# 1880s House with only Well water



## ROSEMAMA (Jan 12, 2007)

I'm fed up with living in town and have finally gotten to a place [financially] where I can move back out to the country.

I'm looking at a homestead that was built in 1887 on a 2-acre plot surrounded by 100s of acres of crops (corn, wheat & beans)and no timber. 

The only water source is a well. Now getting to my question...If the well proves to be good and constant with decent flow should I worry about what might be seeping in regarding chemicals that may be sprayed on the fields? I have very minimal experience dealing with a well and that was only used for outdoor purposes. 

The place is out in the middle of nowhere, so I could always put in cistern(s) to supplement if need be.


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## Gianni (Dec 9, 2009)

If a well bothers you it is best to stay in town. Really and sincerely. There are tests that can be done for very cheap and if there are any problems filtration is inexpensive.


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## blufford (Nov 23, 2004)

Sure you should be concerned about the water you are going to drink. I'd have it tested before drinking.


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

I would have the water tested wherever I moved. Ya just never know.


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## ROSEMAMA (Jan 12, 2007)

Thanks for the input! It's not that I have a problem with a well per se, I just don't have experience with depending solely on one and didn't know if Ag chemicals should be a concern. I would definitely make any purchase agreement dependent on water test results.


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

Not saying that one shouldn't be concerned about 
what may possibly be in their well water, but seriously,
how many folks actually give a thought as to how safe
their municipal water supply is? The following link may
give a few people, some very important information 
to pause & reconsider . . . before going blithely on their way . . .

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/20/carcinogen-found-in-31-of-35-cities-water-supply/


And that ONE CHEMICAL, is just the tip of the iceberg.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

ROSEMAMA said:


> I'm fed up with living in town and have finally gotten to a place [financially] where I can move back out to the country.
> 
> I'm looking at a homestead that was built in 1887 on a 2-acre plot surrounded by 100s of acres of crops (corn, wheat & beans)and no timber.
> 
> ...


 
I'd highly recommend you pass on that property and look for one that is not bordered by all that agriculture since you can easily get chemicals blowing over when they are spraying... That won't be good for you (the air you are breathing, food you are growing...). Also, forget getting bees as the chemicals kill them... As far as chemical water contamination, there is a much lower chance of that, contingent upon well depth. That is, unless there is drainage coming onto that property from the farmland around it...

It is better to choose a property to meet your criteria, than to make a property fit your criteria...


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## BadFordRanger (Apr 26, 2014)

copperkid3 said:


> Not saying that one shouldn't be concerned about
> what may possibly be in their well water, but seriously,
> how many folks actually give a thought as to how safe
> their municipal water supply is? The following link may
> ...



Amen to that. Duke Power just had a coal ass spill, as they call it, where 70 Million Tons of coal ash just spilled into the Dan River 70 miles upstream from Danville and it has Mercury, for one of a half dozen chemicals in it and Danville has the first dam that stops it from going down stream any further. 
I hated chemistry in school (Wish to heck I hadn't now) but one thing that I do remember is that mercury is very deadly. They are lying through their eye teeth and have been since I was born about our water. 

It had only been a few months since we had moved into the house we now have, and Thank God we have a well and we are several hundred feet above that river bed, and the best I can remember from drilling a few wells up on this side of Danville, the wells only ranged 150' to 200'! 
They are lying through their eye teeth and have been since I was born! 

Danville is known for it's superior drinking water and says all is ok! All the chemicals are below the legal and safe limits! 
B.S.,. How the heck do they know what is safe? 
But I am glad some here said something about testing the water. 
Now, I want to but I have the water tested, but I am stuck with yet another problem with even doing that! 
They very well might say something is wrong with it even if it isn't and since the city has annexed this area, if they just say that, they could make us connect to the city water since they have already run the pipe, and my water bill at the last house we lived in was never less than $50, $60 a month, counting the disposal fees and taxes of course! 
As it is as I said, we have a well, and we also have a septic tank, and the Land lord pays for the electricity for the pump. That is $ 00.00 a month! 
Damned if you do and damned if you don't! 
Matter of fact, we have the three springs that I realized today that all three of them run into an old block spring pump house. But they won't let you use spring water for drinking any more here, and that is probably the cleanest water between the river and the well. It might have a 200 acre drainage at the most and it has been hot and dry here for a good while, but there is still plenty of 57 degree water now. It was 53 during the winter and spring. 
But what get me, is their coal dump ponds, and not just the one that burst, are all over top of drainage pipes that drains into the river! Actually it is still spring, but only days from summer.

Godspeed

Ranger


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## Cookie2 (Feb 21, 2014)

The water test will tell you a lot. DO test for more than just bacterial contamination, though. Sellers have been known to treat their wells just prior to testing in order to pass. If your water test doesn't include a full chemical analysis, you might be disappointed later.

