Not water intrusion thankfully but water for home usage and too much rain.

I've had my fill of dealing with well problems made worse by the less than competent well service I switched to using after the one I was using retired. The pressure tank is buried at the well site and also incorporates an outdoor hydrant for the hose etc. The pressure switch is 4' down in the well. Over the 23 years I've had to replace the pressure tank 3 times, the hydrant once, pressure switches 3-4 times, the pump itself, and the power line inside the well. These are what I can recall. The pump and power line were not bad IMO rather mis-diagnosed by the new "service person" who eventually found a splice up at the top that he had made to be the problem. The last pressure switch he replaced in March he set incorrectly so instead of the pump coming on after dropping to 40psi then shutting off after reaching 60 psi, it doesn't come on until dropping to 0 psi or close to it. You can be running water, showering, etc, and the pressure slowly reduces and water flow stops. After 10 seconds the well kicks on and pressure comes back. That was the last straw, I'm done with it.

The good thing is when the local PSD ran water to the area they took it down our road about 1/3 mile beyond the last person who signed up, all the way to my drive where they stopped. There is a clean out hydrant just beyond that they run a 2-3 times a year to flush the line. I suppose the fire dept could use it as well.

The challenge is the line will run around 550' through woods in a narrow right of way which has power and fiber internet then along my drive to the house. The excavator I've used once before is good and he often puts in water lines for wells. He is also reasonable and local. But also does site work for various builders which can back him up. He looked it over in April saying he should be able to get to me in June so "go sign up with the PSD to get your tap because they're typically backed up 6-8 weeks and they'll have to drill under the road here". So I payed them the $300 and signed up. They came within 2 weeks so the meter is in at the road.

Meanwhile now approaching the end of August, with one of the wettest summers I can recall, the excavator keeps falling further behind. Last month he delivered a 500' roll of water line along with a stack of conduit, and his skid steer. But for every 1-2 days of no rain we get a week of rain, it's pouring down right now. I'm still dealing with the pressure problem, have now paid 3 months of water bills w/o getting a drop, and no meaningful stop of rain in sight.

Why are you paying water bills if the meter isn't recording any usage? Not being argumentative, just curious. I've always had a well, so I don't really know how municipal water works.

That is the minimum whether you use any water or not, it's actually $29. After the first 2 or 3 years from signing up I could have the meter pulled at no charge and then no bills until I have it put back which is only $25. For the first 2 or 3 years you must pay at least the minimum, this is for them to at least recoup the cost of the tap. While the State only permits them to charge $300 their actual cost of 4 men for almost two days, a mini excavator, and large boring machine with operator they sub contract to, is probably more like $3,000+.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Gotcha, thanks!

The utilities have found a way to charge you even if you use zero water. Same with electric. Provide guaranteed revenue stream

That seems really odd that the pressure switch is 4' down the well, average well depth around here is 300 or so feet, pressure switch is above ground.

quote:

Originally posted by rizzle:
That seems really odd that the pressure switch is 4' down the well, average well depth around here is 300 or so feet, pressure switch is above ground.

I really don't know why? My hunch is it's protected inside the well vs somewhere out in the open. I had the well put in before building the house just incase they hit no water I could move the home site nearer the well that did. But they did hit water at 120'. When they change the pressure switch they've had to lift the pump up a few feet and hook the lifting handle on the top of the casing to access it.

Anyway whatever was done incorrectly will not be a problem for me once I no longer have to rely on it. The water is generally good but sometimes it'll come out discolored from iron for a bit. I do pour a 1/4 cup of Clorox down once every 7-10 days and run water from the hydrant out in the yard for a while every couple weeks to flush it out. It's never run dry because a couple times when doing this was in very dry summer I set the sprinkler out in the lawn so flushing it would also water the grass/weeds, and I forgot to shut it off and it ran all night to the next morning when I'd see the yard flooded.

