First, if there is another thread my posting would be appropriate for, please point me to it (via PM is fine). I am mad as a hornet as I type and definitely venting.
As background, I am selling my house in rural New England. Yesterday the possible buyer had the home inspection and had my well tested for flow rate. I did *not* want the flow rate checked, wanted things to be explained to the possible buyers so they could save money for this test even if it meant I would have to spend money to get a lawyer to make up some contract where I would be responsible for paying for a new well if it went 'dry' or a bare trickle, when used, for 5 years. My Real Estate Agent merely dismissed me.
Testing this well for flow was absurd. It is just under 3-years-old and drilled to replace a hand dug well that rats had gotten into twice. The drilled well's flow rate, when drilled, was 4.5 gallons/minute at 430'. This **far** exceeds state requirements. No idea what it is at 450', but a 300' well passes if it produces 1 gal./minute. Both the driller as well as people in the State office that oversees wells told me the rate would increase, not decrease, over the next few years as matter lodged in crevices, during the drilling, got dislodged, allowing more water to flow in.
The inspector ran water using some special, high power machine for 2 1/2 hours. The wastefulness of this, really, REALLY bothered me. Heck, even running the tap at the kitchen sink for 20 minutes before water samples were collected was enough to almost drive me mad.
Today I am stuck wasting even more water since that high power running created a situation where build-up of gunk on the normally water covered areas of the pipe got cleaned off (since thewater level was pumped below the usual pipe depth)making my water VERY murky--it can't be used in the house. My whole house water filter can not deal with it.
The hose off my holding tank has now been running for a few hours. The water is definitely not like when I started (I have a bucket saved), but a 430' well holds 645 gallons meaning I shall be wasting thousands of gallons of water before it is usable in the house.
I have spent a large part of my life in a developing nation where I had to buy water by the gerry can. A woman would walk to a stream a good 1/2 mile away to fetch it for me. Because of this, I have never gotten over viewing water as a precious resource. Even things like running the cold water until it gets 'cold' is something I never do.
Yes, rural home buyers have the right to get water from an existing well, but there should be alternatives presented to them besides that wasteful, 2 1/2 pumping test followed by additional wastage depending the the age of the well and normal water usage by the current occupants.
Lynn |
