Questions about well water (house, purchasing, inspector)

[meimei88]

I found a house I liked very much. The house has water well instand of city water. How does it work? Do I need pay any fee for pumping the water? How to make sure the qaulity of the well water is ok?
thanks a lot

[Flowerchild08]

Is it a community well or an individual house well. A community well is maintained by a water company and you do pay for the water used. If it is your own well it will be tested prior to you purchasing the house but I think you will be responsible for future testing - I do not think you are required to test it but it certainly sounds like a good idea to do so.

[meimei88]

Thank you, Flowerchild08! It is an individual house well. Talking about testing, is there any local agency that I can bring water sample in to get tested? I guess I don't have to pay for my own well water.

[Chicky]

Private wells are also going to have maintenance costs - filters, etc. I haven't had one, but I almost bought a house with one and then talked to a neighbor and learned of all the problems they had with water pressure, etc. That was enough for me to decide against that house.

[Flowerchild08]

There are definately places you can have your well water tested.
As far as expense, I do not believe the expense of a well would be close to the expense of paying for water. JMHO.

[kelly237]

Unless things have changed in 4 years ....when you purchase
your house a county inspector will test the water . Not sure who pays.
They test for bacteria but not all the things private testing could test for.
I think for more money the city dept will test for more things.
We have well water and had to replace a pump(expensive) but without a monthly water bill I think it comes out less for the well.

I am not trying to scare you but certain areas have had arsenic problems.
I think I read this in the N&O so I would ask the heath dept about this.
It may be a branch off of the heath dept but they will be able to tell you
who to talk to.

[Big M]

Hi meimei

I posed a similar question about private wells on a previous thread.

We close on a house near Falls Lake at the end of the month. It has a new private well and we have had the water tested by the guys who did the usual house inspection. Our well was tested for lead, nitrites, nitrates and bacteria. We have also noticed a hell of a lot of sediment which may be because the pump is too near the bottom of the well.

Our water was a little over the acceptable limit by EPA guidelines for lead. Given the close location to Falls Lake and its likely pollution makes me feel that this is the source of the high lead levels. Turns out that the well water is fine, and that somehow lead is getting into the water when it arrives in the sink.

This is concerning us greatly and all issues are currently being addressed.

Apart from the expense of replacing the sediment filter every few months there are no other costs (as far as I know!).

M

[kelly237]

Originally Posted by Big M

Hi meimei

I posed a similar question about private wells on a previous thread.

We close on a house near Falls Lake at the end of the month. It has a new private well and we have had the water tested by the guys who did the usual house inspection. Our well was tested for lead, nitrites, nitrates and bacteria. We have also noticed a hell of a lot of sediment which may be because the pump is too near the bottom of the well.

Our water was a little over the acceptable limit by EPA guidelines for lead. Given the close location to Falls Lake and its likely pollution makes me feel that this is the source of the high lead levels. Turns out that the well water is fine, and that somehow lead is getting into the water when it arrives in the sink.

This is concerning us greatly and all issues are currently being addressed.

Apart from the expense of replacing the sediment filter every few months there are no other costs (as far as I know!).

M

We have some sort of sediment filter that we remove , rinse and replace.
It needs rinsing about once a month.

[Caddyshack]

I've been on a private well for 11 years, and it is the best tasting water you will ever drink. I can't stand to drink chlorinated city water. I don't filter it and don't have sediment problems. Sorry to hear some people do. The pump is probably too close to the bottom of the well, or the well water is coming into contact with soil and not rock. We had an iron bacteria problem initially caused by the well driller not putting the casing deep enough. It made the water brown, but it was not filterable. We had to put in a deeper casing and the problem was solved.

The thing about well water is all wells are different and you are at the mercy of the guy that drilled it. You also never know what is in the water so have it tested for sure. My neighbor has different minerals in his well, and we are only 300 yards apart. Some people need a water softener, some don't. We don't have one and don't get any stains on sinks etc.

As far as cost, I would have to guess I pay a fraction of the cost for my water than someone on city water. I only pay to run the pump and can water my plants whenever I want without the water police hassling me. I don't water the grass, that is a waste.

The health dept did the initial testing in order to get a CO. After that, if you want to test you have to take it to an independent lab.

[meimei88]

Thanks for everybody here!!! Now I know exactly what kind of questions I should ask the seller. Thanks,thanks, thanks!!!