But I'm done with it now due to the combination of sometimes marginal water which must be corroding the pressure tanks and my water heaters which I'm on the 4th now, the less than competent well service here, and municipal water being available at the road. Now if we can get a few weeks with little rain I can get my water line run.

At a previously owned home with a well, municipal water became an option due to an underground gasoline plume in the aquafer from a gas station underground storage tank leak.
The parent company of the gas station paid for the extension on a local water district municipal line. The new extension, it served an additional square mile of residential neighborhood approximately.
I was able to connect for about $300 and did the connection myself with family and friends. This was in the 1990's, when $300 was still a decent sum of money.

At the recommendation from a family friend plumber, we did not install a water pressure regulator.
The old well system was never any higher than 30 to 35 psi.
Once connected to the municipal system, water pressure was MUCH better.
Water pressure typically in the daytime was at 100 psi.
Nighttime water pressure was about 115 psi.

The municipal water storage tanks are on local hills, and the decreased water usage at night typically increased the nighttime pressure with higher water columns in the storage tanks at night.
In my basement, I installed an expensive/accurate glycerin filled/dampened pressure gauge, just after the municipal water supply main shutoff valve.

Yes, there was a period of time while I corrected minor leakage concerns due to just about tripling the water pressure. The Bernzomatic propane torch and a roll of solder were my new friends.
In that home, all the water supply plumbing (copper) was accessible from the basement, and relatively ease to get access so the plumbing was usable with the new higher water pressure.
Toilet tanks would fill in 10 - 15 seconds or less, and the washing machine tub would fill completely in about one minute.

When I moved to my next home, it was back to a privately owned well, and after moving to the new place, I really missed the 100 to 115 psi water pressure!
The new place was three stories, with lots of plumbing inside the walls, which made it an unsuitable candidate for unregulated water pressure when municipal water became available many years later.

When in the home with the high water pressure, I never noticed any increased failures with appliances or water fixtures when running that 100 to 115 psi water pressure.

The house where I live now has a well, and the cabin where I am moving to has a brand new well.

If municipal water is an available option, do it! Even though the hookup process/procedure can and will be a pain in the ass!

Good info thanks cee_kanp.

I don't know what the line pressure at the road is but I'm a good bit lower than the tank. I'm told by my plumber that the water pressure will be reduced in the meter pit to 60 psi. That is what appliances are rated for. He wants to install a pressure gauge after it comes in the house prior to an expansion tank so the line pressure coming in can be monitored. He claims the meter pressure regulators sometimes fail causing 100+ psi pressure in the house that can eventually cause leaks. I think I'm recanting what he said accurately. Anyway it'll be up to him to do the connections in the crawl space.

quote:

Originally posted by oldbill123:
The utilities have found a way to charge you even if you use zero water. Same with electric. Provide guaranteed revenue stream

Around here the water bill includes a drainage charge. Several neighbors never signed up for water, the line doesn’t several their street, yet they are charged for drainage.
Nothing ever gets done about the eroded ditches and falling road shoulders. Biggest scam ever.

Should be nice to have regular consistent water pressure over the well issues you have had.

I believe there was a thread on water pressure regulators here at one time..

Our water comes with sewer and garbage on the bill, and the local utility doubled the rate when they had to make up shortfalls and fix lots of issues with the system that the city ignored for years and local home owners formed a group and then went after them.

So the problems will be fixed and we get higher bills. Not the solution that homeowners wanted.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Should be nice to have regular consistent water pressure over the well issues you have had.

Yes I'll have it made then!

Build a well house over your existing well and drop a bucket in with a rope. It should look Old School Appalachian style.

Think of the fun when guests come over and want a drink, just send them to the old well with a glass and show them how to lower the bucket

Hillbilly Charm De-luxe

I like that idea and would if I could. We had a well just like that when I was growing up. The house was built in the 1850's. We didn't use it since we had city water, the well was between the main back door and large out building.

Unfortunately my well was grilled and only consists of a 10" casing.