All About Wells : Country Property and Acreage Homesites

All About Wells

by John Price on 07/07/10

All About Wells


I have had several types of water in my lifetime. When I was a kid, we had a cistern and carried water from a spring. I had public water in my last home, and I have a well now. I would not recommend getting water from a spring or cistern (both common sources of drinking water in rural areas 60 years ago), but both public water and a well have advantages.


First, you should know that much of our public water comes from big wells and that the St. Louis area has some of the best public water in the nation. If you live in Arnold, Imperial, Barnhart or other parts of northern Jefferson County, your water comes from one of two sources. One is local wells. The other is treated water from the Mississippi River. The water sources are mixed up, treated with chemicals and piped to your door. You pay a hookup fee and have to take it from the water main to your home. It might cost $1000 or more to hook up and run the line to your home, and then you get a water bill of $30 to $50 per month. Professionals test your water for safety and add chemicals. You have water outages when there is a major line break or something happens to a water district pumping station or well. All in all, it is a great and dependable source of water, yet much of it comes from wells. Some water districts rely totally on wells.


If you have a private well, you are on your own. A professional well driller will have drilled it and tested for safety and purity. No chemicals added and I believe it tastes better. No water bills, but maybe $3 to $4 per month in extra electricity bills. If your power goes out, you lose your water after a short time.


Private well versus public water? Both have their advantages. Both are generally safe supplies of drinking water. Both are dependable, yet either can fail. And both depend on wells.


So what is a well?


A well is a hole in the ground that goes to an underground water supply. Public wells go deeper than private wells as the various aquifers (underground supplies of water) are generally set aside for public versus private use. Steel casing goes in the hole for a prescribed number of feet by regulation for both public and private wells. It is to insure purity and to protect against pollutants. Pumps are placed in the ground. You turn on your faucet and water comes out.


I have had lots of questions about wells through the years. The big one is, "If I drill a well, will I get safe water?" The answer in this part of the country is nearly always a very strong "YES". We are blessed with a good water supply that is well mapped, given a very few exceptions. Any competent well driller can estimate within a couple of hundred dollars what a complete system will cost you. They have records of their own work. Records are now required to be registered with the state. The risk is mostly gone.


There are two basic components of the cost of a well. One is the drilling and it is on a per foot basis. The other is the casing, pump, etc. and that cost is pretty much fixed depending on how much water you need. My point is that a 400 feet deep well does not cost twice as much as a 200 feet deep well. Maybe it costs 20% more.


A well and pump system needs to be designed by a competent well driller. This is not an advertising piece, so I am not naming names; but a competent driller I have worked with for years told me that over sizing unused supply cuts the life of the pump. I did it anyway, knowing what I was getting into. On my personal home, it is only my wife and I. But it is designed so that if 4 kids, 3 kids in law, 4 grandkids, and my wife and I all decide to take a shower at the same time with laundry in the washing machine and dishes in the dishwasher, we have plenty of water. Supply is not an issue with a properly designed well in this part of the country.


Suppose you are looking a two pieces of land. One has public water and the other requires a private well. You like them both. Should public water versus a well be an issue to you on your purchase decision, all other things being equal? I personally feel it is not an issue, or at the most an extremely minor issue.


It is a matter of economics and personal preference. I have studied this in the past and I have test marketed based on my assumptions. My conclusions are anecdotal, but have been pretty consistent. Suppose the water hookup is about $1000 for public water and well costs about $7000. That is a $6000 difference in upfront costs for water. I personally believe that the land with public water is worth about $3000 more (or half the cost of the well versus public hookup) than the land that requires a well. That is the balance between upfront costs versus monthly savings. Market price generally accounts for the difference. The land without public water will be just a little cheaper.


With a well you have the greater upfront costs, but you do not have a water bill. From there it can be just personal preference. I like the taste of the water from my private well much better than drinking public water. Dependability is about the same. Both sources are “hard” water as they have some calcium in the water. If you like “soft” water, you have to buy a water softener either way.


We are very fortunate in this part of the Ozarks that private wells are a great option versus public water. In other parts of Missouri or in other states, private wells may not be such a good option.


Here, wells are a great option and the availability of public water should not be a major factor in your land purchase decision. But just to be safe, give a reputable well driller a call as part of your due diligence on purchasing that perfect piece of property.


Check out my country properties on this website. Some have public water and some require wells.


All are great values.

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 Price Acreage Blog: Written by John V. Price          Email: johnvprice@gmail.com

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