Wow! Lots of responses! Thanks for all the advice.
>
> I'm surprised the mere idea of well sharing is so foreign to
> everyone. It's very common in Wisconsin. It makes a lot of sense.
> There are rarely any problems, and I personally have never heard of
> any first-hand. Sharing a well causes no problems with deeds,
> mortgages, buying, selling, etc. Our deed, and our neighbor's deed,
> both have the same language regarding the well and pump, and the deeds
> were reviewed by attorneys, title companies, lenders, etc. This is > all legit.
>
> My only problem is *HOW* to split the electricity. We both agree that
> we'll split it, and our deeds stipulate that we'll split it, but how
> do we split it? I'm waiting to hear back from my neighbor to see if
> he agrees on a reasonable amount like $15/mo. I have no reason to
> believe he'll argue about it. If he does, I'll just have to install a
> meter on that circuit, watch it for a few months to come up with an
> average, and then charge based on that. If the cost of a meter is
> reasonable, I may do that regardless, as I'm a lover of information,
> and I'd just like to know how much juice the pump uses.
>
> I'm satisfied that the cost to run the circuit in the first place is
> negligible, and I won't bother my neighbor with that. Besides, we'd
> have to run that circuit even if we didn't share a well, and our
> neighbor had to run a similar circuit to control the pump, so it's not
> worth analyzing.
>
> As for the pressure tank... I'm going to have a non-biased third
> party plumber look at the installation and make sure it's fare, and
> explore the "check valve" to make sure my neighbor doesn't benefit
> from it, or, if necessary, figure out what initial costs should be > shared.
>
> Thanks for all the information everyone!
>
> - Johnnie
There should be much more than just shareing the cost of the electric. It sounds like he is reasonable so a sit down to hash out some details is in order. In any case, do not present him with a 'decision' without discussing it with him first.
Picture zero dark 30 on a stormy night when you discover you are out of water. How are the costs of the plumber going to be shared? That needs to be in a legal contract. Any reasonble neighbor will negotiate it.
As for the initial cost that went into drilling/equipment/piping etc. of the well: That is water under the bridge. You agreed to whatever the assignment of them were when you bought the lot from the developer even if yuo didn't consider it. Those costs don't even involve the neighbor. In effect you want to go back and renegotiate the selling price. Ain't a gonna happen.
Harry K
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