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HI, I have been looking at realtor.com for homes within 30 minutes of fletcher and noticed quite a few that had shared well water . is this common ? I could see it being a problem and dont understand why sharing is needed. any comments / feedback welcome.
Very common west of A'ville area, here in Waynesville. Many of our friends that aren't on city water are on a shared well, eg 3 to 20+ homes. A shared well saves the cost of individual wells, it was usually put into a reliable aquifer, costs of pump, storage and testing are spread across several households, etc.
Otoh, if that shared well gets in 'trouble', all the homes connected face dealing with whatever that issue is. But, having just gone through 3 years of very expensive 'forced removal' from our ~30 house community well, (courtesy of the NC DEH, with prodding from EPA), it may prove beneficial to do some solid reading on NC wells, the regs, and ask some hard questions of the RE person, the seller, neighbors, et al.
Not saying it's an apples to apples comparo, but our ~30 home community, with a 40+ year history of certified excellent well water, spent 3 yrs and serious money to get off our comm well, and lucked onto Waynesville city water, albeit at considerable expense. My understanding is the 'state' is on a rigorous program to close down all/most 'community wells' this decade. All Fwiw...
GL, mD
Motor David
We have a home between Sylva and Cashiers.We have community wells(4)that serve about 20 homes.Where did you get that info about the epa shutting down these wells,this concerns me!
Fletcher is a lot more populated than Waynesville, where MotorDavid has a home at approx. 4,000 ft. above sea level on a mountain. You cannot possibly compare the two scenarios. Fletcher is at about 2200 ft. above sea level, so is Hendersonville. The best thing to do would be to check with the Henderson County NC Water Dept., and the Buncombe County NC Water Dept. (there is also a Henderson County in Tenn., so specify).
If you get relatively far out in the County you will have well water, most likely your own well. Some small older subdivisions may have shared wells, but it is not common here.
Ask your Realtor to answer the details of your questions. (I also think MD's experience up on the mountain is not common). And... there is a lot of city water out in the counties. Ask the experts at the various city halls.
Motor David
We have a home between Sylva and Cashiers.We have community wells(4)that serve about 20 homes.Where did you get that info about the epa shutting down these wells,this concerns me!
It started 3 1/2 yrs ago, when the NC DEH people and the EPA people, all from Raleigh, paid our HOA a visit. Long story with arm wrestling, negotiations, pleading and near begging; my and a couple of other homeowners' relationship with our town mayor, (none of our community is not in 'the town limits'), enabled us to realize we could fight it, but probably not win a lengthy, costly court battle against NC DEH/EPA.
The mayor, (and town officials), were instrumental in helping us obtain a $900G grant from NC, (your money/our money), and we had to kick in another $400Gs+, for the cost of a total new city connected water system: all new piping, 4 lift pumps, etc.
While I will avoid quoting or naming names, the 2 yr struggle in trying to fend off the NC DEH and EPA in many face to face meetings, left all of us on the HOA very aware of the goal of closing down 'community wells'. Whether or not their goal is 'community wells' serving 20+ or 3+ homes, I don't know. But, it was very clear that that was their focus, as they targeted 'us' and, admitted that we were somewhat a test situation.
Most of both groups had never been to Waynesville, and other than a blip on the map, had no knowledge of 'us', our community, or our water situation.
One of our HOA homeowner members, a 4th generation 'native', was also our weekly water tester and water system expert. She sampled weekly, sent it off to a test lab and, to Raleigh, where we always passed with flying colors. We were basically put up against the wall...had we not been able to secure that ~$900G grant, the ~30 homeowners would have had to foot the entire bill, or fight it.
I am not trying to incite paranoia. Maybe the 'geniuses' in NC DEH/EPA chortled over their 'win' and have gone on to other topics and situations to bully. But, they were adamant and clear in their intent, vis a vis community wells, when they picked us off the map. That gang may have moved on to other fights to pick, based on the problems, engineering work, cost, etc., that their draconian decision caused our 30 home group, up on Eagles Nest Mtn.
Gov't 'at work', imo.
You might GOOG NC Wells, NC Private Wells, NC Water, et al...some interesting reading there.
It was, imo, an absurd, expensive, and very arbitrary forced issue, on their part, toward 'us'.
My 50Cts.
GL, mD
Last edited by motordavid; 01-30-2011 at 02:08 PM..
It was awful, for sure. But it does not mean it is happening everywhere, or that shared wells should be something to keep you from purchasing property in WNC. People need to always perform their own due diligence and not rely on a public forum for what should be the largest purchase of their lives.
QuilterChick:
Where did I say or even suggest that 'it is happening everywhere'?
I wrote, in my intial post response:
"My understanding is the 'state' is on a rigorous program to close down all/most 'community wells' this decade. All Fwiw..."
That was stated to me and our HOA, a dozen times, in meetings with the NC DEH, et al.
SaltySprings wanted info and my opin; I gave both, in what I felt was a
reasoned, informative post. I am not/was not suggesting that her well is under
consideration. I was advising 'community well' users based on our experience
when the NC DEH was on their vector at the time.
And, thanks for answering with slightly incorrect details, on where I live,
and how it is 'there'. I try to avoid interpreting others' posts and details
for readers.
Then put quotes around "everywhere" in North Carolina. People can do their own research; but just because your community on the mountain had a problem, doesn't mean everyone everywhere in NC is going to have a problem. Or, "everywhere" in Western NC. Simmer down; this is supposed to be a help topic, not a scare topic.
You answered SaltySprings, no problem. But go back and answer the OP's question; that is the subject.
Last edited by QuilterChick; 01-30-2011 at 04:50 PM..
Reason: idea
Then put quotes around "everywhere" in North Carolina. People can do their own research; but just because your community on the mountain had a problem, doesn't mean everyone everywhere in NC is going to have a problem. Or, "everywhere" in Western NC. Simmer down; this is supposed to be a help topic, not a scare topic.
You answered SaltySprings, no problem. But go back and answer the OP's question; that is the subject.
Hey, thanks for the tips...I never suggested 'everyone everywhere'.
The situ, as portrayed to me and others in our community, from the bureaucracies I noted, was 'their planned intent', at the time they confronted us, and forced our hands.
That vigorous and rigorous approach may have subsided based upon that bureaucracy's experience with our community. But, imo, it was worth raising to the original Fletcher inquirer. Waynesville, and the mtn top communities of western NC are not H'ville or Fletcher or, A'ville, but onerous gov't movements don't tend to go completely away. It was simply an initial heads-up, followed by a detailed, albeit anecdotal review.
A majority of initial posters here either can't, won't or don't do any DD or research of their own; if they did, this board would be a desert.
Thus, I attempted to answer the OP's inquiry by, "Very common west of A'ville area, here in Waynesville. Many of our friends that aren't on city water are on a shared well, eg 3 to 20+ homes. A shared well saves the cost of individual wells, it was usually put into a reliable aquifer, costs of pump, storage and testing are spread across several households, etc.
Otoh, if that shared well gets in 'trouble', all the homes connected face dealing with whatever that issue is. But, having just gone through 3 years of very expensive 'forced removal' from our ~30 house community well, (courtesy of the NC DEH, with prodding from EPA), it may prove beneficial to do some solid reading on NC wells, the regs, and ask some hard questions of the RE person, the seller, neighbors, et al."
I think I help with info, links and opins, here too.
Maybe I need to get out less, or more. I wasn't/am not 'simmered', but
I do feel strongly about any poster interpreting my situation to another poster. Thanks and, enjoy the board.
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