.
You need water psi to force that hot water out of your water heater.
If you run cold water (to flush a toilet for example) you will run the risk of no water preasure to force hot water out of your tank to faucet.
In the area where I lived most of my life ( central MN) septic systems were only replaced when a property got sold because the old style septic system was in violation of new codes.
I had never heard of septic systems failing and needing repairing because there ( central MN ) nearly everyone has their septic tank pumped every 2-3 years.
There are many septic pumping companies in that area and a quick search thru the phonebook gives you a choice.
Where I live now ( Ozarks of north Arkansas ) there are hardly any septic pumping trucks and locals believe pumping a septic tank is un necessary.
Thus, when their toilets start backing up it usually means the tank is so full of solids that the solids are entering their drain fields and plugging their drain lines.
I laugh as my neighbors try to convince me that septic tanks never need to be pumped .
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Technically, you get to flush each toilet exactly once while the power is out...