During the test or home inspection (which you'll order to include the well head), you need to find out the height of the well head, the location (if it is in a drainage pathway for instance and how far from the septic), the depth of the well and whether or not the well is lined - and if so, how far down. You'll also want to know about wells in your area. For instance, in Idaho a 2-acre property is only allowed to have two wells IN THE LIFE OF THE PROPERTY. If this is the second well that has been drilled, that could be a problem down the road. Of course, you might live in an area where, if this well fails you can drill another, if so, that's okay. You just want to know your local laws.

Anyway, a lined well shaft, a tall well head that is set far away from sources of contamination and a good strong, newer well pump with water rights from the aquifer that transfer to you as the new owner are all good signs. A lot of people live on one well, just don't expect that well to irrigate your entire 2 acres (that would be taxing on your pump). Will you get irrigation shares, too?


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## badlander (Jun 7, 2009)

Contamination can happen, I know, it happened to my parents well water supply back in the 70s. We had a torrential rainfall that had water running over our back yard and well vent. Like the property you are looking at, their home was surrounded by fields on three sides and across the street. We also had a horse corral.

Imagine the alarm when we turned on a faucet and this brown, nasty debris filled water flowed out instead of the wonderful artesian water we were used to.

The health department came out, took samples and before the day was over was calling us with a firm DO NOT DRINK OR USE YOUR WELL WATER! It was contaminated with everything imaginable from field chemicals to horse manure. What ensued was a nightmare of hauling in water for human and horse consumption, pumping the well dry (imagine trying to empty out a well that is supplied by an underground artesian aquifer that is constantly trying to refill it for you even as you try to drain it out?) which took us over two days to do running the pump constantly. Then we had to dump multi gallons of bleach into the well, let it set for a day or two, cannot remember how long, and then once again pump it dry, have it rechecked and then hope for the best. We also had to have a well company come in and replace our vent pipe with a taller one that would resist contamination with run off. 

Then the pump went out from all the overuse draining the well. Like I said, it was an expensive nightmare.

So YES! I would definitely ask for a water sample to test. I would also make certain that the vent pipe is well above ground level.Also. If you go that route, and everything is good, make sure you and if you have any little kids or children in your family, use one of the fluoride mouth rinses on the market as we were constantly fighting decays from drinking unfluorinated water.

On the plus side. When it was good, it was excellent. Best tasting water in the world.


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## BadFordRanger (Apr 26, 2014)

We did have some bad snows that soaked the ground and then a lot of rain that colored our water to where when my daughter filled the tub for a dog wash, it wasn't really bad, but still yet, dingy looking. 
But I found out where the well was and there isn't anything in any of the small drainage area around it that has anything on it. Just woods and I walked every inch of that to make sure about that and it wasn't anything but some soft dirt that soaked into the well.
IT had mostly cleared the next day after running the hot water enough to empty the heater and cold water to clear out all the lines and that was it. 
But we did drink bottled water for a couple days being careful. 

When I drilled wells we had a man that was paying us per foot with a minimum of two gallons of water and I forget now, but way on up there extra if we could get 10 GPM, 12, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, and 75 GPM. 
My father had bought a gas powered pump on a frame and wheels from a farmer that irrigated his fields from large farm ponds, and we used to pump water to drill with from creeks after we stopped at a service station, (as they were called back then) and the man told him to go ahead and fill the drums up, and then charged him $20 just to fill up two barrels. 
That was the only time I ever saw dad as mad as he was for even weeks after that! 
But he bought the pump and we used it in wells if we had enough pipe for it, and we bought some more pipe just for this one well and the bonus money paid for it and more. 
That pump would fill up six 50 gallon drums, I believe it was in 57 seconds, or it might have been two minutes and 57 seconds. But we had to get a another well drillers pump before we ever got the head to drop down 30 feet


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## ROSEMAMA (Jan 12, 2007)

Thanks for all the good advice!

Cookie, I didn't even think about aquifer rights (duh)

Copperkid, I hear you on the quality of municipal water. We get a report every year on the amount of contaminants that have been in our water for the past year (I guess better late than never  ) & it always makes me a little sick to my stomach.

Badlander, that's horrible that they had such a great well just to have to go through that. My ex's grandmother had the sweetest well (best tasting water I ever had), but she lived very near a river that flooded often. When EJ water came through, she had to hook in 'cause her kids got to where they couldn't keep her well in order every spring.

Lorichristie, yeah, it looks like I'll probably pass on this one. It's a shame, 'cause the house (and lack of neighbors) is exactly what I was looking for. I also found out that several farmers in the area have their fields crop-dusted


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Water has come up on a number of posts... That is what I consider the most important one on our list of criteria. We have absolutely incredible water, sparkling clear, pure, with no filtering needed. Yes, the well and water tests were expensive, but worth it! So, if you can get a property with a private well w/good water, that means a lot these days...


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