Well water vs. town water (Coventry, Narragansett: house, neighborhoods, buying)

[backtomass]

We are going to be relocating to Rhode Island from Massachusetts, and we are looking at some homes in East Greenwich. A couple of them have well water, can someone offer some pros and cons? How often should it be tested? How can you determine if the flow is good enough and what the heck happens if the well runs dry (if they ever do)?

Excuse the newbie questions, but I have absolutely zero experience with wells.

Thanks!

[Hollytree]

Personally, I would avoid well water unless used to water lawns. You need to test at least once a year although many people don't. If the well fails then you have no water. RI has been continuously settled for a long time and was once very industrial- there is no way I would recommend trusting the ground water.

Municipal water supply and connected sewage for me TYVM!

[mr2448]

well water is as good as you want to make it. There are also few areas that give you a choice of well water or city/town water. Well water is perfectly safe. The city areas that were industrialized switched to reservoir water a long time ago. Check to see how old the purifucation system and pumping system is in any home you look at. Also, ask who has been maintaining the system. They will be able to answer any questions about purity, iron(we have a lot of iron in the NW corner of the state) and other problems that they have seen with the water. The iron can cause discoloring in pipes and clothing, but it is very easy to clean out of the water and pressure is also very easy to maintain. The water will always be cold (my water comes from 250 feet below ground) and taste good. Maintanence at least once a year and URI will always check your water for free. Figure with maintanence and salt that you will spend $200-250 a year. This is a lot better than paying monthly/quarterly water bills to your local government or waste water fees to the Narragansett Bay commision. I use my backflushing system to water the garden. IMPORTANT: when the electricity goes off -no water! You will have to learn to fill water bottles in advance of a storm. Doen't happen too frequently, but it is a concern. I use organic fertilizer because I have always had concerns of regular fertilzer leeching into the water, even though I have been told quite often that 250 feet is more than reasonable to filter water between ground level and the water source. I should point out that 25 years ago I knew none of this. At least now I have control of my water, I know what chemicals filter it and I maintain my own pipes rather than relying on city or town water pipes that are decades old.

[ocngypz]

Wells in EG? A little too close to Quonset for my liking.

I've had city water and well water... and frankly, I'd stick with city water.

Jamestown has numerous wells and they frequently go temporarily dry.

[Saltatrix]

In Jamestown our well goes dry occasionally in the summer after a hot spell w no rain, and someone has been watering too much. It's never been a major issue, but has been a general concern in certain neighborhoods. May not be an issue in EG since it is not an island.

[Hoxsie454]

Well water usage is very common in rural areas all across America. According to the Water Systems Council, in D.C., there are over 45,000 households in Rhode Island which rely upon private well water systems for potable water supply.

Wells are predominant in the hilly, rural area of East Greenwich lying west of Rt.2 Same with western Coventry, West Greenwich, Exeter where the towns require large land area (some five acres) minimum for any new construction. I would suggest you contact a local well water system company which is a member of the Water Systems Council to run a flow test and water quality test on the well as part of your inspection before buying the home.

[Snowball7]

it's really not an issue either way, don't let it impact
your decision on which house to buy. just have electrical
battery backup or generator in place if you have well water
unless you don't mind risking not having water in a power outage.
i remember boiling snow for water during the ice storm.

[backtomass]

Thanks for the thoughts, folks.